Would you still teach in W.Europe?

[reisgio]

WE is not what it was, period. Brussels and Belgium in particular was more similar to Rabat than Cologne all the way back in 2002. Now it is closer to Beirut. This is not a statement referring to religion; it is a statement referring to culture.

[Thames Pirate]

I can't speak to Brussels particularly, but I have family in WE and hold an EU passport. I spend a LOT of time there when not living there and did live there less than 3 years ago. The culture hasn't changed any more than any other culture. Globalism is a reality, and access to information, movement of people, etc. means that the world is not what it was in 1975--and that is a GOOD thing. WE has changed--as has the US, Canada, Thailand, HK, and every other place. If you want to live an ideal, you never could find it in WE or anywhere else. There is no such thing as Utopia. Trying to find it in WE was always a crapshoot. However, people who want the actual (not idealized) WE lifestyle can absolutely still have that.

As for the rape statistic, this is common knowledge, but I have seen - of this from all kinds of sources over the years. I didn't cite a source because I have had this particular conversation so many times I don't remember exact sources. However, they were likely BBC, Spiegel, Time, NYT, and the like. I feel like I remember something from the BBC last time I had this conversation. It's an old argument--Sweden changed their reporting about 10 years ago and saw a dramatic spike that was based on those reporting definitions. The number of convictions has remained relatively consistent if I am not mistaken. It's a constant problem in comparing all crime statistics between countries. You are never comparing apples to apples.

[fine dude]

Here are my final comments on this topic:
W.Europe changed a lot more than Thailand, Canada, HK, and USA due to increased refugee flow and you can't speak of the two groups in the same breath. W.Europe is much more generous than the countries you mentioned and may be, the former has a hidden agenda of making up for their falling birth rates and increased social security costs.
The numbers are hugely different and you can look at the EuroStat site. According to local police chiefs, there are ISIS members infiltrating as asylum-seekers and ISIS-sympathisers work at some of these european airports as bag handlers, catering staff etc. W.Europe's proximity to Turkey is another key concern.
Finally, the most worrying thing is if the local cops were never trained to deal with terrorists, I'm not sure how the baton-wielding school security guards will be able to handle these threats. I don't think IS Atlanta or IS BKK or The York School in Toronto face the threat as acutely as those in W.Europe considering recent events.

[PsyGuy]

I dont disagree with @WT!23, there is a changing mentality, but as has also been addressed, its a different world for WE and everywhere else as well. There is a growing sentiment in the WE that the rapid and mass influx of immigrants should be halted and even reversed. Many have adapted the idea that these immigrants are responsible for a lot of recent social problems, as well as an increase in terrorism.

The WE has always been over romanticized the Italy, France, etc. represented in movies, etc. isnt a practical experience for most expats. Is a contemporary European quality of life available, in that scenario I do agree with @Thames Pirate, its there and its not even hard to find.

Also agree with @Thames Pirate and the rape statistic, Sweden has a much more broad definition of rape that includes sexually related crimes that are not commonly classified under the definition of forcible rape.

[Thames Pirate]

@fine dude

IS Atlanta or York or whatever isn't any more threatened than any other IS because Daesh does not target international schools. If we want to look at where schools are targets, we should look at the US. Daesh target more general population centers, and as we all learned 15 years ago, NYC is no more safe than Berlin. Bangkok was bombed last year, but not Amsterdam. When was the last time there was a terrorist act in Austria?

Sure, crap happens--workplace shootings (heck, if we want to talk about killings in schools we need look no further than the US), terrorism, plane crashes, bridge collapses, riots, revolutions, and more. Heck, after Chernobyl how many schools evacuated? What about natural disasters? Seriously, we are all more likely to die of heart disease or in a car crash than in terrorist activities. Should we all live in fear all the time?

WE is still incredibly safe--even the target cities like Paris and Brussels--and offer an incredible lifestyle. I would jump at those offers (well, we got our dream school, but had we not gotten the one we wanted).

[OzGrad]

@ Thames Pirate

To deal with a problem, the first step is admitting there is one.

You really need to catch up and stop being an apologist.

These problems are a direct result of government immigration decisions.

Therefore, comparing them to natural disasters and car crashes is simply ludicrous.

[Thames Pirate]

Check your facts. Most of Europe's terrorist acts were committed by citizens, not immigrants. This includes the Brussels and Paris attacks.

I did compare the issue to natural disasters --in terms of threat to most teachers.

[PsyGuy]

@Thames Pirate

Really, the groping was caused by local citizens and not immigrants?

The weapons, planing, implementation and staging of the Paris and Belgium attacks was not in any way accomplished by contributions and efforts by foreign or immigrant actors?
Is your definition of responsibility restricted only to the actor that pulls the trigger of pushes the button?

[Thames Pirate]

I said majority. The Paris attacks were carried out by EU citizens, and the Brussels attacks were carried out by 2 Belgians and one who was raised in Belgium from an early age. Majority of Europe's terrorist attacks other than these two were also carried out by natives. This is not an immigration thing.

[PsyGuy]

@Thames Pirate

No you didnt, you wrote "most" not majority.

Even then your still grossly wrong, the actors that pulled the trigger or pushed the button were EU citizens but the kill chain is much longer than those actors, and those supporting and intermediary actors are a lot of foreign actors and immigrant actors.

A lot of Europeans feel its an immigration issue, I assume since you didnt address it that the increase of groping is an immigration issue.

[OzGrad]

A paper citizen is a very different thing to a true citizen.

The fact your so-called citizens committed these vile acts shows they are not true citizens.

To ignore the fact that these issues are directly related to immigration is delusional.

The fact that terrorist attacks are often committed by children of immigrants is an even stronger reason to restrict immigration from certain places because it is impossible to screen for.

Whose side are you on anyway?

[Nomad68]

The terrorism threat is a genuine worry and I would probably not consider Belgium now given the pretty serious concerns there. The whole mass immigration to Europe has caused us to change our plans - and I am waiting to see if the UK decides to leave the EU. Potentially, for either reason, for me a decent number of job opportunities might be about to vanish or become considerable more difficult to get.

[Thames Pirate]

You do know that there are acts other than Brussels in Europe, just like anywhere else right? This one got the coverage and is the most recent, but most (majority) of the terrorist acts in Europe are domestic and not related to immigration. Furthermore, the recent attacks were carried out by mostly domestic terrorists--yes, they may have picked up their ideas abroad, but so did Patty Hearst, and nobody blamed her behavior on immigration.

But whatever. Your xenophobia is poking out. I won't be able to change it, but you might consider tucking that back in.

[PsyGuy]

A paper citizen is the same as a true citizen, passports are passports. Being a citizen is like being pregnant you either are or you arent.

Regardless of the technical differences and merits it still 'appears' to be a immigration problem. Complex systems are difficult to identify locusts of control, and while proximity is generally a weak argument, the immigration influx and the problems coincide. It doesnt matter how intellectual the ana1ysis the BBC/CNN/etc. says immigration and terrorists in the same sentence or paragraph and thats all that matters.

Im on the side thats against being in the path of a pressure wave to the right of boom or gunned down in the path of automatic small arms fire.

Belgium is probably a great place to approach now, security forces will escalate and the terrorists will move to the next city or target that thinks "its not going to be us". While lightning does strike the same place more than once, usually what it strikes the first time isnt in that place anymore.

Sure, remember the Boston Marathon or the EgyptAir hijacker. Its not xenophobia its how terror works, its purpose is to cause fear, and disrupt society, its not a conflict that counts its victories by body count. It works when people are afraid.

[OzGrad]

A governments primary function is to keep citizens safe.

By importing new 'citizens' that do not integrate and are actively hostile to the host country is a failure of government.

And just because you know a middle eastern immigrant that is a nice person that doesn't make up for the others that aren't.

The current wave of immigrants are healthy young men who should be fighting for their own country.

The immigrants target the generous welfare states.