Quote Originally Posted by mickd1961 View Post
For the first time in a long time I had to visit Lye near Stourbridge today to pick up a prescription.

Absolutely shocking, the place was like a ghetto, I was one of around only 5% of whites people I would estimate.

The problem with the Eastern European’s who’ve been allowed to take over Lye is that they just have no standards, the place is a disgusting, filthy s h I t hole.

I came from a very working class background and lived barely a mile and a half from Lye, I went to school a quarter of a mile from the place.

It was always a demographically poorer area and very much white hard working class in the 70’s.

Look back at pictures of the area in that decade though and you’ll see how clean and crisp it was, people were poorer than average but they had pride, they kept their gardens tidy and the streets were clean.

The Romanians and mainly Pakistani community who live there now just drop their s hi t at their feet, their gardens are a foot high with grass uncut and rubbish piled up.

My gran came from a family of coal miners and they were dirt poor but their clothing, their own hygiene and their homes were like new pins if you look back at pictures I have from the 20’s and 30’s.......gran always drummed into me that being poor didn’t give you an excuse for poor standards.

My biggest issue with immigration has always been the lack of respect a lot of these people have for themselves and our culture.

123.......I know you’re safely ensconced down south but next time you come up for a game please take a detour to Lye and spend half an hour walking around.

It’s very sad and very unnecessary.
I know Lye quite well and it's not the prettiest of places and I'm not sure what the Romanian population are offering around there but they do seem to be standing around not doing a lot. However, I'm not comfortable with your implication that because it seemed 5% white, therefore it must be a problem.

Not all areas with a high population of Asian people are 'bad'. Take Handsworth Wood for example. Anyway, there are clearly issues with some members of the Asian population, just like there are with white people. The Lost City in Tipton? Or travel back in time to the 80s and visit Hateley Heath in West Brom or the Yew Tree and you'd be in for a shock. The reason s for the similarities are overwhelmingly socio-economic. Sure sometimes the transition from rural communities in Pakistan for example is a difficult one to make when coming to live in an industrialised country like here, but these are quite nuanced. There are good and bad in every community, it seems however that its rare for people to highlight the positive aspects of immigration. Probably because it doesn't suit their feeble insecurities and deep rooted prejudices.

What's telling is the fact that there's been no mention of the racist murder of the poor kid in Kingstanding, but people get mad about a bit of rubbish on the street. Unbelievable.