What are your unpopular opinions? (Vol. 2)

[Countdown]

Lotusgone said:

I don't understand why diversity is thought by many to be a good thing.

China does not have a diverse population, and it's doing pretty well. Same with Japan. I don't think India is particularly diverse, and they have nuclear weapons and a space program.

The US is probably the most diverse country in the world and look how rubbish their economy is.

[Punctilio]

Lotusgone said:

I don't understand why diversity is thought by many to be a good thing.

China does not have a diverse population, and it's doing pretty well. Same with Japan. I don't think India is particularly diverse, and they have nuclear weapons and a space program.

Now, No, don't annoy the wokeists with your incontrovertible facts.

I just got them off to sleep.

[nickfrog]

Punctilio said:

Lotusgone said:

I don't understand why diversity is thought by many to be a good thing.

China does not have a diverse population, and it's doing pretty well. Same with Japan. I don't think India is particularly diverse, and they have nuclear weapons and a space program.

Now, No, don't annoy the wokeists with your incontrovertible facts.

I just got them off to sleep.

Talking of facts, still no evidence to back up your original claim. I thought you got to sleep.

As for being woke, personally I wouldn't know as it wasn't invented when I realised how important diversity was. I simply travelled quite a lot, read a few books, that kind of things.

[Blib]

Countdown said:

The US is probably the most diverse country in the world and look how rubbish their economy is.

I'd wager that the UK is more diverse, than vast swathes of the US, thanks to our Empire.

And, all the better for it, too.

[singlecoil]

I don't really have a position on diversity, but am interested in why people think it's a good thing.

[lrdisco]

nickfrog said:

Punctilio said:

Lotusgone said:

I don't understand why diversity is thought by many to be a good thing.

China does not have a diverse population, and it's doing pretty well. Same with Japan. I don't think India is particularly diverse, and they have nuclear weapons and a space program.

Now, No, don't annoy the wokeists with your incontrovertible facts.

I just got them off to sleep.

Talking of facts, still no evidence to back up your original claim. I thought you got to sleep.

As for being woke, personally I wouldn't know as it wasn't invented when I realised how important diversity was. I simply travelled quite a lot, read a few books, that kind of things.

India not diverse? Are you smoking crack? India has 22 different recognised languages.
As many different cultures as Europe, a huge range of cuisines, different religions from Hindu to Sikh to Muslim to Christianity to Buddhist etc etc and all the shades there of.
Look at photos of people from Kerala and from Srinagar. Kerala mainly dark skinned- Srinagar mainly very light skinned.

[deckster]

Blib said:

Countdown said:

The US is probably the most diverse country in the world and look how rubbish their economy is.

I'd wager that the UK is more diverse, than vast swathes of the US, thanks to our Empire.

And, all the better for it, too.

I don't disagree, but would also invite the interested reader to correlate cultural diversity with relative prosperity of the different parts of the US.

[OldSkoolRS]

singlecoil said:

I don't really have a position on diversity, but am interested in why people think it's a good thing.

Perhaps on a very basic level; why be nasty/rude/ignore someone because they are different from us in some way? If they are a twunt once you've met them, that's fair enough and I've met enough people of my own ethnic/sexual/whatever group who are twunts too, so I'm treating them equally on that score.

My son came out of University very much in the mindset that I'm sure many would label as 'woke', I think initially there was some level of looking at us like 'the enemy' but the answer to most of his arguments was that I'd treat them all the same; if they are a horrible person, then I don't care what colour they are, who they sleep with, etc I just don't want to know them. I'm allowed to not like them because of them being a horrible person, but not who they sleep with, etc.

However if I met someone who is a decent person and I enjoy their company then why would I care about those things? It was perhaps too simplistic an argument, but I think the idea eventually got through; judge people on their merits and not their colour, sex, sexual orientation, origin, etc.

Yours...a mid 50s 'Gammon' (as I'm sure some might assume).

[deckster]

lrdisco said:

India not diverse? Are you smoking crack? India has 22 different recognised languages.
As many different cultures as Europe, a huge range of cuisines, different religions from Hindu to Sikh to Muslim to Christianity to Buddhist etc etc and all the shades there of.
Look at photos of people from Kerala and from Srinagar. Kerala mainly dark skinned- Srinagar mainly very light skinned.

I suspect the nearest our monocultured friends have got to India is their local curry house. The concept that there is more to Indian diversity than Cobra or Kingfisher would make their brains explode.

[Blib]

deckster said:

I suspect the nearest our monocultured friends have got to India is their local curry house. The concept that there is more to Indian diversity than Cobra or Kingfisher would make their brains explode.

Which, more often than not, is staffed by Bangladeshis.

[singlecoil]

OldSkoolRS said:

singlecoil said:

I don't really have a position on diversity, but am interested in why people think it's a good thing.

Perhaps on a very basic level; why be nasty/rude/ignore someone because they are different from us in some way? If they are a twunt once you've met them, that's fair enough and I've met enough people of my own ethnic/sexual/whatever group who are twunts too, so I'm treating them equally on that score.

My son came out of University very much in the mindset that I'm sure many would label as 'woke', I think initially there was some level of looking at us like 'the enemy' but the answer to most of his arguments was that I'd treat them all the same; if they are a horrible person, then I don't care what colour they are, who they sleep with, etc I just don't want to know them. I'm allowed to not like them because of them being a horrible person, but not who they sleep with, etc.

However if I met someone who is a decent person and I enjoy their company then why would I care about those things? It was perhaps too simplistic an argument, but I think the idea eventually got through; judge people on their merits and not their colour, sex, sexual orientation, origin, etc.

Yours...a mid 50s 'Gammon' (as I'm sure some might assume).

Thank you for the detailed answer, though in your first paragraph you talk about racial discrimination, which is surely a different thing to diversity (which I would see as a society containing many different races and cultures and is not about discrimination).

I'm asking specifically about diversity, and why it is seen as a good thing.

[nickfrog]

lrdisco said:

India not diverse? Are you smoking crack? India has 22 different recognised languages.
As many different cultures as Europe, a huge range of cuisines, different religions from Hindu to Sikh to Muslim to Christianity to Buddhist etc etc and all the shades there of.
Look at photos of people from Kerala and from Srinagar. Kerala mainly dark skinned- Srinagar mainly very light skinned.

I don't think you meant to respond to me

[Countdown]

singlecoil said:

I don't really have a position on diversity, but am interested in why people think it's a good thing.

I'll have a go. It lets us experience different cultures, music, cuisines, arts, languages, experiences, skills, knowledge.

The country is a much more interesting and vibrant place because of it.

[singlecoil]

Countdown said:

singlecoil said:

I don't really have a position on diversity, but am interested in why people think it's a good thing.

I'll have a go. It lets us experience different cultures, music, cuisines, arts, languages, experiences, skills, knowledge.

The country is a much more interesting and vibrant place because of it.

Is that really the case though? I live a handful of miles from a large town which has a large ethnic population, and I have yet to experience any of those things. If I wanted to have such experiences I would probably do better to be a tourist in the sub-continent.

[OldSkoolRS]

singlecoil said:

Thank you for the detailed answer, though in your first paragraph you talk about racial discrimination, which is surely a different thing to diversity (which I would see as a society containing many different races and cultures and is not about discrimination).

I'm asking specifically about diversity, and why it is seen as a good thing.

I wasn't talking specifically about racial discrimination, that was one of many diversities I was discussing; I was talking about why I feel it's good to met people who are interesting/funny/nice and not a twunt and judge them based on that. I don't necessarily want or need to travel to places like India, Africa, China or whatever, but I find that meeting (nice) people from those backgrounds is interesting, at least to me: Hearing about different cultures, food, drink and things that we have in common too. If they aren't allowed to be here, how could I do that? Therefore I think that is a good thing.

Same way that when I go on holiday I try to find some places that are more off the tourist track as I don't want to go abroad to eat Fish & Chips, or drink in a 'British' pub. I find it enriching. I've met some great musicians in this way too, so I'd think that's something you might relate to.

However, I get the feeling I'm not going to get anywhere with this, so I'll leave it.

[Countdown]

singlecoil said:

Countdown said:

singlecoil said:

I don't really have a position on diversity, but am interested in why people think it's a good thing.

I'll have a go. It lets us experience different cultures, music, cuisines, arts, languages, experiences, skills, knowledge.

The country is a much more interesting and vibrant place because of it.

Is that really the case though? I live a handful of miles from a large town which has a large ethnic population, and I have yet to experience any of those things. If I wanted to have such experiences I would probably do better to be a tourist in the sub-continent.

I guess everybody's different. I live in Lancashire and I get to go to various concerts, Melas, Indian restaurants on the curry mile, Chinatown, the Caribbean Carnival of Manchester. It's definitely out there. The thing is, for those people who prefer a wholly indigenous cultural experience there are huge swathes of the country where there's little if any "diversity". however isn't it nice to have the option?

[OldSkoolRS]

Countdown said:

I guess everybody's different. I live in Lancashire and I get to go to various concerts, Melas, Indian restaurants on the curry mile, Chinatown, the Caribbean Carnival of Manchester. It's definitely out there. The thing is, for those people who prefer a wholly indigenous cultural experience there are huge swathes of the country where there's little if any "diversity". however isn't it nice to have the option?

Good point; I recently discovered a Sri Lankan restaurant a few doors down from a bar that has a monthly jam night I go to. It's probably not a country that is great to visit at the moment, but it gives a little flavour (literally) of the place.

I also just remembered that I was invited to an Indian friend's wedding a good few years back and that was a totally different experience to any typical English wedding I'd been to.

When we had a street party for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee this summer, the weather wasn't great and we pushed our gazebos together and squeezed extra chairs in. We had a family recently moved in sat under our gazebo and they were from Hong Kong: It's a place I'd loved to have visited, but I missed the chance and probably won't go now. They chatted all about their life there and shared their food with us (and we shared ours with them). I confess I can't remember as much of it as I might as we were also sharing wine, but it made for an interesting afternoon rather than the drudge I thought it might have been.

[Speed addicted]

singlecoil said:

Countdown said:

singlecoil said:

I don't really have a position on diversity, but am interested in why people think it's a good thing.

I'll have a go. It lets us experience different cultures, music, cuisines, arts, languages, experiences, skills, knowledge.

The country is a much more interesting and vibrant place because of it.

Is that really the case though? I live a handful of miles from a large town which has a large ethnic population, and I have yet to experience any of those things. If I wanted to have such experiences I would probably do better to be a tourist in the sub-continent.

You experience the benefits every theme you turn in a radio, music has been influenced hugely by other cultures over a very long time.
Food is drastically better than it would have been without other cultures, not just the obvious curries etc but pretty much everything has benefitted from ideas, flavours, methods.
It’s all part of our culture now, and we’re better for it.

[StescoG66]

OldSkoolRS said:

Perhaps on a very basic level; why be nasty/rude/ignore someone because they are different from us in some way? If they are a twunt once you've met them, that's fair enough and I've met enough people of my own ethnic/sexual/whatever group who are twunts too, so I'm treating them equally on that score.

My son came out of University very much in the mindset that I'm sure many would label as 'woke', I think initially there was some level of looking at us like 'the enemy' but the answer to most of his arguments was that I'd treat them all the same; if they are a horrible person, then I don't care what colour they are, who they sleep with, etc I just don't want to know them. I'm allowed to not like them because of them being a horrible person, but not who they sleep with, etc.

However if I met someone who is a decent person and I enjoy their company then why would I care about those things? It was perhaps too simplistic an argument, but I think the idea eventually got through; judge people on their merits and not their colour, sex, sexual orientation, origin, etc.

Yours...a mid 50s 'Gammon' (as I'm sure some might assume).

+1

[deckster]

singlecoil said:

Is that really the case though? I live a handful of miles from a large town which has a large ethnic population, and I have yet to experience any of those things. If I wanted to have such experiences I would probably do better to be a tourist in the sub-continent.

It is a tragedy that people can walk through life with their eyes so firmly on their own shoes.