Sociologically speaking, when economic times strikes a country, eg migration, unemployment, low financial funds, hits the pocket of the citizens, objects, people and things are centralised targets of blame -

As a member of a Commonwealth country, a British citizen at birth, my father ventured to new 'invited' pastures with offers of a better lifestyle.
My father worked for many years in this 'invited' pasture, never claimed any form of 'benefits', only made use of the National Health Service for the removal of a troublesome 'wisdom' teeth. He religiously went to work everyday, apart from the troublesome wisdom teeth extraction. the Mother country was showed some degree of kindness, he worked, saved up and purchased a house - nothing new, when he left Grenada his natural mother had died and left him a nice 'concrete' style bungalow house, which he rented during his many years in the Mother Country. So the Mother Country, enhanced his home ownership, as he was already on the homeownership and a small plantation owner.

As soon as my father was offered redundancy after many years for the same company, he departed from the said 'Mother Country' and returned to land of his birth - where today he is enjoying the fresh fish, and fresh daily provisions on offered, and most importantly, he stated 'letting and feeling the sun beat down on my bared back'.

Unlike some returnees, my father does not return to the UK for any reasons, his kids go down to visit him.

So listening to the radio about migrants entering the UK from every continent on the map, leaves me always thinking of my father and mother endless turmoil of work in the UK, keeping home, feeding their children etc.

Why my father came, he entered 'Southampton' by 'invitation' from the 'Mother
Country' - he was sensible enough to stay clear from the Mother Country hostilities including her own native citizens - by focusing on maintaining his wellbeing and his children's. Well done Dad.

So, I say to the Mother Country - Mother please grow up, show kindness, learn from your mistakes of the way you treated your 'step sons and step daughters' who was invited to come and see the 'cold' lands of their invitees.

Thank you Ms. Jourdaine for such an insightful and thoughtful post.

Hey Spotter, the thrust of the Lady's argument is mine also for rejecting the basic conservative agenda. The British Conservatives and American Republicans are the prime supporters of what the Lady has forcefully condemned.
Too bad my response to you can't be posted for what they call SPAM!

Tony, picking up on your 'post thread' for Spotter, but I had to add one or two 'spots' to 'picking up your thread'....

I wish to point out, that the post was written regardless of the type of government in office (be it [Conservative or Labour]!) I must add, after years of toil in the UK, my father an ardent World Service radio listener, became well conversant with World politics - constant use of this media resource, left him excellently self educated, articulation of a high degree and conversant with global affairs and whilst maintaining his usually 'low profile'. As young adults, growing up in London, we were subjected, as you are aware, of cycles varying duration of Labour and Conservative governments, and at one stage, the LabLib pact.

With regard to the Mother Country, 'how bad a mother is a bad mother', I believe that despite independence of its colonies, the UK should have always maintained within or under its wings tight 'reciprocal' arrangements with its colonies. Our British status, should have remained intact, Caribbean folks, after their horrific slavery ancestral past should have been given a British passport without having to register as British citizens after independence of some islands at a price. As any 'Mother Country' wants the best for their children even though the children have fled the nest or roam away in want of their new found independence status, or even lost their way - for even 'distant mothers' show concern for kids who have gone of the track. With the present economic situation, some now 'adult children' who had fled the nest are returning home to live with their parents due to lack of finance for an independent lifestyle - so similarly, if an ex colonial country is under financial constraints they should be able like the 'child' to return to 'Mother' for assistance. A good 'Mother Country', should never abandon their flock or subjected them to any form of ill-treatment or show favouritism or worst of all 'shun' them in favour the new kids on the block who at times shows no interest or knows nothing or cares nothing about the colonial past with regard to our Britishness - and worst of all, I wonder who may have to pay for the sins of the 'bad Mother'?

Lady G,

Try as one may to extricate oneself from the jaws of politics, the intrinsic nature of its sometimes intrusiveness, impacts just about every aspect of our lives, hence making it unavoidable. One may choose to ignore the impact by practicing direct avoidance through abdication but eventually, the impact of those major decisions that effect our existance would eventually fall on one side of the political divide or the other. "Pegging the hole of Liberalism or Conservativism" is how I sometimes refer to it because there is no "middle of accommodation" in this case.

Your entire rebuttal, in particular the last paragraph is the anthesis of Spotter's conservative approach and the individualism dogma he opined in his two posts. In fact, your post runs congruent to the philosophy of government and its ifluence in bettering the lot of us expatriates. What seems to cause the baffle among those to the "right" (Black folks) that tout "American conservatism and individualism" is the acute state of constant denial and confusion in them, not being able to distinguish the difference between our common West Indian values, vis a vis those of the fewer rich and much more powerful fringe element of the real conservative establishment. They fail to realize that there is no room for us (as immigrants) in that group, yet they will try to convince you of all the "sins" of liberslism even when they benefitted tremendously from them.

They conveniently forget the altruistic motto of liberalism as etched on our Statue of Liberty, for which we all smiled upon reading and took comfort in knowing of the new life that awaits all of us.< b> "Give me your tired, your poor/Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free" is indeed the path your Dad and many of our West Indian folks took. It is also an antithesis to Conservatism and Individualism not forgetting its associative Libertarianism now being practice with a twisted interpretation and exclusionary sentiments of hate. But remembering very well it was this deadly combination that kept us in Chains, Shackles and "Jimcroweism" for which some of our Black folks want us now to forget.

Those misguided souls like Colin Powel (being the most promonant) Thomas Sowel, Michael Stele, Julius Caesar Watt and Herman Caine have all met their waterloo by the conservative establishment when they were envisioned as having political aspirations.
So maybe it was Spotter we should have consulted for guidance before we made the choice between the POTUS and Mitt Romney?

VJL

Verne, nothing more can or should be added to your very poignant observation. Repeating it over and over again seems to be the best way of adding punch to it.

>>What seems to cause the baffle among those to the "right" (Black folks) that tout "American conservatism and individualism" is the acute state of constant denial and confusion in them, not being able to distinguish the difference between our common West Indian values, vis a vis those of the fewer rich and much more powerful fringe element of the real conservative establishment. They fail to realize that there is no room for us (as immigrants) in that group, yet they will try to convince you of all the "sins" of liberslism even when they benefitted tremendously from them.<<

One day hopefully, Caribbean folks will wake up and realize that our type of conservatism does not include the introduction of Jim Crow laws to keep Black people "in their place." Nor does it include feathering and tarring people just because they are black. And it certainly does not include refusing to let a soldier's remains from the battlefield "fighting for freedom" to be buried in the "white" cemetery.

Spotter is correct in saying that most Caribbean people are generally of a conservative nature. Yes indeed we strive to do better and believe that we can make if only we really try. But to say that we are like American conservatives is a cardinal error and far from reality that sooner or later, we all will come face to face with.

And finally politics is in and with every one of us whether we realize it or not. It is inescapable if you live in any society.

>>>>>>......Spotter is correct in saying that most Caribbean people are generally of a conservative nature. <<<<<<

I am willing to give him full credit for that observation but inasmuch as he/she had so badly defined conservatism by associating it with the vitriolic hatred coming from the likes of Glen Beck and Rush Limbaugh, I would beg for a revisitation.

Spotter, this is an open invitation for you to come back and teach us something.
Trust me when I tell you "me head doh hard"

VJL

HEY LADY GENEVIEVE JOURDAINE,following your posts (ARE you speaking for all of US who came to the UK in the early years just like your parent,OR ARE you just SPEAKING about ONE SELF ( Only Asking Just A Simple YES OR NO is Satisfactory)

A pleasant Autumn season to you Melo - Just picking up on your spun thread, now, 'Mother' has taught me to avoid giving a respond with a yes or no, 'Mother' wants me to be impressive by putting all offered academic talents to good use, and would get cross if I answer yes or no - and I do not want to upset 'Mother'.

Some of the contents of my post was written from a personal sociological ethno perspective, but most it was based on my personal experiences inclusive of my father - No doubt you would agree, that it would be impossible or unfeasible for me to 'parle' (or write a post on behalf of the West Indian community who came to the Mother Country, after adults were invited to take up employment in factories, transport services and other employment sectors, to help build up the Mother Country!

Every man, woman, child (old enough of course) or family would have their own version of events with regard to providing their own answers to the question, with regard to Mother Country 'how bad a mother is a bad mother' .

On reflection, I will continue with my question, 'how bad a mother is a bad mother' - this mother had to pass laws so that 'black' colonial folks could be at least treated with some courtesy, not straight away, but when things were becoming unbearable for some of 'her bewildered colonial tropical step siblings' years down their journey line - at the time when my father and mother arrived in the 'hands' of Mother Country, they were deemed as black folks....years down the line, poor Mother Country had to make amendments via ethnic monitoring as to the classification of her colonial siblings - black Caribbean, black Other, black Commonwealth.


Poor 'Mother Country', is it because 'Mother' had no Father to help her - would the Caribbean folks had fared better if 'Mother Country' was deemed 'Father Country' - figuratively speaking, was Mother Country a 'single mother' by personal choice because Mother just wanted to rule the waves of her tropical ancestral siblings.