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English vs. Polish hostility [323]
Can someone explain why all the hostility that the English seem to have about the Polish people? I've read some nasty comments written here on the site that for someone living in North America seems rather odd. I'm sure that the visible minorities that have long been harassed take joy in the attention being focused on another group. But seriously, why so much hatred?
I shall try and answer this question in detail but basically there is not a huge amount of hatred towards the Polish migrants in the UK.
1)The situation in the UK is completely different to the USA due to the size and history of the country.
2)It is estimated that since 2004 around 2 million Poles have entered the UK and although many have since returned(many are temporary workers) the permanent Polish migrant population is thought to be around 300,000-600,000.In response to this 6-8 people on this forum have expressed extreme views (out of 61 million people) so it is hardly a huge backlash of hatred.
However,many UK citizens are concerned for the following reasons:
3)Unlike the USA the UK is a small densely populated country of 61 million people.If the USA had the same population density you would have more than 2 billion people (instead of 300 million as now).
This means that when there is a large influx of people over a short period (as there has been with the Polish)then the effects are felt far more quickly than would be the case with a large empty country.
4)Professionals,students and educated Polish migrants are no problem.However,lower wage British people and many self employed plumbers,decorators,builders etc are concerned by the Poles who are doing the same work as themselves.If a Polish migrant comes to the UK for 2-3 years,works in a factory/warehouse,shares a room with 2 other migrants and saves every penny he can return to Poland and start a decent life.He gets higher British wages,tax credits etc but can use cheap Polish dentists,opticians etc on his visits home.British workers do not have this option-even if they lived like that for 3 years the money saved could not pay the deposit on a flat/house in most parts of the UK.
5)Unlike Mexicans etc in the USA,in the UK all Polish workers(after 12 months) are entitled to the same rights and access to benefits-housing subsidy,tax credits(income subsidy),subsidised higher education,free medical treatment as lifetime residents.This might be fair but it means some migrants are receiving far more than they are paying in taxes.It also causes resentment from some lower income UK residents-as it would anywhere.
6)Some Polish migrants are going in vast numbers to areas of the UK previously untouched by immigration.Much of the UK is multicultural but in these other areas some schools and other services have been unprepared for non-English speakers.If you have a town with few foreigners and then 3000-10000 all from one country(Poland) turn up then some friction is to be expected.
7)To be accurate there is very little dislike of Polish people in particular - some people just have legitimate concerns about the sheer number that have come in 2 years.Ignore the hatred on this forum because it represents less than 1% of the UK population.
