Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Ezior

(505 posts)
Wed Jun 21, 2017, 06:12 AM Jun 2017

How to save democracy/"the west" from voters who hate immigrants (esp. Muslims)?

I believe a huge reason for the current right-wing populism (Le Pen, Wilders, Trump, Brexit, AfD, Eastern Europe, etc) is immigration. Especially Muslim immigration and refugees.

The populism appears to be fuelled by fears that:
- Some percentage of Muslims are terrorists
- A larger percentage of Muslims don't share "our values"
- Refugees and Muslims are a net negative for the finanical situation of our societies
- Increasingly, I see "identity" reasons like "white identity is under attack", "soon Europe will be like Africa", "When I walk on the streets, I see 50 foreigners before I see 1 German citizen [apparently you can determine who's a German citizen simply by looking at people] in my home city", etc.

And it seems like more and more voters base their voting decision on which candidate/party is most likely to stop immigration. It's their #1 issue. Economic policies, social policies, enviromental policies? Doesn't matter! Just keep those Muslims out! Some even seem to rebase their political views so they share the economic, social, etc. views with their favourite "Muslim ban" party.

This is very alarming, because many Muslim-hate parties also attack other "western values" like womens rights, LGBTQ rights, seeking good relations with other nations, freedom of the press, freedom of speech and opinion, etc. Some voters are apparently happy to throw those out of the window to get Muslim bans.

Even in the Ossoff race, I've seen tweets where some twitter users claimed that if Ossoff wins, he will somehow bring lots of immigrants to GA06. A recent poll in the EU shows 55% in favour of a Muslim immigration ban. Even in Germany, where many mainstream media outlets often publish opinion pieces in favour of immigration, 53% agreed that we need a Muslim ban.

I'm so worried about the future of "the west" and especially liberal (as in liberty) values. I've almost given up on true left-wing policies already, but what about moderate right-leaning politics? Is there a way to keep those, or will the reactionaries soon take over because Muslim-haters vote them into office? Is there anything we can do to prevent this from happening?

1 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
How to save democracy/"the west" from voters who hate immigrants (esp. Muslims)? (Original Post) Ezior Jun 2017 OP
Based on what my friends in Europe tell me Lee-Lee Jun 2017 #1
 

Lee-Lee

(6,324 posts)
1. Based on what my friends in Europe tell me
Wed Jun 21, 2017, 06:24 AM
Jun 2017

It's a mess and they are mostly expecting it to explode in a very right wing reactionary way.

Every terrorist attack brings them closer to that. As does every small incident in their lives involving an obviously Muslim person, be it crime or sexual harassment or anything else.

I have a good friend in Germany who says that the anti-Muslim sentiment is worse there than it polls because people are afraid of being labeled bigots. But that when people talk privately it is a whole different story. They don't trust the media or the government on the matter and think they withhold stories that will make immigration look bad. The rash of rapes and sexual assaults in Germany on New Years Eve and the fact that it went unreported for days and then under reporters seems to have pushed a lot over the edge.

That recent terrorist attack in England against the crowd at the Mosque is that mentality playing out. The Bubba effect where you have these morons sure bad things are happening and not trusting the government to do anything about it so "I am going to do something, do anything myself if they won't"

I fear that it's going to devolve into widespread violence and sectarian strife across Europe very soon.

On the other side of the fence, a lot of Islamic beliefs are also not compatible with or keeping with western values either, so that also is a serious issue.

Latest Discussions»General Discussion»How to save democracy/"th...