It's not the immigrants fault that you are poor !!
By shelly
@shellyjaneo (1081)
United Kingdom
December 13, 2015 8:10am CST
OK this might annoy a lot of people and I am sorry if it does but I have had years of hearing people blame immigrants for their lives being so rubbish here in the UK and now with all this Donald Trump nonsense going around the internet I am hearing it from Americans as well.
Here is the bottom line : They are willing to do the jobs that you are not willing to do! I worked in an abattoir for a few months when I first moved to England from Wales (I guess that makes me sort of an Immigrant) and the majority of the factory staff were either Polish or Romanian. Now this wasn't because they got there first and stole the jobs from the poor British unemployed, it wasn't because the pay was so rubbish that it wasn't worth the average british person who is used to benefits taking the job, no infact they paid well, about £7.50 an hour ($11.40), they got 4 weeks paid holiday and sick pay. It is a good job. There was a mixture of men and woman doing the jobs about 70:30 and a range of ages.
So why were there no British staff except for in the offices ?
Because no British people would do it, it is as simple as that. It is a hard job that is a little bit gross and you have to deal with dead animals and meat all day long. Now those same british people that the company campaigned for to try and get them to join the company are the same ones complaining about these damn Immigrants coming over here stealing our jobs.
I will be honest I would hate to work in the actual factory, but if it was between then and going on benefits I would be the first in line because I want to work, I have always worked I have been on benefits for 4 months in my life and even then I was working 1 day a week but was struggling to find anything else. When I moved here I worked in an abattoir even though I used to be Vegetarian, it used to make me cry when I saw the trucks come in with the sheep on and the smell made me sick but I worked because that's what you do if you want to work.
And the same goes for America, if Mexicans want to come to America and work their arses of to make a better life for themselves and you won't work unless you can earn a wage well above your skill level then the problem is you not the Mexicans.
If you want to work there is work out there, it may not be great work it may not pay well but at least you can have some dignity in the morning that you are taking control of your own life and doing what you can to better yourself because sitting on your backside (my original word got me told off oopsi) blaming the rest of the world for your problems is not going to get you anywhere.
Rant Over !!
P.S Obviously there are exceptions, there are people who can't work because they genuinely can't and there are bad immigrants but this is aimed at the general population not the exceptions x
25 people like this
25 responses
@LadyDuck (471421)
• Switzerland
13 Dec 15
Very good sensible post and everything well said. You are fully right, most of the time immigrants do the jobs that local people consider rubbish. Here in Switzerland all the waiter and waiters are immigrants or foreign workers and if they should decide to stop working, I would love to see what restaurants would do here.
5 people like this
@shellyjaneo (1081)
• United Kingdom
13 Dec 15
It is the same in the UK we would have hardly any taxi drivers, no cleaners, no people working in the factories and on the other end of the scale we would be very short of Doctors and Nurses x
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (471421)
• Switzerland
13 Dec 15
@shellyjaneo I forgot about the Doctors and Nurses, here in the south they are all Italians.
2 people like this
@shellyjaneo (1081)
• United Kingdom
13 Dec 15
@LadyDuck You would be in the same situation as us then, it is crazy I don't think any country would survive with completely closed borders x
1 person likes this
@garymarsh6 (23404)
• United Kingdom
13 Dec 15
You certainly have not offended me I agree with you. This has been an historical problem and not a recent one. However that being said depending on what area you are living in there is a high percentage of people coming here taking the housing stock before British people have the chance to get it.
As for those who come solely to claim benefits which is then squirrelled back to their homelands without so much as wanting to actually work for it I must object. Most jobs in London pay the basic minimum wage which most people would not even get out of bed for.
However there are many who will swallow their pride and take such jobs and I would too if I ever were in that situation but the fault is with the government topping up peoples pay with benefits whilst these big conglomerates such as Starbucks and the like pay no taxes in the UK even now Cadburys have also been bought out by a USA company they too are not paying UK TAX which is shameful
These companies I avoid. It is down to the government to close such loop holes.
Most immigrants do want to work and earn a living it is in their interests I have worked with many who can not even read but I admire them for working in posts such as cleaners or porters. I would always support them.
Well said I hope you get many responses!
4 people like this
@garymarsh6 (23404)
• United Kingdom
13 Dec 15
@shellyjaneo Well hopefully next year we will get the vote and that should sort it out once and for all.
1 person likes this
@shellyjaneo (1081)
• United Kingdom
13 Dec 15
I totally agree with you about those who come here and don't work and that is a serious problem that needs to be sorted out, and is the main reason I support the UK renegotiating the terms of its EU membership. And Tax avoidance loopholes are a whole other story and a massive pet peeve of mine and something no one seems to want to do anything about x
3 people like this
@shellyjaneo (1081)
• United Kingdom
13 Dec 15
@garymarsh6 Hopefully, it will be really interesting to see what the turnout for the referendum will be I think it will be higher than the general election x
1 person likes this
@shellyjaneo (1081)
• United Kingdom
13 Dec 15
I know that there are those that don't work and I think more needs to be done to tighten the rules up about those that don't work, but my main argument was against the people that say they are 'stealing' british people's jobs when in fact they are normally jobs that british people won't do or aren't qualified to do x
@yalul070 (1713)
• Manila, Philippines
14 Dec 15
thank you for this. my fellow countrymen are scattered all over the world doing menial jobs. they are being blamed for the unemployment of the natives, but i also believe that they are being made into scapegoats, just to have someone to blame. but the thing is they are taking the jobs that the citizens of those countries wouldn't dare to do because these jobs are dirty and because the pay is very low.
2 people like this
@shellyjaneo (1081)
• United Kingdom
14 Dec 15
I agree with you that they are being scapegoated and that is wrong. No one should ever be punished or looked down on for being hard working. I think most people see it clearly especially the younger generations and I think because of that things will get better in time x
1 person likes this
@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
13 Dec 15
What a very well thought out post, and I agree totally. Obviously the exceptions are those who just hop across the channel and expect to be taken care of by our welfare system without ever having done anything to deserve it,
I applaud those who come here for a better life and are prepared to work hard for it
Thanks @MALUSE for suggesting this post.
.
4 people like this
@shellyjaneo (1081)
• United Kingdom
13 Dec 15
Of course there are the exceptions and I am all for tightening up the rules on benefit tourism but I hate how people blame these people who have moved to another country for a better life for how their life has turned out when they can't be bothered going to work because they would have to get a bus,or there is some other tiny inconvenience in the way x
3 people like this
@marijuana (570)
• Tel Aviv, Israel
13 Dec 15
You are very right. People just complain and blame but too lazy to do the real work :) A lot of Filipinos migrate to other countries to have a better life. But we can be proud that we are honest and hard working people willing to do the humble jobs.
1 person likes this
@dpk262006 (58676)
• Delhi, India
14 Dec 15
Do you originally belong to Philippines? 
1 person likes this
@marijuana (570)
• Tel Aviv, Israel
14 Dec 15
@dpk262006 well its too obvious I look like one lol :) tap on your back :D
1 person likes this
@gabs8513 (48686)
• United Kingdom
14 Dec 15
I am not offended at all and I agree with you but what I don't agree with is the ones that are skipping the Borders and putting their Children at risk by doing this so they can get free living accommodations and the Benefits
The ones that come here and work hard I admire and I totally agree there is no way they are taking Jobs away from anyone
Well written and thought through 
1 person likes this
@shellyjaneo (1081)
• United Kingdom
14 Dec 15
I agree with you those that don't want to work shouldn't be allowed in but those who want to work hard and build a better live why should they be denied that when the work is there and no British people want it x
1 person likes this
@dpk262006 (58676)
• Delhi, India
14 Dec 15
You have explained the position of immigrants very well
. I also feel that if a person migrates to another country and he is able to establish himself in that country, it proves that he has capability to survive and locals should not treat him adversely.
. I also feel that if a person migrates to another country and he is able to establish himself in that country, it proves that he has capability to survive and locals should not treat him adversely.1 person likes this
@shellyjaneo (1081)
• United Kingdom
14 Dec 15
This is true it takes so much strength to move from everything you know, we want to move to Canada but I don't think I am brave enough to do that x
1 person likes this
@BelleStarr (61102)
• United States
13 Dec 15
I am so much in agreement with you. I get sick when I hear people blaming everything on immigrants. We need immigrants to take those jobs and eventually their group will assimilate and move up and new immigrants will take the lower jobs, it is just the way it works. I too would do any job no matter how lowly, I wouldn't want to take benefits.
1 person likes this
@BelleStarr (61102)
• United States
13 Dec 15
@shellyjaneo If they needed to work to eat they sure as heck would be working!!
1 person likes this
@shellyjaneo (1081)
• United Kingdom
13 Dec 15
It all comes down to work ethics and unfortunately in the UK and I think in the US as well the work ethic of my generation is non existent and it is something I will never understand because we all watched are parents work and I don't know why that didn't instil into everyone the way it did in me, when I bump into people from school and they aren't working and they never really have I just think what a waste I know what they could have been it's a shame x
1 person likes this
@shellyjaneo (1081)
• United Kingdom
15 Dec 15
@BelleStarr Exactly, the problem is is is made too easy to not work in the UK. I would actually be better off if neither me or my partner worked even though we both have 'good jobs' x
1 person likes this
@everloving (439)
• Chennai, India
14 Dec 15
It is really absurd to load all the blame against the immigration. Everyone wants to be at peak when they are starting a new job, things will not fall into our hands in the beginning itself & we need to be patient. I also have heard the Cry of the people in America for their jobs taken up by the indians. The more wait the more opportunity you are wasting, get up from the lazy bed & accept what ever comes your way. For you will be benefiting from it some time.
1 person likes this
@shellyjaneo (1081)
• United Kingdom
14 Dec 15
That is what I have always done, when I was made redundant I got a job working with all men making and shipping DIY equipment, it was such a hard job and I had to work away all the time but I loved it. Most people would never have applied for that x
@boiboing (13153)
• Northampton, England
14 Dec 15
Very well said and I agree with you. We have several factories in the UK - thankfully not chopping up and killing animals - and the work is not as hard as you describe but no Brits want to do that work. Our factories are full of Portuguese, Polish, Bulgarians etc. They work hard, they don't complain as much as Brits do and the British food economy would fall apart without immigrant workers because most Brits are too damned lazy to do what they consider 'menial' work. As a friend of mine put it "Bloody immigrants, coming over here, doing the jobs we don't want and doing them better than we would".
1 person likes this
@shellyjaneo (1081)
• United Kingdom
14 Dec 15
Yep that sums it up, willing to work harder and longer hours yet no one can see that it is the lazy British culture that is the problem. Sometimes I do feel embarrassed to be British. I know that is wrong because it is still a great country but I don't thin my generation have much to be proud of x
@ElizabethWallace (12074)
• United States
14 Dec 15
The anti-everyone (poor, immigrants, etc) people only see the exceptions. I had a conversation with a young woman about college and pre-school being added to k-12 as free education. We discussed how much society would benefit. She agreed, but didn't support it anyway. In her words "they" want everything for free.
1 person likes this
@ElizabethWallace (12074)
• United States
14 Dec 15
@shellyjaneo Even if people do not have a heart, they should see how this actually saves money.
1 person likes this
@shellyjaneo (1081)
• United Kingdom
14 Dec 15
@ElizabethWallace Yes but their stubbornness stops them doing things that will even benefit themselves x
1 person likes this
@shellyjaneo (1081)
• United Kingdom
14 Dec 15
It's ridiculous isn't it so mean spirited. Why would we not help those less fortunate what is the point of anything if we just live selfish lives ignoring each other and hating everyone but our in group. It's just sad really x
1 person likes this
@paigea (36317)
• Canada
13 Dec 15
Many people agree with you. I would work in an abattoir too before I would accept any benefits. In fact I know people who put themselves through university by doing just that for their summer jobs.
Some people who were born here - (Canada) like to blame immigrants for their lack of a good job too. They are often the people who won't take an entry level job to get started.
1 person likes this
@shellyjaneo (1081)
• United Kingdom
13 Dec 15
That's the thing it is like they have some sense of entitlement that they should be able to walk into a good job. I am a graduate and I am working in an entry level admin position in the civil service because I know there is a good chance I will be able to progress, it is annoying that I couldn't get a graduate level job but I'm not going to sit at home and wait for one to land on my lap x
2 people like this
@paigea (36317)
• Canada
13 Dec 15
@shellyjaneo And when you do land a better job, someone will look at you and think it did land on your lap. While you were working your butt off.
1 person likes this
@shellyjaneo (1081)
• United Kingdom
15 Dec 15
@paigea Oh I am sure they will but at least I will know I've earned it x
1 person likes this
@Namelesss (3365)
• United States
13 Dec 15
No offense taken here and I want to thank @MALUSE for suggesting this one. On the one hand you are very right in what you say but there are a couple more sides to this same story (at least here in the US). There are some very well known (company names) here who will indeed hire workers no matter who they are when production kicks up or the seasonal (read that as migrant) workers leave. BUT the moment the migrant workers return they will let all the non-migrant workers go and replace them with migrants and it is not the workers' fault. Those American workers would be more than happy to keep their jobs but they don't get asked to stay because as long as they are on payroll the company has to provide them benefits even if they are willing to work without them. So they are given the boot and migrants are taken in.
Just as you stated it is not the migrants fault but it is not the citizens fault either and their complaint is valid.
Another problem here I've seen is that often these seasonal jobs are not even posted in places where non-migrants will even be made aware of them. Instead the work invites go out to the migrant communities only.
It's a sort of complicated issue that can't be understood or resolved by looking at only one area of the problem.
1 person likes this
@shellyjaneo (1081)
• United Kingdom
13 Dec 15
I think the main problem there is lack of employment law to protect the American workers, if that was to happen over here the employee would take the company to an employment tribunal and pretty much wipe the floor with them. I think that is a wider problem in America is that workers are not looked after as well as they are in the UK. That breeds animosity and segregation and that is no good for anyone. Definitely something the government should be focusing on as a number one issue. Employment law in America is one of the worst in the developed world, you only have to look at Maternity pay for prove of that x
1 person likes this
@shellyjaneo (1081)
• United Kingdom
13 Dec 15
@Namelesss it is the same here things were much better economically when there were still factories here but unfortunately pretty much every industry has been closed down over the years x
1 person likes this
@Namelesss (3365)
• United States
13 Dec 15
@shellyjaneo Agreed, there is way too much red tape for these employers to go through. The biggest mistake made is that when new laws are needed they mostly just get piled on top of old laws. All that does is create more potential for loop holes.
There are a lot of young people here in my area but there is not enough work for them. Many of them will never go to college or do much of anything. All they really need is factory work but we have no factories. Burger joints just don't need that many workers.
I could go on but in short, you are right. American laws are convoluted at best and down right stupid and harmful at worst.
1 person likes this
@youless (112496)
• Guangzhou, China
14 Dec 15
It is very kind of you to say so. I think this kind of situation happens to many places. In my city, sometimes the people who come from other poor places will have the discriminations by the local people. Yes, they can do harder work with lower salaries. Although I was born and grow up in my city, but I have never thought that these people steal our works, money and future. They just want to make a living and earn more money for their families in the hometowns. On the contrary, I feel sympathized to them. As they have to separate from their familes and work alone in a strange city. It is much more upset that the local people still bully them.
And even the policy is mean to them. Such as their children can't study here unless they pay quite a lot of money. One day I argued with my colleague about this issue. I said this is a very mean policy. My colleague said if they kept coming to study here, the local people's children will have a harder competition. And her children nearly graduates from collegue and mine is just a pupil in primary school. I should be the one who is affected. But I still think that their children should have the rights to study here. How can they pay so much? So at the end some of the children have to study in the hometown but their parents stay here to work. This separation leads to many problems. Such as the children can't feel the love from their parents and some of them don't want to go to school. Besides, who can control them since their parents are away from them?
It is the same overseas. Most immigrants are good people and just work hard to earn more for their families. I hope people can think about it much more and be kind to them. This is the way to have a peaceful world.
1 person likes this
@shellyjaneo (1081)
• United Kingdom
14 Dec 15
It just shows that it happens everywhere, no one is ever happy if they have to share what they have and that is sad. We should share the wealth and help those with less than ourselves, and every child should have the right to a good education it is sad when that doesn't happen x
1 person likes this
@dawnald (85146)
• Shingle Springs, California
14 Dec 15
If you come in and apply for a job that nobody else wants to do, chances are they will assume you're just taking that job until you can get a better one, they will hire somebody with less experience, and say "sorry you're overqualified". There are a lot of people here looking for work and not getting hired.
1 person likes this
@shellyjaneo (1081)
• United Kingdom
14 Dec 15
This is a good point and a valid one, I actual found it harder to find work once I got my degree as I think people thought exactly that, luckily the job market in the UK has improved since then but we were willing to move 3 hours away to find work which obviously isn't an option for everyone x
@shellyjaneo (1081)
• United Kingdom
14 Dec 15
Being willing to work hard should never be seen as a bad quality, in the UK it seems like it is more frowned upon to have a bad job than no job at all x
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104628)
• United States
14 Dec 15
I am tired of hearing about the no jobs thing as well, or immigrants have taken this, and immigrants have taken that. People are too stuck up now and only want a job if it's going to pay them handsomely, and they don't have to do much.
1 person likes this
@shellyjaneo (1081)
• United Kingdom
14 Dec 15
It's crazy how people who didn't even finish high school or barely did think they are entitled to a well paid job equivalent to someone who has worked there way up for years, everyone has to start at the bottom that's the way of the world and the way it should be x
