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Oh hi, I was just looking at this absolute clusterfuck of a situation after arriving in Scotland and wondering whether it was worth wading in while jet-lagged
You're right. I've written many a word about my desire to emigrate from India, and I would say that almost 95% of the feedback I've gotten was supportive. In fact I'd go so far as to say that the support of pseudonymous strangers on this niche internet forum made a great deal of difference, especially when I was at my lowest.
I would say that people are more inclined to be nice and welcoming to me than the modal immigrant. I'm well spoken, clearly preferring the way most of the Anglosphere or the West works to the point I decry most aspects of my own country and, as @Forgotpassword points out, a medical professional is a rather sympathetic figure. How many people want fewer doctors around? (The answer is existing doctors, but their power only goes so far).
I hardly think the West or its denizens are literally perfect, but they're still a gross improvement over how I've spent most of my life, and a very important difference between me and the Count is that I don't bite the hand that feeds.
I have absolutely no desire to see the West become more like like the Subcontinent. I'd rather not see a flood of unskilled immigrants bring the welfare system to its knees, or cause a breakdown of the religious tolerance and high trust a place is known for. I'm perfectly content with the existing British elite, and were they to gradually admit foreigners into their ranks, I'd much rather they be westernized by the time they hold power rather than nakedly bringing in the mores and behaviors of their home nations.
All I can really say is that people are a great deal more welcoming to a would-be immigrant when they're not actively sneering at them. Of course, Count makes a great deal more money than I do and is effectively unimpeachable thanks to Western norms of freedom of speech, so the reader is welcome to decide who's in the right here, or who is being rewarded for it. I just consider it an immense privilege to be let in here in the first place, and I'd rather not make people regret that decision.
I would say that I don't bite the hand that feeds me either. In fact this is a charge I would lay at the feet of the lower classes rather than apply to myself. They are the ones who firstly live off the taxes people like me pay and then instead of displaying gratitude towards us instead come out and say we need to tax the rich more. End result is that not only do we fund their lifestyle but we also continually get told that we aren't doing enough!
I don't think at all the that lower classes of the UK feed me in any way whatsoever. It's amazing how little value I get in the UK for how much taxes I pay. It's significantly worse than mainland Europe too where at least if you are a high earner and you get laid off you're given a big portion of your salary (think 70%+) for a period of time by the government until you can find a new job. The idea there is that because you put in more previously, now you are entitled to get more out of it. They have a contributory system.
The UK on the other hand has a redistributive system. My reward for losing my highly paid job here is that due to having more than £16,000 in savings I am not even eligible for the standard benefit the unemployed get in the UK! Sure you can say I benefit from living in a modern well run state but there's nothing particular to the UK's people or culture that gives rise to that. I would benefit in much the same way were I living in Singapore, the UAE or Japan all of which have very different social systems.
What I do benefit from in the UK's global tier financial prowess but that has nothing to do with the common man who if anything is envious about our success and keeps trying to bring us down a peg. The structures that enable me to have the job and earnings I have are the product of elites, not the proles.
Religious tolerance I agree is good. Trust though, as argued by Bryan Caplan in his Open Borders book, is highly overrated. There are clever ways around it that if you're smart enough to navigate mean you can live basically similar lives in a low trust environment as you do in a high trust one.
I want to see the welfare system destroyed, it's corpse burned, the ashes grindered and launched into the sun. Western whites won't see sense through reasoned argumentation on why the welfare system is a capital-B Bad thing for humanity and I think bringing huge amounts of low tier immigrants with very different beliefs and lifestyles until they viscerally feel disgust at their taxes going to support the degeneracy is the best way to get it dismantled (note: this is not to say these people are more degenerate than low tier westerners, it's just a different kind of degeneracy that westerners won't be as accepting of).
Free Speech is amazing. I only wish we had something more like what the Americans do in the UK. Truth be told my belief system is very similar to that of the early Liberals of the 18th Century: it's fundamentally Western in origin but very different from the current zeitgeist in the West.
Isn't a lot of this the reason for the rioting, though? The local untermensch are frustrated by the decision of their 'betters' to import foreign untermensch who make their untermensching lives less pleasant (and frequently are the beneficiaries of programs and efforts to integrate and advance the foreigners that locals don't have access to) whilst fighting for resources.
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This comment makes me vaguely uncomfortable.
On one hand, sure, someone who has such a deep level of contempt for a large percentage of a country's population probably should not be welcomed into that country. However large of a salary they earn, they're not going to be contributing positively to the welfare of people they more-or-less think are subhuman.
On the other hand, immigrants that do positively contribute on net in all aspects of society (i.e. not just monetarily) deserve to be welcomed. From the inside view of an individual person, it's morally commendable to always be grateful for what you have and not think you deserve anything. However, from an outside view, you shouldn't expect that high moral standard from others who do actually deserve the welcome.
And sometimes its just so satisfying to see white supremacist rhetoric about certain groups turned back on them this eloquently. The whole idea of judging large classes of people as subhuman and worthless is absolutely despicable, but sometimes you just want to say, "ok fine, I'm done with this, let's just accept your premise that we should do so. Wow, the 'worthless' groups aren't actually who you thought they were. Look at that, guess it's not such a good idea for you after all".
Why would it make you vaguely uncomfortable? As far as I'm concerned self_made_human's attitudes are perfectly valid, and should really be the norm for all immigrants. Is it the deference for white people that makes you feel uncomfortable?
Sorry, should've explained this more: basically, you're asking for people to shoulder an additional burden for the sole reason of where they happened to be born, something that was completely out of their control. Furthermore, this burden isn't some temporary thing, but forever---the skilled immigrant always has a responsibility to feel grateful and not believe they deserve things natives do and nothing they do over their entire life can change this.
I don't like this unegalitarian implication.
I do not believe that gratitude is a burden. Also, the immigrant by virtue of their citizenship is entitled to the full rights that that citizenship affords. I don't think its fair to say that conservatives or self_made_human don't believe that lawful immigrants don't deserve things that natives do, given that they've followed the appropriate pathway and contribute to the native's land.
My expectation for anyone who lives in western countries is to be grateful for that privilege, native or immigrant. As far as I am concerned, I am being egalitarian when I expect immigrants to feel grateful; I have the same expectations of them that I do for natives.
Broadly speaking, I think you're seeing a deference or obeisance from self_made_human that simply is not there. His gratitude (or any immigrants gratitude) does not preclude him from enjoying the fruits of western society. He explicitly states that he wants to move to western society to enjoy its benefits. I'd even say that many immigrants (professional ones at least) do not particularly care if they are welcomed or not; they just care about living and enjoying western society itself. The sense of immigrants deserving something is in my opinion non-sensical. Immigrants immigrate to better themselves, not to bless the natives with their contributions; expecting natives to be deferential to immigrants just foments division and resentment.
This is fair, as long as someone can reasonably earn the right to be treated the same as natives, I don't have any discomfort. For whatever reason, I was reading something different in the original post that on second thought might not have actually been there.
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For a typical person, I think they'd be uncomfortable for broadly that reason (Well, I think a conservative wouldn't find it uncomfortable initially - but they absolutely would once you point out the dynamic)
I agree - but obviously that can't happen in the current state. The official line is that all races are equal - and in this worldview self_made_human's attitude is deeply problematic, and a manifestation of trauma from the White supremacy enforced upon his ancestral homeland during colonization (if that were the case - I would also find it deeply uncomfortable)
I'm not sure how you'd envision this actually becoming a norm (maybe you're just idly wishing) - I don't have a serious proposal.
I wonder how far you'd get by "just" by making HBD common knowledge, and no further interference - how would a typical "brown" person (here I mean neither White nor Jewish nor East Asian) react to the knowledge that the ultimate cause of the dysfunctions in their old home is not White supremacy, the government, or even the culture - but the actual race who make up the country (which includes them!)
I mean this is already going to make them feel guilty - especially if they were progressive (these would be the main source of principled people who oppose SMH's sentiments): this whole time it wasn't White people causing the problems of the world - it was you! (The arguments about how White people are guilty of perpetrating White supremacy by being complicit, "silence is violence", etc - these are all still true on the meta level - except now you realise you're the one causing harm)
Also - in the case of a indidivual skilled immigrant, it is indeed a mutually beneficial arrangement. But obviously the benefit to the immigrant is massive compared to the country, to whom each specific person is just a rounding error - so already a kindness is being payed by actually affording them all the same legal privileges as the natives despite having all the leverage (in the non-HBD world - this is something the immigrant is morally entitled to since the country is only such a nice place to live because they stole resources from the 3rd World - how else could a tiny island of a few million people, of equal competence to all other humans, manage to have so many nice things?)
Well said, I wasn't quite sure what about my comment made him feel discomfort, but this seems like a good explanation.
I'd be genuinely perplexed if the Brits managed to give me any trauma, given that they fled the place about 50 years before I was born. They didn't really bother my grandpa, and sure my dad suffered greatly as a consequence of the half-assed Partition and ensuing civil war in Bangladesh, that was also far before my time.
I wonder if the people who claim to value lived experience uber alles would accept mine, or consider me to have mysteriously internalized something something.
Indians and most other "brown" people are race realists when it's convenient to them. They'll happily look down on Africans, for example, but most would throw a fit if you claimed they were as a group worse than Whites or East Asians.
I prefer my worldview be honest and coherent, so I don't bother. So what if the average Indian is dumber than the average White person? No skin off my back, I know my intelligence and that it runs in the family, why ought I particularly care?
At the end of the day, as long as talented individuals of an underperforming group have a way to demonstrate their qualities and be judged on their individual merit, I'm content. You could be black and score super well on the SAT, at which point coarse discrimination on the basis of race ceases to be relevant for the most part. Or you could be a Jew whose mother was too fond of the wine while pregnant, and be SOL regardless of the expectations others have of your group.
Most Westerners have their opinions of Indians informed by the fact that they usually only meet the tiny fraction that was talented/lucky/hard working enough to move away. I got to live with ~everyone else, and while I think they're perfectly fine people, they're not in the same class. Skimming off the top of a billion and change will get you incredible talent no matter how the average fares.
Indeed. Of course, it's also conveniently ignored that places that started out poorer than dirt, like Hong Kong and Singapore have sprinted ahead and might be better off than much of the West, while other areas languish no matter how much money you throw at them. I wonder who they're supposed to have ripped off, or what they've had stolen from them when there was little to steal.
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Alternatively, your moral resistance to racism observably diminishes so long as it's aimed at the "correct" race. Suppose the Count is wrong on the particulars, and an examination of the statistics reveals that, in fact, migrants in the UK are "worse", by whatever standards you are now flirting with, than the native underclass (and note the obvious dishonesty of comparing all immigrants to only the worst of the natives). If it turns out the natives are in fact better, does that mean the white supremacists had a point all along, or does it just prove that your entire interest in the topic begins and ends with its utility toward bashing the outgroup?
Between this and the luria-posting last week, Hlynka continues to age like fine wine.
This is not a reasonable argument that is worth replying to. Please don't reply to my posts---I'm not interested in discussing things with you since it's extremely tedious and unpleasant to deal with this sort of mess of malicious misinterpretation.
In this situation, I understand why you might choose to exercise the block button. However, I’ll ask you to avoid such a substance-free dismissal. If you aren’t going to respond on the merits, please don’t discourage others from doing so.
Do you think there's any substantive response to make here besides "please read what I wrote more carefully and try again"? Playing into someone's bad-faith debate games by trying to defend "no, I actually said (blah)" never goes well when they're actively trying to confuse the issue.
It's really not a good look for a moderator here to be employing this sort of tactic given your stated goals. If FCC's reply wasn't violating
then I don't know what is. But, again, it's your guys' website.
Then don’t play into the games. Don’t respond. Block him, if you must. We won’t hold it against you; blocking exists specifically for times when someone thinks a response is worthless.
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You're free to report any post you think violates the rules, even a mod's. (Trust me, we get reported all the time.) But no, I don't think @FCfromSSC was violating any rules. People are allowed to point out what they think is hypocrisy if they are civil about. You can deny it, rebut it, or choose not to respond.
(And you're getting a response from multiple mods because I happened to be the one who saw this post in the new-user filter and approved it, not because we're all ganging up on you because you argued with a mod.)
Are you arguing that "obvious dishonesty" and "or does it just prove that your entire interest in the topic begins and ends with its utility toward bashing the outgroup?" are civil?
Idk, I get the impression that some of you are unhappy about the way this site is going---there have been enough discussions about echo chambers and things like that. Yet you keep refusing to listen to people who tell you the clear reasons why such things might be happing. Totally understandable if you don't take my word for it, but you guys should at least take something from the whole Tracingwoodgrains discussion earlier.
There's a political consensus here and many toxic arguments arguing in favor of the consensus are not moderated. Beyond this current example, I've pointed out before that racism violating "Proactively provide evidence in proportion to how partisan and inflammatory your claim might be" is very often ignored (though somehow the entire discussion where this last happened was memory holed. I can only see the comments in my inbox with all links to the actual thread broken). You even put one of the worst perpetrators on the mod team!
This makes the environment quite unpleasant for people arguing against the consensus so most just end up leaving.
My stack of nickels keeps growing.
Yes, I get it, you want us to mod the other side more heavily and your side less heavily.
Would it shock you to know that the other side thinks we should mod your side more heavily and their side less heavily and that our failure to do so is why the site is dying?
No amount of evidence will convince you (or those who argue the opposite) that this isn't true, so ... shrug.
Being racist is not forbidden here. Saying "Blacks are stupid" would get modded; saying "I don't like black people" or "I think the US would be better if we were a white ethnostate" would not.
Who do you mean; @FCfromSSC? First of all, I don't recall him posting racist things. He's definitely a rightist and an accelerationist, but not a racist (though he can speak for himself). And he was put on the mod team by Zorba's complicated dogue system in which many members were involved. So we put him on the mod team, and by we I mean the Motte.
Look, I really do appreciate it when liberals choose to post here, but unfortunately, you are following a familiar pattern that reaffirms my observations here and everywhere else: liberals don't really believe they should have to put up with people who express views that are noxious to them. This is true of rightists too, of course (we have a couple of people who report all liberal posters like someone tapped their knee with a hammer), but far more so of leftists. You (and Trace) aren't completely wrong that a sort of consensus culture has formed here (not universal; I am certainly to the left of the median Motter) that is right-leaning and sometimes hostile and toxic, but that's due to a bunch of selection pressures. It's not just that people like you find it too toxic here and leave; it's also that people like you drive the sort of person who'd post here off of every other site.
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