September 8th, 2015: Refugees

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by DanaC

I guarantee they won't harm our living conditions as much as the bankers did.

Looking at the big picture, I'd agree in a heatbeat, however that damage was spread pretty uniformly like an evil rain. Most suffered without a specific target to blame, so they cast aspersions on the bankers as a group. I'm sure not every banker was evil, even less feel they were doing evil. 'I was just following orders', or 'following bank procedure', most would say. There's some truth to that, it's the institution, and the officers controlling it, who are at fault. Those few would say, 'I did what I had to do to compete', or 'it's my sworn duty to make as much money as possible for my employer, the board of directors". The board would pass the blame to the stock brokerage houses who threaten downgrading the bank's future(value).

So when you say "bankers", which includes many people who are not at fault for the damage done, it's shorthand for the aggregate banking industry. It's the same way with the use of Muslim to cover a large group, many of whom don't fit the description, and/or are not at fault.

The damage from refugees I worry about, is more personal. One on one clashes between neighbors who have different backgrounds and values. Some of these clashes might be caused when people are annoyed by what their neighbors feel is normal behavior. It can be as stupid as your kitchen exhaust fan blowing bacon fumes at the praying neighbors. It can also be much more serious, but friction builds heat which can become flames.

The culture differences causing friction is why during the great migrations to the US a hundred years ago, the Jews sought out Jews to live with. The Scandinavians did the same, as did the Irish, Italians, etc, to live with people from a culture they understood, felt comfortable with. But it also created suspicions/fears in each group, about all the other groups, and it's taken a long time, several generations, to assuage most of those fears.

I'm worried that dropping these refugees into existing neighborhoods will cause friction, and putting them in enclaves apart will cause suspicion/fear of the unknown. Add bigoted troublemakers on both sides, and the standard of living goes down for everyone. Your standard of living plummets when you're afraid to walk your dog at night. Of course the person to blame, right or wrong, is just a stones throw away.