The Mathematics of Immigration

A musically accompanied version of Mathematics written by Hollie McNish about immigration.

A brilliant poem with a poignant and significant message. If you agree, please share. I was interested to find out how the message would sound with music. So I took the original audio and "warped" it using Ableton so that it would match a uniform BPM, I did some looping/warping/sampling stuff on "Mother" by Yann Tiersen (the piano bit), and I created some subtle drum loops, hi-hats and bass etc underneath to piece it together. Visuals edited with Sony Vegas.

I fully encourage and advise all of you to check out Hollie McNish's channel, she is awesome! Some genuinely amazing poetry.

Programs used:
Ableton Live 9 Suite
Sony Vegas 11

He says
those god damn pakistanis and their goddamn corner shops
Built a shop on every corner took our British workers jobs
He says those godamn Chinese and their goddamn china shops
I tell him theyre from Vietnam but he doesn't give a toss
I ask him what was there before that damn Japan mans shop
He stares at me and dreams a scene of British workers jobs
Of full time full employment before the godamn boats all came
Where everybody went to work full time every day
A British Business stood their first he claims before the Irish came
Now British people lost their jobs and bloody turkish are there to blame
I ask him how he knows that fact he says because it's true
I ask him how he knows the fact he says he read it in the news
Everytime a Somalian comes here they take a job from us
The mathematics one for one, from us to them it just adds up
He bites his cake and sips is brew and says again he knows the spot
The godamn Carribeans came and now good folk here don't have jobs
I ask him what was there before the goddamn Persian curtain shop
I show him architectures plans of empty godamn plots of land
I show him the historic maps
A bit of sand, a barren land
There was no goddamn shop before those pakistanis came and planned
Man
I'm sick of crappy mathematics
Cos I love a bit of sums
I spent three years into economics
And I geek out over calculus
And when I meet these paper claims
That one of every new that came
Takes away ones daily wage
I desperately want to scream
"Your maths is stuck in primary"
Cos one who comes here also spends
And one who comes here also lends
And some who comes here also tend
To set up work which employs them
And all your balance sheets and trends
Work with numbers not with men
And all your goddamn heated talk
Ignores the trade the Polish brought
Ignores the men they gave work to
Not plumbing jobs but further too
Ignores the ones they buy stock from
Accountants, builders, on and on
And I know it's nice to have someone
To blame our lack of jobs upon
But immigrations not as plain
Despite the sums inside your brain
As one for one, as him or you
As if he goes, they'll employ you
Cos sometimes one that comes makes two
And sometimes one can add three more
And sometimes two times two is much much more
Than four
And most times immigrants bring more
Than minuses.

[sykeassai]

I just came across this video of the read poem and it's not a bad piece of music, it actually works quite well. I like to refer to the the origional video when talking about Immigration.

[bonnieuk]

Brilliant DomOne. Poetry with a real cutting edge, loved the video/music/poetry.
The Lee Rigby incident seemed to have sparked a very nasty undercurrent in our society. People on Facebook who I just saw as ordinary friends were suddenly posting very nasty vitriolic comments and even supporting the EDL. I've worked with hundreds of immigrants over the years, they are an asset to this country.

[ShdwftheSuN]

The second I heard Yann Tiersen, you earned my like.
But the words are so true, that I must oblige
my thanks to you, for bringing this to light.

Thanks for sharing Dom0ne, she is a great poet and has a wonderful message. =)

[DomnePhilosophy]

Which fact have I not accepted? Test me.
Present me with facts, and I'll scrutinise them for you.

[DomnePhilosophy]

Did you actually read the comment? Or do you feel slightly more comfortable contained within your own rhetoric?
1) Has anything significant happened within the last 5-10 years that may affect GDP (excluding immigration)?
2) How have you isolated the affect of immigration?
3) Have you looked at GDP's over this time period for countries in Europe/throughout the rest of the world? What does this tell you?
4) The measure of "benefit" is not isolated to economics.
You're very tribal? Them vs us?

[sbuggana]

dom, you are one of the very few I agree almost on every issue.
I just wish your videos are viewed by hundreds of thousands.
The only other guy with whom I agree as much is sam harris (USA ).

[DomnePhilosophy]

I ignored it? You'll remember I stated that the global economic crisis (which perfectly coincides with your date) is obviously a significantly more likely cause. Particularly when you consider that immigration preceded that date by 100 years, and it is also the case for pretty much every other european country REGARDLESS of immigration rate.
Also Britains increased reliance upon asian, and a lack of industry has a massive affect.
Correlation DOES NOT equal causation!
Next.

[DomnePhilosophy]

Thank you. Yeah I noticed similar undercurrents. I might do a video addressing it ie nationalism, religion, identity, the "other" etc. Big and contentious subjects.
I certainly don't believe all aspects of immigration are good, and it certainly can highlight issues, but I really am sick of the "them" vs "us" debate. I genuinely don't care where on this rock people happen to be born, so long as courtesy, conscientiousness and respect is something that is valued.

[DomnePhilosophy]

No! What I say is JUST TRUTH! With the emphasis on "I".
Absolute and non-negotiable! However adults (excluding you) tend to realise that simply saying TRUTH (whether capitalised or not) is pathetically insufficient. Do you understand?
And still you can't answer or justify what you're espousing. And still you avoid answering questions. You're so confident in "your truth", that you fear discussion, unable to rationalise your stance :)
If you cant answer simple questions, stop wasting my time!

[DomnePhilosophy]

1) I'm so accurate! RE USA, the answers were yes and yes.
2) RE your "clue". That has nothing whatsoever to do with immigration. ie the topic we are talking about. If you disagree, explain how.
3) Don't get me started on Judeo-Christian "morality". Its horrendous!
4) What is your view of people that go to other people's countries and try and take over? Should they be vilified or praised?
5) What "feelings bollox"? Explain specifically.
I KNOW I'm running rings around you! :)

[sincity]

Brilliant!... Viva immigrants, viva a world without barriers or walls, where everyone is free to pursuit his happiness.

[DomnePhilosophy]

What an angry/fearful person you are. I always get the sense from people that predict civil wars and, hell and damnation, that that is in fact what they want/desire to happen.
Top tip: Those lines on maps are arbitrary, man-made and ultimately meaningless. We all live on a spherical rock, and we are all human beings. Do people's accents matter?
Surely we have evolved beyond tribal, fearful, threatened animals? Well some of us have.

[maradenn]

I don't see the link to the math here. Where are the facts? Sure there are problems, but people are the same so there are opportunities as well. You've got to look for them, for the solutions, together.

[DomnePhilosophy]

...and this is perfectly attributable to immigration and not other economic and world factors because...
This is where you go quiet and illustrate your ignorance. Besides I'm pretty sure immigration preceded 2003. No?

[DomnePhilosophy]

"Most of the people on this planet are irrational, aggressive, unintelligent, violent". Perhaps the people you hang around with are. You said it yourself, birds of a feather flock together!
Besides, have you actually done any travelling in your life? Other than to Spain or Greece? (not rhetorical). I've actually been to quite a few diverse countries, and my conclusion is that people are nice, courteous and friendly!
Define socialism, without copying and pasting.

[DomnePhilosophy]

The crusaders left Europe to rob, rape and pillage and much, much worse. There was no threat! They were the threat!
There are documented accounts of crusaders eating babies (not rhetoric), documented in a BBC documentary and used in one of my videos. Remind me when islam invaded Britain? When was it? You've got all the facts.
The Iraq war was a modern day example of fearful westerners petrified of "the other".

[painterQjensen]

a little tough to listen too due to teh speed and accent, but good upload.

[DomnePhilosophy]

The world is full of idiots who believe they KNOW the truth! Doubt is a good thing. It rescues people away from ignorance and bigotry.
What is the relevance of those lines? Other than scars of war.
If you like beer and football, do you have a greater kinship with a non-english person that likes beer and football, or an english person that hates both, but loves the theatre and fine wine?
Are you aware that Europe was burning witches whilst asia and africa were enlightened?

[DomnePhilosophy]

Ha ha the typical cop-out. I HAVE researched this subject and have found NOTHING that supports the direct correlation you claim. Which is why I have asked you for substantiation. Failure to provide a link will confirm what I know to be true. Why so reluctant?
We've agreed that there are MANY benefits of immigration. It would be a distortion of reality to say there are none. Are there no benefits? Name the benefits.
When did I say this video was about "mass" immigration?

[DomnePhilosophy]

When did I argue that "immigration by the million into a small Island off the coast of Europe is POSITIVE or that all these immigrants are benefiting our country!"?
Are you aware that after MANY tedious, repetitive messages making fallacious and presumptuous assertions about my politics, my views of the world, and of immigration, you have NOT ONCE actually ASKED my opinion. Its been hilarious watching you argue against your own prejudices and preconceptions.
People that don't ask, never learn.