Sikh School To Be Built In Slough, England.

[chalice]

Slough
Come friendly bombs and fall on Slough!
It isn't fit for humans now,
There isn't grass to graze a cow.
Swarm over, Death!


Come, bombs and blow to smithereens
Those air -conditioned, bright canteens,
Tinned fruit, tinned meat, tinned milk, tinned beans,
Tinned minds, tinned breath.

Mess up the mess they call a town-
A house for ninety-seven down
And once a week a half a crown
For twenty years.

And get that man with double chin
Who'll always cheat and always win,
Who washes his repulsive skin
In women's tears:

And smash his desk of polished oak
And smash his hands so used to stroke
And stop his boring dirty joke
And make him yell.

But spare the bald young clerks who add
The profits of the stinking cad;
It's not their fault that they are mad,
They've tasted Hell.

It's not their fault they do not know
The birdsong from the radio,
It's not their fault they often go
To Maidenhead

And talk of sport and makes of cars
In various bogus-Tudor bars
And daren't look up and see the stars
But belch instead.

In labour-saving homes, with care
Their wives frizz out peroxide hair
And dry it in synthetic air
And paint their nails.

Come, friendly bombs and fall on Slough
To get it ready for the plough.
The cabbages are coming now;
The earth exhales.

[Biggles]

Is that a Betjeman?

[chalice]

Is that a Betjeman?

Indeed, Biggles!

[Rat Faced]

Saw this at another forum. I was intrigued by the post. I know it is proper etiquette to put my own opinion first, but I'm just curious to see where this thread travels here in comparison to where it did in its original forum.

I havent read the rest of the thread, so i dont know how its digressed..

I have no problem with this as long as they are following the National Curriculum like all other State Funded Schools.

If they wish to contribute extra, like Catholic Schools do or CofE supported Schools do, in order to teach their Religion or extra stuff too... good for them.

I have noticed repeatedly that the Church Supported schools around this part of the country at least, appear to have better educated and better behaved kids...

...until they hit their teens at least, then they seem to go even further overboard than the other kids

I wonder if this is because the purely State Funded schoolkids are rebelling all the way through, instead of saving it all up

[Spicker]

Go brown ppl

[hobbes]

I think in a diverse culture, encouraging separtion is a bad idea. School is a place to meet and develop social skills, equal in importance to reading and writing.

Religious teaching can be taught at home and in religious instituitions. We don't have religion based government funded, housing, hospital care, roads or national parks, why are schools an exception.

Government money should encourage unification, not segregation.

Could I get approval to have an all Aryan School with the government picking up the tab. Sweet.

This is my opinion, if the people in the UK are happy, that is their choice, but one I disagree with.

Here is a post that I have edited from the orginal thread. The author touches on the subject of what obligation a country has to adjust to the special needs or desires of immigrants:

Our way of life is rare and under constant attack, and our ability to sustain it is precarious. Our kind of lifestyle - with its stability, prosperity, and ease - is rare, and in demand the world over, and a considerable wave of people everywhere want to leave their own country to come here to start a new life. Indeed, this is the bond that unites our population!

New Canadians should be encouraged to integrate and become part of our country, and should be encouraged to vote and to contribute to defining how our culture and its characteristics should develop. We do not need, however, distinct pockets of populations that are united by foreign religious, language or cultural ties! These pockets can – and do – concentrate to dominate local populations to further political and other agendas that can be very contrary to our own values.

As an example of such domination, I went into a local bank the other day (just outside Toronto), and NO-ONE at the wickets spoke English, or indeed, French – only Cantonese (or, maybe, Mandarin)! The teller called someone from the back that came and could speak English, but the point is clear; this is a sub culture that is well-defined enough to be utterly and alarmingly separate from mainstream society!

While I hope that we shall always have a strong tolerance for all sorts of diversity, the government should not be in the business of [artificially] supporting and encouraging it by giving it special funding and other support of any kind ! By doing so, it is creating future sources of possibly very severe trouble! So, for example, citizenship qualification should include both the ability to speak and write one of our official languages and having some [minimal knowledge] of our political system! Indeed, the “landed immigrant” status’s being extended indefinitely should at least require demonstrating the ability to speak and write an official language of the country!

While I hope that we shall always have a strong tolerance for all sorts of diversity, the government should not be in the business of [artificially] supporting and encouraging it by giving it special funding and other support of any kind ! By doing so, it is creating future sources of possibly very severe trouble! So, for example, citizenship qualification should include both the ability to speak and write one of our official languages and having some [minimal knowledge] of our political system! Indeed, the “landed immigrant” status’s being extended indefinitely should at least require demonstrating the ability to speak and write an official language of the country!

From this viewpoint, it is axiomatic that the government should not be funding schooling to further distinct language, religious, or cultural interests, and indeed, should not be giving special tax relief or consideration to those opting to support such schooling, and so on. Doing this is lunacy, however well-intentioned!

I don't want the US to become little pockets of foreigners, clustered in their rufuge communities, going to their own schools and living amongst themselves, but one country, inhabited by many people of diverse origin, living and working together.

School is a great place to start.

[Biggles]

Hobbes

I understand what you mean but by and large the second and third generation of immigrants tend to assimilate (Borg style) into the host community. They still keep a little of that original culture but the dominant culture tends to be a force difficult to reckon with and a source of much worry to the older generation. The schools will keep some of that culture but they will also look outwards to the wider community.

Did the US not have Jewish, Irish, Polish and Italian communities? It took a while, but eventually they assimilated with just vestigal remnants of their origins showing (very evolutionary )

[vidcc]

One interesting thing i find about the USA which i didn't mention because the original post was british is that many Americans have this same "if they come here they should live as we do" attitude...yet is that what Americans did when "they came here" ? The USA was rebuilt on changing the country...not intergrating.

I don't have any problem with other nationalities coming into England to live, however, I believe that anyone coming to live in my country should live as I live.

I would also repeat another point i made... that is... why is the assumption that the people of this community are immigrants?

America is considered a christian country yet it has a huge muslim population...most of which are not immigrants. Does anyone here suggest that those muslims should live as christians do?
Is the poster arguing that if they ARE immigrants they should convert to his religion and should abandon all knowledge of their past and their religious beliefs?

The arguement over state funding from the original poster seems to have less to do with the fact that the school is a religious school and more to do with racism.

[hobbes]

Hobbes

I understand what you mean but by and large the second and third generation of immigrants tend to assimilate (Borg style) into the host community. They still keep a little of that original culture but the dominant culture tends to be a force difficult to reckon with and a source of much worry to the older generation. The schools will keep some of that culture but they will also look outwards to the wider community.

Did the US not have Jewish, Irish, Polish and Italian communities? It took a while, but eventually they assimilated with just vestigal remnants of their origins showing (very evolutionary )

But why support it? These communities within the US were NOT healthy to the country as a whole. Why not learn from history? Also, I think we are getting an entirely different type of refugee. Many are professionals and well funded who want to re-create a little piece of their homeland abroad.

edit: I added the word "NOT", which makes a wee difference.

[hobbes]

Is the poster arguing that if they ARE immigrants they should convert to his religion and should abandon all knowledge of their past and their religious beliefs?

The arguement over state funding from the original poster seems to have less to do with the fact that the school is a religious school and more to do with racism.

The original poster left many roads for subsequent posts to travel. Whatever hits your radar the hardest.

I think you may be right about the first poster, but I think he more an awkward adolescent than a racist.

The second poster I quoted was a completely different individual (sorry) who goes by Wee Willy. He lives in a mixed race marriage, like yourself.

I am an Irish Canadian living in Canada's Toronto, a city that probably has no serious contender as the most racially and culturally diverse city on the planet! I totally love this racial diversity; indeed, my wife is a member of a "visible minority", and I am not a racial bigot of any kind - I have even been known to like the occasional American!

I thought Willy was more articulate in his expression.