A divided society-what can be done?

I think a lot of racism is born from a feeling of hopelessness . People living on the edge of society looking for someone or something to blame for their plight.

I think what would help would be to educate all children together, abolish faith schools. I don't mean that children should be taught to abandon their parents faith, but they could be taught about it outside school.
That way they could see from a very early age that people are just people.

trisher I don't think there was ever an age when everyone loved everyone, but there was certainly a time when expressions of hatred were not seen on our High Streets

You are right, but this raises another point.

Have we been told over the years how to think and behave? Has the "You MUST love everyone and accept your culture will be diluted by multiculturalism" agenda actually backfired?

In Britain we do have a divided society. The integration dreamed for hasn't happened everywhere. Most people happily live side by side, but we have HUGE swathes of the country where people do not want to integrate.

You cannot force ideals on people. People resent being told how to think or behave. Taking the moral high ground and saying this is the only way forward isn't going to work. It's a fairly aggressive stance, sidelining anyone who has objections. They become the people not playing ball - but should they have to?

I suspect most of us take one another as we find them. Colour, background or race doesn't enter into it. People are interesting and diversity is good and enlightening. I firmly believe that. We educate our children to not see differences but to embrace the way we are alike.

I suspect in decades we have done heck of a lot of wall-papering over cracks. It hasn't been accepted that thinking differently is allowed. A political correctness has deemed that we do not have discussions about what troubles or concerns us. This is where we went astray imo.

Look how quickly both the Labour and Tory parties put immigration high on their agendas once UKIP opened that can of worms. People were allowed for once to voice their views and the two main political parties were forced to recognise it was a subject that had to be talked about because it concerned many people.

You can deny or accept that.

We talk about immigration because aspects of it are of concern. Yes, it's given racists a platform, but to equate everyone as racist who has concerns is going back to that convenient social wall-papering over cracks.

Discussion is good. To stifle discussion because it doesn't fit your agenda is bad.

It's a lazy response to label everyone who has concerns about immigration (for a myriad of reasons) as racist.

I can't remember until perhaps 10 years ago people marching through the middle of a city chanting slogans that I can't repeat because they are racist and shouting at people that they should go home. But perhaps you live in a sheltered country haven and haven't seen the very real hatred now being expressed. If you don't think it exists why do you think the money is being committed?
I don't think there was ever an age when everyone loved everyone, but there was certainly a time when expressions of hatred were not seen on our High Streets

When did we live in this glorious age when everybody loved one another, trusted one another, lived with equal opportunities, equal income and love in their hearts for everyone, no matter where they came from?

There never was such a time, we all know that. But although divisiveness was always there in the background there was a feeling that we had become a more diverse and tolerant society, if only because it was no longer as overt as it was a few decades ago.

I feel that Brexit has brought it all bubbling back to the surface, the Leave focus on immigration has brought out the extremists who believe that their hatred is condoned by that 52% vote, and that it won't go away again.

day6 you are right. Except if you look at history, there are times when the divide is much greater than others.

There has always been racism, always been a divided society, every generation has tried to change it, never succeeded, improvements yes but the utopia of equality for all isn't going to happen.

I agree totally Day6

A divided society.

Can anyone tell me when this Utopia existed when society WASN'T divided in one way or another? When did it happen, because in my 60+ years I missed it.

When did we live in this glorious age when everybody loved one another, trusted one another, lived with equal opportunities, equal income and love in their hearts for everyone, no matter where they came from?

It's an ideal but sadly you cannot tell people how they should think and behave and what they should like or dislike. Life is unfair and always has been.

All we can do is educate our children to be more broadminded. Wringing our hands about immigration not being a wonderful notion gets us nowhere and is an excuse to, dare I say it, throw a little more hatred around in the direction of those who wanted out of the EU.

Same old same old on the politics forum, wrapped in another guise.

It's so difficult when you hear the rants being yelled out and see the people who are doing this. I feel I have more in common with the students from other countries than with the people who are yelling about keeping this country British. The Britain they want isn't the one I want. I try very hard to understand what has made them behave the way they do, but really I can't.

its not just about the benefits they bring though,its about treating EVERYONE as equal surely.I dont understand where all this racist stuff is coming from...well I do Mr Farage and his cohorts elling folk "foreigners" were taking their jobs,using their health services and taking benefits they weren't entitled to!We NEED immmigration ,MOST immigrants work ,pay tax and contribute to their communities ...well they do here in Scotland