Loathe Thy Neighbour

by James O'Brien

Immigration is the thorny question that just won't go away. It feeds a whole industry of commentators, pundits and politicians who take great delight in whipping us all into a frenzy, speaking for the 'ordinary people'. But, when ugly prejudices are being fed by professionals grown fat on the fear and fury of their consumers, it is time to stop and ask whether the faceless group of immigrants really exists - or whether it just appeals to our basest fears.In this lively polemic, James O'Brien brings some common sense back into the discussion. Some people want to be frightened. They thrive on anger and division and upset. But many people don't, and it is they who are most let down - most insulted - by the immigration debate. We don't need to buy into this myth. There is no such thing as 'immigrants'. There is no 'they'. There is only 'we'.

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics

113 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 1, 2014

About the author

James Edward O'Brien is an English radio presenter and podcaster. He is one of the presenters on talk station LBC, presenting on weekdays between 10 am and 1 pm, hosting a phone-in discussion of current affairs, views and real-life experiences. He hosted a weekly interview series with JOE titled Unfiltered with James O'Brien. He has previously occasionally presented Newsnight for the BBC.

Reviews

[Matthew Gildea · Rating 4 out of 5]

The last few years has seen the rise of everyone’s favourite conversation starter with older relatives: immigration. Those darned immigrants, capable of both stealing all of the jobs, whilst also being unemployed and ‘scrounging’. And alas, that rhetoric has won out, for now.

James O’Brien looks at how this sentiment has grown and found a collection of thoughts that pretty well documents the reasons, both unjust and some perhaps valid (to an extent), why immigration is such a thorny issue. Ignorance, bias, media manipulation, but a few such catalysts.

It’s quite short, and perhaps a little more meat on the bones would have made it a more academic read, than a pleasurable one, but as someone who tries to maintain some semblance of familiarity with the world, I did yearn for a little more at times.

[Oliver · Rating 4 out of 5]

Smart little collection of essays stripping down the immigration debate to pure stupidity, rabble rousing and divide and rule politics.

[Kieran McAndrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

To paraphrase: a billionaire, a politician and you are sat in a room. On the table is a plate with ten biscuits. The billionaire grabs nine of them and palms a few to the politician, who leans over and whispers in your ear "watch out for that immigrant, he's after your biscuit."

James O'Brien outlines just how daft racism is as an attitude in today's society before deftly setting out his thesis on why those in power use racism as a tool to control us, the hard working voters.

[Sabrina · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing is interesting and humorous.

[Josh Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The last chapter of this book is so spot on, give it a go.

[KS Goh · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good introductory guide to social prejudice, but unfortunately won't change many minds nor reach a wide audience [sic].

[Andrew Galley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loathe Thy Neighbour is a good, but flawed, short examination of racism in our country. As a fan of James O’Brien I find myself agreeing with a lot of points and Loathe Thy Neighbour for the most part was no exception. He examines the absurdity of judging someone exclusively on their ethnicity, using the example of someone saving your life: do you really care the race of the person who pushes you out of the way of the speeding car?

The book unfortunately is very naïve and doesn’t touch on a lot of stuff that would have been useful. O’Brien rightly condemns racists and the far right rhetoric that is often used to rile up the public instead of looking at the problems causing harm. I’ve seen the impact that these can have on people I love and respect, and as long as people won’t question why something is being published the more we know these things will be published. What O’Brien doesn’t do is look at the people who are scared of what they don’t know and don’t need a push. It would’ve been good if he had commented on the notion that there are genuine people whose racism is down to never having seen someone of colour which, while not acceptable, is more human.

He also has naivety when it comes to why people believe certain things. He comments that regardless what his idols ever wrote, he would never be convinced that it was ok to have sex with a child. I find myself agreeing with this and even cite Orwell as one of my heroes just like O’Brien in spite of his non-progressive attitude to homosexuality. O’Brien uses this to suggest that if we, in the West, would never use a book to justify sex with a child then it’s ludicrous to suggest that a religious person from the East would think differently. The reason this is a problem is simple: we know there are countries where specific quotes from the Qur’ran, accurately or not, are used to justify the same. As the holy books are often considered the divine word of a deity, it’s not the same as our reading of our favourite authors. If a divine being is telling you it’s ok, you might think it’s ok. If Jon Ronson’s next book encourages me to watch child pornography I will reconsider my love of the author. It’s naïve to compare the two fairly and I feel that O’Brien was trying to make a point but didn’t write enough to be clear.

The length is the problem with the book. At less than 100 pages it was always going to feel shallow. I get that this was supposed to be a short polemic on the subject of the absurdity of racism but by trying to tackle a topic in an intelligent way, and not with many pages, a lot of the points leave a lot to be desired.

[Duncan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am British with half Irish ancestry if traced back, but have lived in New York for 30 years from the age of 27. Got this from my local library. Quick one day read, just a few hours. This book is relevant on a global scale and has not dated in seven years. I listen to James on LBC radio regularly on my way to work, the time difference works perfect for me, but the book would be just as good if I had never heard him speak. James does valuable work, but I would love it if he created a new radio station that focused on positive energy only, that is a segment sadly lacking, he has a voice that could cover that like Eddie Shoestring.

[Tristan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short, sharp polemic on the immigration “debate”. It’s absolutely spot on. The “debate” is purely the tactics of divide and rule at their ugliest, with the privileged encouraging the poor to blame people poorer than themselves for their misery rather than noticing who is truly responsible. Every Reform voter and Brexiteer should read this, but they won’t. They are conditioned to punch down rather than up, conditioned to ignore the fact that everything they clamour for hurts them more than it hurts the ones they think the measures are aimed at.

That aside, is it a good read? Not really, so it’s not something I’d return to often. Hence three stars.

[Duncan Dandie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Classic James O’Brien. For those familiar with him, either on the radio, his twitter or his other, very similar book you’ll know what you are getting.

He has a unique way of pointing out the obvious in a simple and easy to understand way.

Sadly this book is 5 years and the lessons and hopes from it are not learned.

I would of given it more but was too short. I add he made up for this in his next book.

[Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A prequel to 'How To Be Right', James O'Brien's 'Loathe thy Neighbor' is a stable foundation for which he addresses the ongoing concerns surrounding immigration and the overall impacts it makes to the country.