Almost half of Britons feel like ‘strangers in their own country’

God knows I do, feels like I’m surrounded by hateful people who look down on me and my family just because we’re Roma, my family fully integrated 2 generations ago but that’s not enough for the racists who surround me.

My kid got beaten up a few years back because a bunch of kids at his school found out we’re a Roma family, very uneducated kids mind you as besides calling him a dirty gypsy they also called him a traveller.

Until the racists are put in check this will always feel like I’m a stranger in my own country

Edit: Spelling

There’s a real problem with the atomisation of British society.

People live further from where they work. People drive more and walk/ take public transport less. Local pubs are closing because people spend more social/leisure time at home. Community groups are declining as facilities close/ People have less free time.

None of these are particularly bad things in themselves but ot means more and more people are only spending time at work, in their home or with people they are very close to.

The loose connections between people that you kind of know are becoming rarer, because people just aren’t spending time with neighbours the way they used to.

It’s got basically nothing to do with immigration.

This is what happens when successive governments chase GDP, invite the world with unchecked migration, immigration and refeguee status instead of looking after the population.

Before some lefty champagne socialist screams racism at me, immigration is good for the country, globalisation is good for the country.

Unchecked letting any tom, dick and Harry in is not good for the country.

I think a lot of this is because we’re lonely. We’re losing third spaces, a lot of us have no real community, and we’re constantly being played off against each other. I wonder if we greeted strangers as friends rather than enemies, we ourselves would feel less like strangers.

I do- it’s nothing to do with ethnicity or nationality.

When the fuck did people decide it was ok to park their full car on the pavement, all 4 wheels! Blocking the pavement for people with buggies, wheelchair, mobility scooters etc

Given anything else—I think this is a sign that society is slipping

I certainly feel like a stranger to my neighbours on the left side specifically. But that’s because they refuse to integrate. Our roads demographic has changed over the last 10 years but they refuse to speak to any of us. We’ve taken them food, taken their parcels, tried to wave and do a bit of chit chat but they just look at us with an evil side eye. Them and their kids when they visit say the most vile things and we can hear them clearly as they sit in the back garden often enough. And yea, they’re white.

So when you say a country of strangers. To me that means those that refuse to accept reality and refuse to integrate with it.

The social contract that holds us all together and keeps things ticking over outside of law and order is definitely creaking.

A drive through Bradford yesterday I saw rampant fly tipping, car parking in the craziest places, awful speeding/driving, HMOs everywhere and the centre full of people on drugs or dealing drugs. 

A sense of community requires free time and a disposable income, and we’re having to work harder for less cash after the bills are paid; of course people are feeling isolated. It’s hard to go down the pub for a pint when you’re free time is now taken up with your side hustle, you can’t afford a pint anymore, and the pub went out of business due to Covid and/or the economy.

I don’t mind people feeling hopeless (as do I), I just wish that most people were better at placing blame for their woes than just blaming minorities. “My energy bills have doubled… it must be the fault of those little boats!”

Looking at the country’s demographics, turns out aging insular voters don’t like speaking to each other either…as Thatcher said, no such thing as society. If everyone is in F you got mine mode, then this is the outcome.

As always with these kind of things, the devil is in the detail.

The question was “do you SOMETIMES feel like a stranger in your own country?” which will obviously get a higher number of people agreeing than if the work sometimes was obmitted.

The highest number responding ‘yes’ was the Asian community.

Pretty accurate tbh – isn’t that just how society is now?

everywhere i walk nobody is speaking english any more

I don’t blame them because this is the narrative that is being pushed by so many media outlets and it’s rampant on social media. GB News are constantly telling people that if you are a white British national you are a second class citizen. There is constant fear-mongering on the back of political agenda.

The statistics paint a different picture. The largest ethnic group in the UK is as expected white British which is 74%. The next largest is Asian at 9.3%. Religious demographics similarly, Christianity 47%, atheism 37%, Islam 6%.

What’s more interesting is majority of the diversity in the population is in London/Birmingham/Manchester where some of those figures, in areas, are far from the national statistics. However, based on voting I wouldn’t say people in those cities feel particularly negative towards diversity.

I don’t doubt for many people there may be valid reasons they feel this way, but given the statistics it’s impossible that there isn’t also a good chunk that feel that way simply because they are being told they should feel that way which is kinda sad actually.

Considering millions voted for Brexit and Reform are polling well, I too am starting to feel like a stranger in my own country.

Some actually quite interesting findings in there. 

This is the one that makes me feel saddest:

> The findings also highlight a growing generational divide. Just 29 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds said they believe most people can be trusted, compared with 48 per cent of over-65s. Younger adults were also more likely to feel socially isolated and to express pessimism about the country’s direction.

ITT:

“I feel a certain way”

“No you don’t, you are wrong and it’s actually because of Y”