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| A matter of pride or racist ?
Posted: 3/21/2009 12:24:11 PM | He's been moved branches now, so perhaps, his employer wasn't ok with what he was doing.
If he owned his own shop I'm assuming he could do what he wanted but he didn't. | |
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| A matter of pride or racist ?
Posted: 3/21/2009 12:44:16 PM | | I dont think I read anything where he said I am English, the interview mentions our culture, our customs, anyone could say that about the place they live if they have been here long enough. | |
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| A matter of pride or racist ?
Posted: 3/22/2009 4:40:05 AM |
Deva Kumarasiri’s THE Postmaster says "When I left Sri Lanka I left behind that country’s culture, customs and language. I have done my utmost ever since to be part of this country’s culture.
Yeah, like changing his name.....
Does he not realise that our race is also part of this country's culture? Does his knowledge of our language extend to a comprehension of the word 'irony'? | |
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| A matter of pride or racist ?
Posted: 3/22/2009 6:56:09 AM | | Why should he change his name? He's still an individual. You don't have to integrate AND change your name to John Smith to become English. And pale skin may be a characteristic of our 'culture' but to be perfectly honest that pretty much went out the window the day we got on boats, started bonking and knocking up slaves, and threw the borders open. | |
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Tenti
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Joined: 1/14/2006
Msg: 33 | |
| A matter of pride or racist ?
Posted: 3/22/2009 8:08:15 AM | I agree with the Postmaster Deva, if these "regular" customers I mean if these people been here for decades don't try speaking English I would be miffed. I have the same problem with my own parents and they have been here for decades. They don't want to learn English or even the basic to get by and the amount of pain I had do to sort out their mess like missed payment of their utlitlies bills, over-payment of bills (because it arrived twice) and not forgetting identity theft and fraud. I so wish they can understand English and can relate to Deva if he feels the same with the locals who visit his Post Office and "force" him to speak Indo or whatever his native language may be. The should bloody learn the language if they want to live and stay in the UK!  | |
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| A matter of pride or racist ?
Posted: 3/22/2009 8:27:18 AM | But in the meantime you are denying people a service that they are legally entitled to.
He also doesn't seem to have had the right to make the decision he did, he was the post master but he didn't own the shop he worked it.
In interview he said, he turned away 6 people who were his friends and who later returned with interpreters or friends, seems to be a big fuss about not a lot that yet again starts a debate on immigrants. It's his job to serve customers, not berate people. Having been in the same position himself at one time in his life, he could have been slightly more tolerant. | |
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| A matter of pride or racist ?
Posted: 3/22/2009 8:33:40 AM | I think its great, he is setting the example of what most of us feel already.
He is a prime example of how a person coming to this country should be.
I would not move to another country without learning the language. | |
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| A matter of pride or racist ?
Posted: 3/22/2009 9:20:07 AM |
Why should he change his name?
I didn't state or imply that he should have to change his name. I simply noted that he had claimed that he had done everything to become English....
I'm fully aware that flinging our doors open led to an influx of those of other races, but the fact remains that, until very recently, this island was populated by the white race. Going abroad did not alter that fact.
HTH | |
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| A matter of pride or racist ?
Posted: 3/22/2009 9:23:27 AM | he is a racist
Still, whats good for one country isnt nece (ah hmm i can never spell that)
necessary for another.
beside dosnt the PC loonies normally hire 47 different translator types | |
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| A matter of pride or racist ?
Posted: 3/22/2009 9:56:38 AM | zeegary - just typed out a reply to your nitpicking and word twisting but ran out of bothered, as I am with the generally miserable and unpleasant UK Forums as a whole.
It can be summed up thus: "Whatever dude.  "
Have a nice day.  | |
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| A matter of pride or racist ?
Posted: 3/22/2009 9:58:32 AM | How can one expect immigrants to learn english when there is little encouragement?
The National Health services, Local Councils and other officialdom provide documentation to immigrants in almost any language under the sun, and many even offer to provide interpreters.
Why???..... could it be that if they did not, there would be complaints to the Race Relations Board that immigrants were treated unfairly?????
Humbug I say! | |
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| A matter of pride or racist ?
Posted: 3/22/2009 12:53:52 PM | | I think the notion of officialdom providing documentation to immigrants in almost any language under the sun is somewhat exxagurated. I know from experience dealing with the Inland revenue one can only do so in English -or rather the gobbeldygook that passes for English at HMRC | |
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| A matter of pride or racist ?
Posted: 3/22/2009 2:14:07 PM | If the postmaster was a white Brit he would be in prison by now. No question about it.
Top man, I'm proud of him. Regardles how our restless native will assail him  | |
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| A matter of pride or racist ?
Posted: 3/22/2009 4:41:50 PM | As an immigrant and now naturalised citizen I think I can sympathise with the postmaster.
First damned thing I've done is gone to college to educate myself so I can communicate at least as well as a half-witted preschooler in the country of my chosen residence.
And it irks me to no end when some fcukface calls me at work and is irritated I "no habla espanol".
So yes, I think your postmaster is right.
When I go to an office, I do not get a special treatment for the special people and have everything conveniently translated into spanish.. just in case I haven't made an effort to bloody learn basic skill such as communication.
Sorry.
Ranting.
My point is, no one in their own country should be forced to make special effort in order to communicate with outsiders.
Want to live somewhere?
Assimilate.
Mastering native language should be a law.
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| A matter of pride or racist ?
Posted: 3/22/2009 4:49:00 PM | I'm with him, its okay people from other countries coming here, bringing their culture and language, but in this country as a standard we speak English, this postmaster guy has learnt the language, so should everyone else who is here to stay.... if i was moving to another country i would be expected to learn their language..
it is annoying though, at university there is a lecture, been in the country lecturing for 20 years, can speak English properly, gets the wrong words in the wrong places and is sure that there is a concept of "losted".. lost itself is its own past tense, but she doesn't understand. She also spelt the module title wrong on the first day one the first lecture on the first slide.. no pride in their work these days... (slightly off topic, but still about learning this language..) | |
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| A matter of pride or racist ?
Posted: 3/22/2009 4:55:20 PM | Well how long do we give someone to learn the language, lets say someone comes over here from Moldova and can't speak a word of English, do we refuse them a service until they are fluent? Surely someone's standard of education and aptitude for picking up a language must be taken into consideration. It takes time to learn a new language, do you think I would be able to start taking lessons in Turkish because I wanted to go on holiday there and be fluent a fortnight later?
The postmaster guy who learned the language won't have done it overnight either I bet and could and should be a bit more tolerant.
All for the sake of asking for a stamp or cashing a giro, surely there are bigger and better things on this earth to be worrying about than whether someone knows how to say, can I have a second class stamp please, in fluent English. | |
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| A matter of pride or racist ?
Posted: 3/22/2009 6:06:50 PM | Update!
Seems he was a Lib-Dem councillor. Note WAS. He has been kicked out. Fascism abounds throughout all parties these days it seems. (We'll have to remove the lib from dem).
If you think that was bad enough. He has now lost his job. So any of you people who tell him to be "tolerant" or he has to "engage" and "celebrate" can go kiss my libertarian freedom loving ass.
There was a very real reason why we had to partition Pakistan from india. | |
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| A matter of pride or racist ?
Posted: 3/23/2009 3:53:47 AM | | He hasn't lost his job, he's been moved to another branch. Perhaps he shouldn't have done what he did without the permission of the people who actually owned that sub post office franchise. He didn't. | |
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| A matter of pride or racist ?
Posted: 3/23/2009 4:48:34 AM |
He became so weary of customers expecting to be served without uttering a word of English that he took to telling them to go away and learn the language.
If there is no attempt whatsoever at communicating in the language of the country they have chosen to adopt then he has every right to refuse to serve them.
There are way too many immigrants who segregate themselves in pockets of areas and speak their mother tongue only and make no attempt at integrating themselves into our society and way of life............they cause divide and segregation!!
Surely as a new comer to these shores it is beneficial for them to learn our language to be able to better themselves in employment and aspire to greater heights .........unless of course they have no intention of working in the first place and are more than happy to be supported?? | |
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| A matter of pride or racist ?
Posted: 3/23/2009 5:12:00 AM | | I get many foreign visitors in my shop over the summer holidays when it's pretty busy. If they can't communicate to me their needs fairly quickly when I have a que of people at the till, I politely move on to the next person before I lose their business. If the foreign visitor wants to wait until I am available, I'll try to deal with them after I've made sure the easy money is in the till. As much as you're offering a service, at the end of the day, as many have already mentioned, you have to look after ALL your customers. I can't afford to have people with money in their hands walking out the door while I'm struggling to communicate with someone who cannot speak my language (and may actually just be trying to find out where the nearsest toilets are!) | |
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| A matter of pride or racist ?
Posted: 3/23/2009 5:16:09 AM | My previous employes had a stroke at 47 and struggles to make herself understood in shops often.
She gets very cross and refuses to be sidelined.
Sometimes shop staff just don't have to time to invest in each customers needs and other times they do.
Ultimately they want the cash in the till in the shortest time possible, I understand that but she has often been mistaken for being drunk, which she most certainly is not. | |
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| A matter of pride or racist ?
Posted: 3/23/2009 5:19:58 AM |
I think the difference here is between those 'attempting' to communicate and those 'refusing' to communicate in our tongue !!
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