The Mysterious West

Another day older and the migrant fiasco in Europe deepens still further as Greece tries to work out how it can both refuse to cooperate and still be Merkel’s pet, alternately begging for treats and cowering under the whip. Meanwhile the steady stream of wretched refugees, indistinguishable from those who wish us harm and those who would rob us blind will become a spring flood of new, eager blood until the sheer weight of numbers will make the border defences of EU perimeter countries irrelevant without resorting to fatal force.

They flee all they have known but what for? Donald Tusk has been telling them not to bother, that they are being preyed upon by traffickers and that the streets of Europe are not lined with gold, but mere words are poor tools to shovel aside the heaps and heaps of bullshit they have been fed. Yet isn’t it genuinely the case that Europe is simply better than their own countries for so many reasons? islam is a primitive, oppressive and regressive system that subjugates half the population and keeps the other half in ignorance and savagery.

Escaping to the west though is only half the battle. Once here, by hook or by crook, they need to find ways to survive in our very different society. To that end a muslim mother was trying to explain to her children how things worked in the world they were going to. She explained about equality and how everybody was afforded the same rights regardless of their beliefs and the way they dressed and who they associated with. The older children listened in amazement.

“What is capitalism?” asked one, to which the mother replied “Capitalism is how the people in the west make money.” “Don’t they just sell the oil that bubbles out of the ground?” asked the boy? “No, my son, they have ideas and dreams, they work hard and build companies and employ people who earn money and buy things so more things need to be made and more people need to work to earn the money to buy the things. In this way, western societies become rich in ideas as well as money.”

“But what is this ‘democracy’ that they talk about?” The mother went on “Democracy is where the people get to decide who is charge.” “Not the ayatollahs? Not allah?” gasped the boy, incredulously. “No” said the mother “the people have one vote each and they get to decide by casting their vote. The ones who get the most votes run the country and control everything – the law, the military, the police, the hospitals, the schools... and society in general. It is all run by democratic consent.”

“So what is this socialism that we hear so much about?” The mother felt a little tear of joy prick her eye as she went on to explain. “Well, this is the reason we are going there” she said “Under socialism the taxpayers go out to work hard every day and then they pay taxes from what they earn. This tax then goes to pay our benefits, so that we can get free housing, free healthcare and grants to build our mosques and community centres, all without having to get jobs and pay tax ourselves. It is a marvellous system!”

The eldest thought for a while and wondered about all the equality and capitalism and democracy and socialism of the west. Eventually he asked "But mother, don't the hard workers, the tax payers get angry about that?" The mother did not hesitate but replied in a steady voice, “Yes they do, son, and that is what we call racism.”