Post by bluetornados on Mar 31, 2024 10:36:46 GMT
John Lydon defends 'immigrants remark' after Andrew Marr appearance sparks backlash..by Fran Winston.
i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/26/13/82903689-13240289-image-a-1_1711458636491.jpg
John Lydon's recent appearance on Andrew Marr's LBC show caused controversy when he made some remarks about immigration. "The division when you import so many people with a completely different point of view. They're not going to adapt to yours. They're going to stay and bring the problems that they (are) allegedly escaping from," he said at the time.
Express.co.uk contacted the singer after the show to clarify his stance and in an exclusive interview with Express.co.uk, John expanded on his points on immigration, which he felt were taken a bit out of context. "There was not enough time to explain there," he said thoughtfully.
"My point was that as the son of immigrants to England, immigrants now were coming over in such vast numbers and there's a confusion as to what to call them. Some of them are illegals, some are not, some are, mostly are, but they're not really given a chance to integrate into the populations that they want to emigrate to."
"They've been ghettoized and in a way that I think will create problems further on down the line. My mum and dad were very Irish, but they...told me at a very early age, we're in England now we're English. And I think that was the right message," he explained.
"That doesn't mean you alienate yourself to Ireland. Not at all. You'll begin to see the similarities between the two cultures. It makes for a much more passive resistance to prejudice."
i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/08/11/82207593-13173005-image-m-39_1709899081435.jpg
John himself has been the victim of prejudice due to his Irish roots and even titled one of his books after the classic warning in venues "No Blacks, No Dogs, No Irish."
"The title of my book was about trying to get hotels up north," he recalled. "As Sex Pistols, we needed to stay at a bed and breakfast. There was a sign on the window of no Irish no blacks, no dogs with Irish being the worst at the top and the doggies at the bottom."
"The lists now - if this was allowed to be - the lists would be so fantastic. It would be war and peace all over the windows," he said laughing at the incredulity of the idea.
As a child, he recollected having rocks thrown at him by other children as he went to school. "You know, 'Ugh why are you going to that special Catholic school'," he cited as the reason.
"But we all got to know each other because kids do and it's just a great resolve of those tensions. Very soon we all became mates because you had to get on with it. Kids will find reasons to dislike each other. It's just what kids will do that causes separations and divisions, but we work it out. Let children be children. The trouble with adults is that they're incapable of learning and that's why I forever hope to remain childish," he laughed.
However, he is serious about the role of children in resolving current issues. "Children do mix and match and so here's my thing, I feel sorry for immigrants in Britain and Ireland because they're not blending in well with the locals and that's bad. And that's by the sheer number of them. They've [immigrant numbers] become very challenging and differences are all well and fine and we all love it but not when it's overwhelming," he pondered.
Fully aware that some people may take umbrage at his remarks he acknowledged: "It has to be said and you run the gauntlet right there of being declared a Nazi or this or that. It's like, 'Adults, please, temper your remarks on this. Just because somebody sees it differently try to understand what their experience is. They're explaining to you rather than just black-marking everybody'. It's just common sense to me. We can't resolve this problem unless common sense comes back."
i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/08/11/82207511-13173005-image-m-37_1709898955838.jpg
i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/26/13/82903689-13240289-image-a-1_1711458636491.jpg
John Lydon's recent appearance on Andrew Marr's LBC show caused controversy when he made some remarks about immigration. "The division when you import so many people with a completely different point of view. They're not going to adapt to yours. They're going to stay and bring the problems that they (are) allegedly escaping from," he said at the time.
Express.co.uk contacted the singer after the show to clarify his stance and in an exclusive interview with Express.co.uk, John expanded on his points on immigration, which he felt were taken a bit out of context. "There was not enough time to explain there," he said thoughtfully.
"My point was that as the son of immigrants to England, immigrants now were coming over in such vast numbers and there's a confusion as to what to call them. Some of them are illegals, some are not, some are, mostly are, but they're not really given a chance to integrate into the populations that they want to emigrate to."
"They've been ghettoized and in a way that I think will create problems further on down the line. My mum and dad were very Irish, but they...told me at a very early age, we're in England now we're English. And I think that was the right message," he explained.
"That doesn't mean you alienate yourself to Ireland. Not at all. You'll begin to see the similarities between the two cultures. It makes for a much more passive resistance to prejudice."
i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/08/11/82207593-13173005-image-m-39_1709899081435.jpg
John himself has been the victim of prejudice due to his Irish roots and even titled one of his books after the classic warning in venues "No Blacks, No Dogs, No Irish."
"The title of my book was about trying to get hotels up north," he recalled. "As Sex Pistols, we needed to stay at a bed and breakfast. There was a sign on the window of no Irish no blacks, no dogs with Irish being the worst at the top and the doggies at the bottom."
"The lists now - if this was allowed to be - the lists would be so fantastic. It would be war and peace all over the windows," he said laughing at the incredulity of the idea.
As a child, he recollected having rocks thrown at him by other children as he went to school. "You know, 'Ugh why are you going to that special Catholic school'," he cited as the reason.
"But we all got to know each other because kids do and it's just a great resolve of those tensions. Very soon we all became mates because you had to get on with it. Kids will find reasons to dislike each other. It's just what kids will do that causes separations and divisions, but we work it out. Let children be children. The trouble with adults is that they're incapable of learning and that's why I forever hope to remain childish," he laughed.
However, he is serious about the role of children in resolving current issues. "Children do mix and match and so here's my thing, I feel sorry for immigrants in Britain and Ireland because they're not blending in well with the locals and that's bad. And that's by the sheer number of them. They've [immigrant numbers] become very challenging and differences are all well and fine and we all love it but not when it's overwhelming," he pondered.
Fully aware that some people may take umbrage at his remarks he acknowledged: "It has to be said and you run the gauntlet right there of being declared a Nazi or this or that. It's like, 'Adults, please, temper your remarks on this. Just because somebody sees it differently try to understand what their experience is. They're explaining to you rather than just black-marking everybody'. It's just common sense to me. We can't resolve this problem unless common sense comes back."
i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/08/11/82207511-13173005-image-m-37_1709898955838.jpg
