I am sorry, but there are only two paths. With all the nuances and intensities that one may wish, there are mainly two. Let us set ourselves the goal of success: let us imagine that success is a Catalonia that is strong nationally, convivial and with a great social consensus on values, where the Catalan language and culture are in good health and can consider growth rather than survival. Let us imagine for a moment that we have arrived. In this hypothesis there are two options: turn back and say "we have arrived because we said enough, because we knew how to put up barriers, we identified what was indigenous and we saved it from excessive foreign contamination", or turn back and say "we have arrived because we opened up our culture and it has made us new Catalans". That is to say: continue being Catalan because we have raised walls high enough, or continue being Catalan because we have known how to manage the doors. I understand, respect and consider the first to be perfectly legitimate. And I am more of the second.
No, I don't think that demanding greater restrictions on immigration is extreme right-wing. Or necessarily racist. But I do like the idea of having a culture capable of absorbing immigration and transforming it into a new Catalan identity. The big problem we are facing is the lack of tools (the demand for the transfer of powers stems from this need) and the undeniable fact that there is a state with little interest in Catalan identity moving forward. As we know, Catalan identity creates Catalanisms. From there to dangerous independence there is only one step, as has been demonstrated cyclically since 1898: "an indoctrination factory", they said about TV3, when they knew perfectly well that it was only about transmitting Catalan identity (cultural, linguistic and obviously also political). Well, these two factors are basic: the lack of own tools to manage immigration and the historical interest of the State in intervening precisely to make them part of the Spanish, the Spanish." They escape me. I am aware of this, and for this reason, without sharing Orriols' recipe, rather than ignoring it I prefer to debate them. Forgiving life does not work with newcomers, imagine with those from the cradle of the nation.
The debate on independence had the virtue of not distinguishing between natives and foreigners: it was integrative, it was for a yes or a no, and it was civic, secular, free of identity prejudices. Now, it has been preferred to "defuse" this issue (because it is supposedly considered "impossible" or "inconvenient") and divert attention to immigration, a fairly peaceful issue until now in Catalonia. OK, but you cannot separate one issue from the other: ask Trump, or the whole of Europe, if the concepts of identity, immigration, culture and sovereignty are not related. And since they are related, it should be stressed that the best (if not the only) way to achieve a "complete homeland" where it is not necessary to close doors to anyone in order to adopt them as one's own is to have the tools of a state. Basically because, if not, the current entrance door to our house is a police station with a kingdom flag, an ID issued by a Tweety without a club and an immense culture that does not need at all, nor is it interested in, the future of Catalan or Catalanness. Rather, they bother it. That is to say, the newcomer who starts from scratch in our territory has many more options to become a fan of the red one than a trabucaire from Solsona. Powers can be transferred as a compromise solution, but in this matter, as in all others, the autonomy required is that of Portugal.
It is a mistake of the independence movement to have diverted attention to this phenomenon/issue/problem. It is a mistake that can be paid for dearly, because it leaves the accusations of essentialism, closure and intolerance in the hands of the other parties. Those who applied 155, upset people and let an entire government go to jail call us intolerant. But well, I have already said it: it is much more about trying to save ourselves by opening up than saving ourselves by closing down. Even those who believe that voting is a problem are invited to integrate into our deepest values and our most deeply rooted culture. Or opt for the other, of course.
