Bigotry is Now Common, Acceptable... and the Top-Liked Comments

ThePrincesTale To give some context: ABC News isn't populated by the same people as Fox News. It's considered more liberal than anything. This was an article about a police report indicating a 57% increase in hate crimes against minorities in the wake of the Brexit referendum. Polish people, Muslims, Sikhs, Indians, anyone that could possibly be seen as an 'immigrant' (even if they're 3rd generation English) have all been targeted by right-wing nationalists. The top comments were those two. Apparently, only immigrants and foreigners can do wrong, not have wrongs committed against them. They are "invaders" who are are always the perpetrators. White citizens are the victims, doesn't matter that the police report says the opposite. These are the most-agreed-with comments because xenophobia and bigotry have become mainstream. Racism is no longer just remarks made in the pub, but an actual part of political discourse. Populist politicians like Farage, Trump, Pauline Hanson have made it acceptable to be a bigot. Foreigners and immigrants are scapegoated and blamed for our problems. Many media outlets run smear campaigns and utilise scare tactics to stoke this sentiment. In the process, our societies are moving away from their foundational Enlightenment ideals of tolerance, fraternity, liberty and progress. It's really horrifying.

audreygrace412 "Apparently, only immigrants and foreigners can do wrong, not have wrongs committed against them." ^ Where did anyone say this? This looks like a debate about who is committing the crime wave, not who is the only one committing crime. I think that claiming that Trump "made it acceptable to be a bigot" when there's no evidence to suggest that is pretty bigoted in itself. I think it's horrifying that people are trying to deflect from real problems by going to labels rather than addressing legitimate concerns. Calling people "bigots" and "xenophobes" when it isn't even true is not going to suddenly make their concerns about immigration disappear. This is not a constructive argument at all, it's just classic name-calling.

ThePrincesTale They didn't say it, but it's a very strong insinuation. This was a [i]police report[/i] on a 57% increase in hate crimes against minorities. There is no ‘debate’ about who perpetuated the crimes. 57% increase in hate crimes against minorities. Not an increase in crimes by immigrants. It is the clearest indication of immigrants (or those who ‘look’ like immigrants) being the victims you can get, from one of the most reputable sources you can get. Yet these people refuse to believe it. Calling these comments out for xenophobia is not “name-calling”, it is calling a spade a spade. If anyone thinks these comments are not xenophobic, what on earth do they think [i]is[/i] xenophobic? I also disagree that my comment and others like it are “not constructive”. Calling out prejudice/bigotry/xenophobia for what it is, to my mind, is a necessity. Trump and similar politicians (Le Pen in France, Geert Wilders in The Netherlands, Hanson is Australia, Farage in Britain) mainstream bigotry by saying outrageous things about immigrants, which are then broadcast far and wide by the media, many times a month… such that after a while, it doesn’t seem so outrageous anymore.

Cinders ^^Don't forget Boris Johnson (but Farage is worse). I have nothing to add, I just wanted to reiterate this point that ThePrincesTale made: "Calling these comments out for xenophobia is not “name-calling”, it is calling a spade a spade. If anyone thinks these comments are not xenophobic, what on earth do they think is xenophobic? I also disagree that my comment and others like it are “not constructive”. Calling out prejudice/bigotry/xenophobia for what it is, to my mind, is a necessity. "