You raise an interesting point. Immigrants have always provided a pool of low-paid, "unskilled", labour, which has allowed the existing population to pursue upward social mobility. These immigrants, as they become established in their new homeland, make way for new cycles of immigration. Because of the human drive to improve their lot in life, successive generations will achieve education and career goals that their parents could scarcely dream of.the_inescapable_truth wrote:Something I've considered before is that by 'supporting' immigration I am, for all intents and purposes, justifying what is essentially the continued creation of an underclass. Sort of.
So long as the underclass undergoes perpetual renewal, and that the members of that group move up through the social strata, immigration is a good thing (quite aside from the benefits that it brings in terms of arts, culture and society).
The problem is that there will be members of the underclass that are left behind, either through their own fault or through misfortune. These people see the successive waves of immigrants as a threat to their existence, being prepared to do the same work for less pay and having greater social ambition.
Additionally, as the roles that have traditionally been performed by the underclass are increasingly technologised, there are fewer low-skill jobs to go around. As these jobs are taken by immigrants who are prepared to work longer hours for less pay than the established population, the BNP and its ilk finds fertile recruiting grounds: "The darkies/wops/wogs/chinks are taking jobs that belong to local people - you should do something about it (and while we're not exactly saying that you should firebomb their houses, if you decided to take matters into your own hands then you won't find us standing in your way)."
This approach is, of course, a lot easier than telling people, "If you want a better life then you need to work to achieve it." There will always be people who want something for nothing, and the BNP panders to this element.
So everyone in the world is obviously Irish! 
