I don't really have a dog in this fight, as I'm unaware of the situation with many of these migrants in their own countries. No doubt there are many who are legitimately fleeing their country in fear for their lives, but is there an element that sees Britain as a route to easy money? We have a history of looking after those seeking political asylum, so I have no doubt that there are those who seek to take advantage of our largesse, but are these a small minority?
I understand and agree with the need for stricter control of our borders, there are countries out there with far stricter controls than we have, and many are democratic countries. However, I really don't know what the new policy on immigration control will be, so it's difficult to ascertain whether Lineker is mouthing opposition rhetoric, or if he genuinely has a point.
What I will say is that I have been worried for years about the direction our country is heading in, from a political perspective. Media sources essentially acting as mouthpieces for whichever party they back, rather than challenging all of them on behalf of the voting public. Our media was supposed to be the voice of the people, instead it has become a tool to herd the mob.
Cameras everywhere. London in particular has the highest camera coverage of any city on the planet, with even more going in. "Security" is cited as the reasoning, but I have serious doubts about that security.
Maybe it's paranoia on my part, but I've felt the country has been heading towards a Police State for a while now. When decadence sets in, and it has most definitely taken root in Western society, it opens the path to Fascism. When we are blaming others for our ills instead of questioning our own apathy, because our "leaders" are pointing us in that direction, subtly or not, then we are taking the first steps towards losing our own freedoms.
Freedom of speech and thought has to be fought for. If it is taken for granted then at some point we will lose it all from a gradual erosion of those freedom's. We can kid ourselves that losing one or two, for the "greater good," is acceptable, but once you start that compromise, where does it end?
History has taught us these lessons over thousands of years, yet it happens over and over again because we become complacent and can't be bothered so long as we are still getting our creature comforts.
I look at the language being used in response to Lineker's comments and can't help but feel that there is a fascist mentality at play here. They are demanding that the BBC censor him, effectively demanding that he be silenced because he questions their motives. Yes he could have used a different comparison, but I'm not so sure he's that wrong here just judging from the reaction. Instead of addressing the comments in a democratic fashion, they're shouting for him to be silenced. That is fascism, the forcible suppression of opposition.
Lineker might be an insufferable twat, but let's not allow personal dislike of a person to cloud our own reasoning. His comments may be inflammatory, but sometimes they need to be to wake up an apathetic populace. I'd rather this, where people stop and think "does he have a point," than have these media people toe a political line and either just mouth platitudes or, possibly even worse, turn a blind eye to it because they are in a position of privilege that they don't want to have taken away from them.
He may be wrong in his thinking, as may I, but if he causes enough people to question/challenge their own apathy, get them thinking for themselves rather than letting media do their thinking for them, then surely this is a good thing?
. When the reality is, compared to other countries of similar size / wealth such as France or Germany, we actually take in far fewer.
