People who move to this island (and that is basically what the UK is) have always been met with suspicion or worse. First it was the Irish, then the Afro Caribbean's, then the Indian/Pakistani immigrants. And if you go back far enough you might find the same bad feelings towards gypsies, Jews (who were from another land) and so on....

My parents are from Ireland, although my mother was born in London as her father was in the British Army during WW2 but returned to Ireland after the war had finished. And I am pretty sure if I go back far enough through my genealogy, I might find ancestors from all over the globe within my family tree.

And I truly believe that no matter what we look like, we stem from people who have travelled far and wide. All of us!

However, psychologically this country is far more isolated than other nations. Despite claiming to be an open society who welcomes immigrants, the truth is less flattering, we have always resisted "new blood". The same can be said of all of our European neighbours, particularly if the immigrant in question looks different from the natives.

But at least in the modern age we have overcome some obstacles with racism and tribalism, but of course more needs to be done. As an example, this year we got to see our American friends swear into office their first President of African descent. But people from my city seemed to vote in large numbers for the BNP, electing Nick Griffin into office at the European elections. So it seems that we might have made some positive steps as a people but still lack the ability to fully let go of those negative tendencies such as racism.

But I live in hope for the future! I pretty much knew that if I have children they would likely be of mixed race (I am mainly attracted to women of colour). Yet I have a sibling who has considered joining the BNP (seriously racist), and will no doubt get a shock if the day comes when I introduce them to my half pinoy child. Though, I also think some people need to be shocked into seeing sense.

I could not imagine a more boring place if this country was without it's immigrants. No Curry, no Pasta, no Pizza, no Reggae music, no China Town, no Curry Mile... And so on, until I run out of gigabytes left to store the stuff immigrants have given to this country! Yes, there are downsides economically to mass migration, but hey. Money is man made and fake! Community, love and family are what really matter!

Anyway, I had better stop before I start a new Religion