Race and racism.

An issue that makes us all feel somewhat uncomfortable and uneasy is race and racism. Due to the shadow of WW2 and the Holocaust we have rightly felt sensitive about the problem. Nevertheless we must address it before is takes on a more fatal form. The rise of UKip has made us face the facts. Talking about immigration is not necessarily racist, but of course it can be. Those who are at the bottom of the economic pile are the ones most threatened by mass immigration, they don't have the education or necessary job skills for a good standard of living. This group is mainly white working class - white is the new black! The chattering classes don't have the confidence to talk openly about the race issue. We must get that confidence and not sweep it under the political and economic carpet. The biggest issue is immigration from the EU with open boarders. So Cameron claiming to reduce that to the tens of thousands was an impossible task and has done his credibility no good at all. Our attitude to immigration is also an age thing with the young far more accepting that the older generations. All this was examined in an excellent Channel 4 programme introduced by Trevor Phillips on Thursday night Things We Won't Say About Race That Are True.