ABSTRACT
When the phenomenon develops to the point that it impairs realistic relationships with the British society, exaggerated ethnicity can have effects similar to those seen in racism. It can lead to dealing with members of the white community in terms of negative stereotypes, deliberately remaining aloof from British life ways, and assuming that anything bad which happens is a result of ill will on the part of the British. Such reactions have the potential to be as destructive as white racism directed against coloured immigrants. As a result, it is hard to agree with those writers who have praised conscious and deliberate rejection of the British society by coloured immigrants. Although it is clear that refusing to accept jobs on the grounds that to do so would be to capitulate to a racist white society could be regarded as an act of self-assertion, and therefore as preferable to passive acceptance of prejudice, it is difficult to see how such an approach offers any prospects for long term healthy adjustment. The danger also exists that this kind of reaction can become a mere alibi.
