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I should mention I do think there should be restrictions. What's happening in Britain is ridiculous.
What we are seeing in Britain (and Australia, and Canada, and the United States, and the Netherlands etc.) is the inevitable outcome of multiculturalism. Once you assert that a country is "multicultural" and that all cultures residing within its borders have equal status and importance, then you simply have no choice but to accommodate such demands. After all, if Britain is now officially multicultural, then a Christian celebration such as Christmas can no longer expect to enjoy any special status in British society. To celebrate Christmas and not, say, Eid would be to favour one particular cultural/religious group over another - a serious crime according to multiculti.
Before I respond,I find it amazing that on such a quiet board, in the space of a week, 2 members have signed up with similar views.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Efranke
Hold on.
A couple of posts ago you were telling us that Australia never had a dominant culture and has always been a diverse, multicultural mix of different peoples (as if to say the entire world came here at the same time in one big boat), but now we see you're lamenting how badly post-war Italian and Greek immigrants were treated for being "different" from the Anglo-Celtic Australian mainstream.
Make up your mind.
No. I said that migrants have been coming to this country for a number of years. I also mentioned that today, Greeks & Italians are mostly considered part of Australia. When they started arriving after WW2 they were NOT accepted.
they had to work hard, cop a lot of resentment, be physically abused etc.
In the 80's it was the Asians. Then the arabs. Now the Africans. The cycle continues.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Efranke
Sure, but I think you'll find that, on the whole, it was people of British Isles descent who played the dominant role in building and shaping the modern Australian nation.
Well, they were the first white settlers. Australia has changed a lot in the last 40 years. Developed nicely,
Now, that woudn't have anything to do with the migrants who have arrived & done a lot of back breaking work - one of Australia's greatest project was the Snowy Mountain Scheme - 100,000 people from around the world worked on that. 70% were migrants.
One example of their contribution.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Efranke
Gee, you really are a product of the ultra-PC Australian education system, aren't you?
Leaving aside all that rubbish about how reprehensible the so-called "White Australia" policy was, would you care to explain what is so wrong about a nation's founding majority wanting to preserve their identity and culture instead of being overwhelmed by alien populations?
no I am a product of being able to think for myself.
What's wrong with the White Australia Policy? If you think racially based selection on migration is ok then that is up to you. A majority that attempted to wipe out the original inhabitants of this country - then choose who can come here.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Efranke
To this day, nearly every other nation in the world keeps out ethnically and racially distinct foreign populations in the name of self-preservation. Yet I don't hear people screaming about how "racist" they are for not allowing themselves to be flooded with immigrants.
who is allowing anyone to be flooded with immigrants???
Quote:
Originally Posted by Efranke
Nobody can honestly deny that Australia was a far more cohesive, unified, harmonious country prior to the advent of mass non-European immigration and state-sanctioned multiculturalism. That shared sense of nationhood - or the "crimson thread of kinship" as Sir Henry Parkes put it - that Australians once enjoyed has been completely undermined. Today Australia is a society of strangers, inhabited by an increasingly polyglot hodgepodge of peoples who have absolutely nothing in common with each other.
So now you're saying there isn't a shared sense of nationhood? Maybe you sit and worry where people have come from. To me, as long as they are hard working, honest, law-abiding citizens I seriously couldn't give a **** where they come from.
So, you are confirming Australia is made up of a mix of people who don't have a shared heritage, (which was my original point). You confirm that Australia is still defining it's own culture.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Efranke
Can you define China's identity in a few words? What about Greece's? India's? Turkmenistan's?
You can't? That must mean they haven't got one!
The fact that we are having this discussion just shows that mass diverse immigration has indeed undermined Australia's historic identity. Not so long ago Australia was confident in its identity as a white, English-speaking Western nation with a strong British heritage. It was only the onslaught of mass non-European immigration and multiculturalism in the 1970s that threw Australia's national identity into confusion.
ok, What is Australia;s historic identity? Having the oldest living continuing civilisation in the world? Or the blip on the note of history of british influence?
as far as I can see, we are still English speaking. We're still a western nation. we still have a strong british influence. Seriously.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Efranke
Yes, the original British and Irish settlers transplanted much of their old culture and way of life onto this continent. By the time the post-war wave of non-British European immigrants arrived, the die was well and truly cast. Most of the post-war immigrants assimilated into Australia's existing, British-derived culture and way of life. They shared a common European Christian heritage with the existing Australian population, so assimilation was possible. I'm yet to see evidence that the current wave of non-Western immigrants are able or willing to do the same.
really? so this is about religion for you.
I know a number of non-christians. They have assimilated without any issues.
if only the british were so accomodating to the aborigines when they came here. But it's ok for those of british ancestory to jump up & down when other cultures come here to make a living.
From the beginning of the colonial era until the mid 20th Century, Australia drew its people and culture almost exclusively from the British Isles (In 1949, Australia’s population was 90% Anglo-Celtic, 98% European). Thus, to claim that “Australia was founded on multiculturalism” is completely wrong and demonstrates a total ignorance of Australian history. The truth is that Australia was founded upon British civilisation, not "diversity" or "multiculturalism."
are you illiterate? I said built on multicultralism. Not founded.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Efranke
The various, disparate nomadic tribes that we now collectively label "Indigenous Australians" never formed a nation-state of their own per se. Nevertheless, they did try to prevent the British from settling on this continent (those racist, xenophobic Aborigines!). And they failed.
I can not even dignify this with a response.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Efranke
Given what happened to them once they became a minority, why on earth would European Australians want to follow in their footsteps?
nor this.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Efranke
Is it?
A European-descended majority keeps the country and economy running, while unproductive Third World immigrants rip off and exploit Australia in every way that they can. Most of them do not give anything to Australia, not even their loyalty.
well well. your bigoted views just keep on coming. way to go.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Efranke
I really wonder what will happen over the next three or four decades if immigration continues to shift the demographic balance. Will Australia remain a First World country when most of its population becomes of Third World origin?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Efranke
What we are seeing in Britain (and Australia, and Canada, and the United States, and the Netherlands etc.) is the inevitable outcome of multiculturalism. Once you assert that a country is "multicultural" and that all cultures residing within its borders have equal status and importance, then you simply have no choice but to accommodate such demands. After all, if Britain is now officially multicultural, then a Christian celebration such as Christmas can no longer expect to enjoy any special status in British society. To celebrate Christmas and not, say, Eid would be to favour one particular cultural/religious group over another - a serious crime according to multiculti.
i seriously doubt Christmas is under threat. What a load of ****.
To be fair, OZgal, look at New Zealand (South Auckland in particular). When you fill up with large numbers of people from the third world (in this case Pacific Islands) standard of living heads in the direction of the places these people come from.
yes, I am not advocating to throwing Australia's doors open to all & sundry. Other posters claimed that Australia's previous White only policy was a-ok. They also dismissed the contribution of non-british people in this country.
We have strict immigration laws here - it is quite difficult to migrate here (unless you're from NZ ).
When you think about it though, I'd say just about any and every country is a mix of cultures. Is there really a country that's homogenously unicultural? China's a whole hodgepodge, so's India. The Middle East - not just each country but within each country are different cultures. Some go along tribal lines, others religious, and sometimes brands of the same religion.
All us "cultures" in Oz just do our own thing, we don't robotically follow some instruction booklet on how to be Australian, or whatever. It's whether we can all do our own thing and not infringe on others that's the issue.
I don't like meat pies. That doesn't infringe on anyone else who does. It's if I go around preaching hatred towards those who do like meat pies or wanting them restricted or banned that's the problem. A simplistic example, but the gist of the matter and the basis of many concerns about multiculturalism.
Migrants aren't all pure and wonderful, some of them will be arseholes and troublemakers. Just like anyone, just like our own dinky-di feral trash. Problem is, the "racism" card sometimes gets thrown around in the case of ethnic arseholes and troublemakers and too often PC-addled authorities and govt are quick to back down and start groveling, or worry about "cultural sensitivity". This breeds resentment and encourages multi-tribalism versus cultural cohesion.
Vichel perfectly pretty much sums up where I come from on this debate as well - I am just too lazy to repeat what he/she has said
But I will add a bit....It works both ways - controlled immigration is fine, providing the infrastructure can support it and it is not going to swamp the local population. However I see no reason to let people in with no skills and poor English though.
Uncontrolled immigration does no-one any favours though and my main concern is people not making any effort to assimilate. Sure - they should retain their own culture but they owe it to the country of settlement to learn and respect their culture and make an effort to fit in. Equally the "locals" need to reciprocate this and be accepting.
I spent 8 years in the UK so I was an immigrant myself. I just saw too many examples of recent immigrants forcing their views down other's throats and demanding special privileges and rights.
So I think you need immigration, but providing it is done in a controlled, steady manner and you're careful about who you let in. Pretty hot potato debate huh?
Before I respond,I find it amazing that on such a quiet board, in the space of a week, 2 members have signed up with similar views.
Is it really possible that two people could have the same views?! lol. There are millions of people who share our views. You know, the ones who don't repeat what the media/government keep spouting. Multicultural enthusiasts still cant explain how multiculturalism is a strength for us (ie. helping economic growth, increasing living standards, lowering pollution and so on). The wonders of diversity.
Ex: Baseball is experiencing a sharp decline of popularity in Canada,
which is probably mostly due to new immigrants having no interest for it.
Many South Asians in particular were raised with "cricket" and often show no interest for baseball.
Even the super-Canadian sport of (ice) hockey is experiencing a decline in popularity.
It is especially apparent on a participatory level, and many areas of larger cities with large immigrant populations are having difficulty putting together children's hockey leagues these days.
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