On xenophobia and other links

News | Edward Harrison | July 28, 2010 12:30 pm |

Is this xenophobia?

Xenophobia can manifest itself in many ways involving the relations and perceptions of an ingroup towards an outgroup, including a fear of losing identity, suspicion of its activities, aggression, and desire to eliminate its presence to secure a presumed purity.
-Wikipedia

I would argue that latent xenophobia always comes to the surface during periods of economic insecurity. This is natural. So I certainly see the links below as manifestations of xenophobia. The question is whether the policy remedies used to allay the economic insecurities are appropriate. For example, Pat Buchanan makes a number of valid arguments in the article on academia. What should be done, then?

My take: there is always going to be some measure of ‘xenophobia overreach’ in tough times. How much is the question. Discussing these divisive issues without a reptilian response is difficult but necessary to avoid particularly nasty cases of xenophobia overreach. I disagree with the ethos underlying Buchanan’s take on losing white America. But perception is reality and he does seem to be expressing views many voters have. What about addressing these concerns constructively instead of dismissing them out of hand?

The Usual Fare

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Daniel
Demand for labour continues to improve

Die Arbeitskräftenachfrage hat sich vom krisenbedingten Einbruch erholt.
Gegenüber Oktober 2008 - der Monat bevor die Auswirkungen der Wirtschaftskrise am Arbeitsmarkt
sichtbar wurden - liegt der BA-X erstmals einen Punkt im Plus.

http://www.pub.arbeitsagentur.de/hst/services/statistik/000100/html/sonder/bax/ba-x-juli2010.pdf

interesting fact of the day

Das Erfolgsprinzip ließ die Aldi-Brüder zu den reichsten Männern Deutschlands aufsteigen. Trotz Wirtschaftskrise behaupteten sich Karl und Theo Albrecht nach Schätzungen des "Manager Magazins" auch 2009 auf Platz eins und zwei der reichsten Deutschen. Sie verfügten über ein geschätztes Vermögen von 17,35 beziehungsweise 16,75 Mrd. Euro. Während die beiden reichsten Deutschen ihr Vermögen durch den Verkauf von Discountware schufen, ist der Blick nach Frankreich interessant. Der reichste Franzose, Bernard Arnault, machte sein Vermögen mit Luxusgütern - und ist heute Inhaber des Luxusgüterkonglomerats LVMH.

http://www.ftd.de/unternehmen/industrie/:die-aldi-idee-der-meister-des-harddiscounts/50150005.html?page=2

tjfxh
The future demographics are clear. White America is soon to be a phenomenon of the past. Good riddance.

There will be piles of ink wasted on discussing this "momentous" non-issue. It is largely a non-issue because the generations coming along don't even notice it, for the most part anyway, rural communities notwithstanding perhaps.

It's chiefly a geezer pseudo-problem, and we will be gone soon enough. (Pat Buchanan was a classmate of mine.) Thank heaven our children and grandchildren have more sense around this than we do.

Namazu
The younger generations may be less conscious of race, but they'll be confronting institutions created under a different mind set. Race-based affirmative action in college admissions is highly problematic and highly entrenched. Imagine trying to "fix" it in good times, let alone against a backdrop of negative social mood. I share your optimism, but in the long run.

tjfxh
But look at if from the other side. A lot of the problems today are the result of a traditional discrimination. Women have not completely caught up yet. Thank heaven we are finally beginning to address these issues after the Civil War, women's suffrage movement, Brown v. Board of Education, the Civil Rights Act, the feminist movement, etc. It's been a long, slow slog for women and minorities. And yet, we still have festering problems. Hopefully, this will be past us before long, and people of the future will look back and wonder what it was all about.