I’m not suggesting that some people don’t, for we know that to be a fact, however, the article suggests that all people do. Many people are fed up with the lack of integration, ’caused by mass migration. I have said, many times, over many years, the reasons why I thought that the country was heading this way. Too many people coming in too short a space of time.
Some people, who are anti-immigrant are actually anti the immigration policy but the issues have become conflated; immigrants, immigration and immigration policy.
As a son of immigrants and being somebody who is easily identified as somebody not originally from these islands, I have experienced racism for most of my life but what is happening is not the same. Some people simply think, no more, until we can sort out our problems. Remember that many of the most vocal opponents of immigration, as it stands, are themselves immigrants. Are they racist?
Personally I would like to see all immigrants, regardless of where they are from, treated the same but that it just me. There are many people who have different views on the same issue. They are not all racist, or bigoted, nor have they been manipulated; some are, of course but that has always been the case, in my experience.
Remember, also, that E.U. immigration policy is only an open door to people from Europe. I do think that, for the majority of people, the issue is a social one, of community, rather than of jobs, schools and the N.H.S. although there has been a dramatic shift in the demographic in schools and pressure has been put on housing. Indeed, there has not been enough housing created for people who actually need it but with the speed and volume of immigration that we have seen, this was something that was always going to happen.
It is my belief that most people who oppose the policy, or voted “leave” are not, in fact anti-immigrant but have been labelled so by the media.

Is it not hard to prove either way? This is why I think that we have to be careful before labelling ALL people. It doesn’t necessarily lead to that particular issue but lack of integration in what is perceived to be large numbers can make people feel uncomfortable. A simple analogy is your local pub suddenly had a load of strangers descend upon it; they don’t socialise with anybody but themselves, they make their presence felt. They aren’t there to take away your beer, or monopolise the dart board, or snooker table but the fact that they don’t mix, creates ill feeling. It’s the us and them scenario. The media tap into this, with their constant pushing of the anti-immigrant button, stirring up ill feeling, even where none exists; it is all about perception, that is not to say that much of what people report, or find unacceptable is not real. Am I making sense?

We didn’t say that that there was no anti-immigrant sentiment among “£eave” voters but that it was my belief that most of those who voted that way were anti the policy, rather than actually anti-immigrant, which you said was hard to prove, to which I made the suggestion that it is hard to prove either way, meaning that it is hard to prove that it is not the case, too.
I guess that, as humans, we feel intimidated by large groups; it is far easier to approach the person who is sitting by themselves than to approach a large group of people. Oddly, I work in theatre and have witnessed the same lack of willingness to integrate in members of my touring company. Rather than speak to the local staff and crew, they will keep to themselves, go out together and often, not even talk to the locals, who will be working on the show! This is less likely to happen with a smaller cast, because it becomes necessary to speak to the locals whereas, with a large cast, you can avoid speaking, or associating with anybody; this is the problem to which I was alluding. Sometimes, it doesn’t matter how welcoming you are, if there is no incentive to integrate, it boils down to the personality of the individual.
I agree that we could and should do more but the longer that the separatism continues, the harder it is to break down those walls. When my mother arrived here, she was the only person from her country in the town. As a consequence, most of my friends, peers and colleagues were “white” English and that has been the pattern throughout my life. There are now more of her countryfolk in the town and there is even a Society but it has taken decades to achieve that and the number is still relatively small.
Culture is a big thing. It defines who you are; take the Jews, for example. Jewish culture is a HUGE part of Jewish identity. This is the point at which you will have heard that multi-culturalism doesn’t work. I guess that, if 2, or more cultures are incompatible then, it can’t work. A multi-ethinic society is not, necessarily, the same things as a multi-cultural one. I think that, perhaps, if people knew what British values were and what the British way of life is, it would be easier for incomers to see what was compatible and what was not. We hear, too often, about British values and Britishness, in the media but who actually knows what those things are? Aye, we are an accepting and inclusive nation but surely, this shouldn’t be to the detriment of our own [British] culture(s)? We have councils so eager not to offend the incomers that they end up offending the residents. People feel that they are not allowed to be British. To some degree, incomers have been made SO welcome that some want to change things to accommodate their cultures. Many residents are upset by this and perhaps this is where some of the anti-immigrant feeling comes from, too. It is, by and large, not the fault of the immigrants but there is cause and effect.