No More Kebabs - or Hard Work

[Persephone]

Umberto Bossi (leader of the Northern League) reportedly said
...that immigrants arriving in Italy by boat should be stopped by a cannon that "blows everyone out of the water".

If that does not sound racist then I guess I'm a silly nilly too.

[katier]

glad I'm not the only silly nilly...

[Gala Placidia]

Originally Posted by Persephone

Umberto Bossi (leader of the Northern League) reportedly said
...that immigrants arriving in Italy by boat should be stopped by a cannon that "blows everyone out of the water".

If that does not sound racist then I guess I'm a silly nilly too.

Now, that is a dangerous racist remark which I cannot condone. Immigration is one thing, but protecting a historical enclave is a different matter. Do you think we should start having hot dog stands at the gates of Buckingham Palace?

[Persephone]

I probably did not make my point very clearly.

The thread started with a clear reference to the antics of The Northern League.

Originally Posted by Ghianda

According to the TimesOnline ethnic food retailers in parts of Italy will be facing harsh new curbs on their activity thanks to the continuing marvels of The Northern League. If one quote is accurate we have been granted an incredible insight into the Northern League's utter stupidity in the way it approaches serious issues. Davide Boni, a councillor in Milan for the Northern League, which also opposes the building of mosques in Italian cities, said that kebab shop owners were prepared to work long hours, which was unfair competition.

Italy bans kebabs and foreign food from cities - Times Online

I was trying to illustrate that anything that The Northern League and it's leader have to say, is likely to be xenophobic. I cannot trust the opinions or motives of anyone who can say things like that. And I regard all their policies with suspicion, including those were they use arguments for the preservation of cultural heritage against the rights of people of diverse ethnic origin.

[Charles Phillips]

Originally Posted by Persephone

I was trying to illustrate that anything that The Northern League and it's leader have to say, is likely to be xenophobic.

Well, I'm not saying you are wrong, but you are certainly being blinkered, and about as prejudiced as Umberto Bossi to post a comment like that. Sorry.

[alan h]

Originally Posted by Persephone

I probably did not make my point very clearly.

The thread started with a clear reference to the antics of The Northern League.

..........".Davide Boni, a councillor in Milan for the Northern League, which also opposes the building of mosques in Italian cities, said that kebab shop owners were prepared to work long hours, which was unfair competition".


I was trying to illustrate that anything that The Northern League and it's leader have to say, is likely to be xenophobic. I...........

Perhaps what he meant was that Italian businesses conform to the EU working time directives which prevent staff working excessive hours - whereas a family run/staffed Kebab House doesn't follow the same rules, and therefore has an unfair commercial advantage.


[Don't necessarily agree with him - but I can see where he's coming from]

.

[Persephone]

Originally Posted by Charles Phillips

Well, I'm not saying you are wrong, but you are certainly being blinkered, and about as prejudiced as Umberto Bossi to post a comment like that. Sorry.

My strong views are born out of what I have heard, seen and read about this party together with personal experience of what it is like to be the subject of racial abuse. What am I, and other independent commentators, missing here?

BBC European Affairs Analyst Tamsin Smith, 10 May 2001.

The Northern League… …Now it has turned to a populist and even xenophobic rhetoric...

Peter Popham, The Independent, 27 Nov 2007.

Writing about Cittadella which ‘has become the first town in Italy town who may not live in it: namely the poor, the unemployed and the homeless… …foreigners and immigrants’. The Mayor ‘belongs to the Northern League, the party led by the demagogic Umberto Bossi.’

BBC Aiden Lewis, April 17 2008

The Northern League… … concerns about what critics see as the party's overtly xenophobic stance

Economist, April 17 2008

Led by the eccentric and raucous Umberto Bossi, the xenophobic Northern League did outstandingly well… …Mr Bossi's party is both anti-immigrant and protectionist.


If I am blinkered on this, then perhaps someone could enlighten me. This is the politics section of the forum so is exactly the right place for this debate.


BBC News | EUROPE | Bossi focuses immigration fears

BBC NEWS | Europe | Italy's Northern League resurgent

Silvio Berlusconi | Italy embraces Silvio, again and again | The Economist

Xenophobia in Italy: a fortress fights to keep out poor - Europe, World - The Independent

[Gala Placidia]

It is a historical fact that in times of crisis or recession xenophobia, racism and intolerance thrive. It is the old "look for a escape goat" syndrome. So I am afraid that we are going to hear plenty of all this....

[Ghianda]

I think you are right Persephone to stay suspicious of individual politicians and political parties with a clear track record of prejudice against minorities.

In an article published by the UK based Institute of Race Relations just after the general elections in April 2008 we get more on the "Cannons" reference, and if anyone on the forum remains in any doubt - please do read the full article from the link below.

In June 2003, in an interview with the Corriere della Sera he declared that 'There are two ways to apply the law [to combat illegal immigration] approved a year ago. Either our ships will tackle the illegal migrants' vessels and take on board only the women and children, or else we write down in black and white that force will be used, and that is the way I want it. After the second or third warning, boom ... the cannon roars. The cannon that blows everyone out of the water.'
One might ask whether a man who incites violence in this way is fit to stand for public office. But, unabashed, he and the League recently turned their fire on the Roma. In October 2007, following the arrest of a Roma suspect of Romanian origin for rape and murder, the League (and the Alleanza Nationale) spearheaded a campaign for the introduction of an emergency decree which would collectively punish (through mass deportations) all Romanians for the individual crime of one Roma suspect.

IRR: Why we should fear Italy's Northern League

[Gromit]

Talk about the tread getting side tracked............. from Hot Dogs to Hot Potatoes..