The Right, The Family & Multicultural Paranoia

I’ve just been to yet another University debate about multiculturalism. Obviously, the usual points never fail to crop up, but I will only speak about two of them: the supposedly obvious failure of anything multicultural, and the lack of migrant integration. I shall start with the former. If I had a Maltese pound (obviously, we’re patriotic ain’t we?) for every time somebody used the Netherlands and France as obvious examples of multiculturalism’s supposed failure, I wouldn’t be writing this article. I would be kicking it on some tropical beach with a massive cocktail in hand.

Unfortunately I don’t get money for stupid arguments, so write a blog I must. I will not go into how conflict between different cultures is usually inspired by structural inequalities, nor would I go into the fact that race and culture are the easiest things around which one can mobilise people. I will only say: if these rightists viewed the slightest of conflict or dysfunction as undeniable proof that something is a complete failure, then we can proclaim the failure of everything from Juventus to the concept of the family. Using the same - pardon me as I use the word – logic, a couple of cases of divorce or separation should be enough to declare the concept of the family dead. Now separations in Malta, and divorce in the rest of the world (yes we’re not retarded civil-liberties-wise, we’re just special) do not amount to just a couple (pun semi-unintended); the number of dysfunctional families is massive, yet ironically enough, not only doesn’t the Right (arse holes) declare the death of the family, they claim that it is, along with the patria (tee-hee-hee), the bulwark of their ideology. Strikes as a little bit odd, doesn’t it? Their methodology (can you call it that?) is just plain retarded. Let’s change context, shall we? I get food poisoning from a restaurant, so obviously, restaurants are a bad idea. Duh! No other explanation possible. I’m telling you man, I went to a restaurant, I got food-poisoning. Isn’t it obvious? Restaurant = baaaaaaad. This pseudo-analysis is obviously flawed from its inception. I don’t think you need a genius to know that if you want to understand multiculturalism (or restaurants), you analyse multiculturalism (or restaurants), not potential conflicts (or food poisoning). But this is pretty basic no? I’m sure you don’t need private lessons from Einstein to figure this one out. So we’ll skip to the next point. Integration.

Now this is a bit tricky. How often have we heard that migrants don’t want to integrate but just want to form their own exclusive ghettos? You wouldn’t be blamed if you think that ghettos are the new penthouses. People are dying to live in them! And since detention centres are sporting 5 starts nowadays, you wouldn’t be wrong to assume that ghettos must be the bee’s knees. But that’s not really relevant so let’s get back on track. This integration business isn’t simple. Integration needs effort from both ways. It’s like a handshake. You can’t shake your hand in the air now can you? But once again the Rightists don’t get it. And neither do I get them, to tell you the truth. They whine about how immigrants form ghettos but they don’t want to integrate with them. They whine about them forming ghettos but they don’t want them next door. Makes no sense.

Through the type of speech that comes out from the mouths of the rightists, the immigrants are turned into a babaw. The babaw who comes here to steal your job, fuck your wife and take your seat on the bus, not to mention blot our pure white (haha) complexion! Consequently people fear them, which means that they would rather not live next to them. The stereotype feeds the discrimination which in turn results in landowners not wanting them as their tenants for such reasons as xenophobia and property value. So what happens when a block of flats is indeed ready to accept everybody? What do you think happens? The normal thing happens! People talk and before you know it those that have not been accepted elsewhere go to live where they are. The result? Ghettos galore. Integration is a handshake. Do you keep putting your hand out to people who have rejected your hand for countless times? I wouldn’t. And probably nobody would. But don’t worry about my absurdities. What the hell do I know? I’m just a radical leftist…

Ironically enough, when the ‘discussion’ at University ended, the organisers of the debate handed out free pizzas, offered to them by their sponsors. It was funny to see the anti-multiculturalists pigging out on the pizzas. What a sight to see! Stupid me. There I was thinking they’d refuse it and call for some bragoli and bigilla…