Yes. Multiculturalism has “had its day”. It has always existed only in the minds of dictatorial politicians who never consulted Australians before forcing it on us, and among left extremists who think fiddling with the makeup of society is fun and believe in that ridiculous mantra “in diversity lies strength”.

Most people don’t give a damn about the silly concept, except for the cost of propping up and encouraging “ethnic” organizations, as well as government departments devoted to policing naughty people who say something nasty about someone else’s culture or habits. The cost and trouble multiculturalism has caused in its 40 odd years is enormous, and some people are still yammering about it as though it were a good thing!

It is strange that they still feel the need to defend it, if it is such a wonderful idea.

This ex crony of the discredited champion of social engineering, Al Grassby, was actually commissioned to write this article. It seems that the out of date pro multiculturalists are feeling insecure; they think that they still have to push, push, push.

Fortunately for most of us, including new immigrants, they cannot tell us what to think, and we can get on with more important things, continuing to live the way we always have without the need to “embrace” the stupid ideas of minority elites.

Oh. I forgot the cost. That still galls, of course.

Andrew,

Good and sensible article.
Multiculturalism 'the theory' worked for the US due, in part to a good immigration policies and management.

If there are problems in Multicultural Australia, we need to look at the way we implement it.

Peace,

T

Great article.

But multiculturalism has always been under threat. That is, the Australian people have always felt threatened by newcomers.

In the 1960s I remember very strong antipathy towards European immigrants - i.e. who did not come from British or Irish stock.

In the 1970s the same for Vietnamese refugees.

In the 1980s and 1990s we saw strident racist campaigns against Asian immigrants.

Now attention has focussed on Middle Eastern people. Ironically, some of that racism has come from people of European decent, (former 'Dagos'), people who faced discrimination and vilification themselves back in the 1960s.

The anti Middle East phenomenon will subside in years to come and the focus will turn to some other unfortunate group. I expect black Africans that have taken up refuge here in recent times.

But despite these campaigns of intolerance, Australian society has steadily built itself into a robust, diverse and tolerant society. Many of the formerly despised peoples now occupy high position in our administration, community organisations and business.

True, in the 1980s we generally felt good about multiculturalism, priding ourselves on our national tolerance and rich diversity.

But nothing much has changed over the decades, except that the current campaign against multiculturalism comes at a time when the world feels less secure.

Insecurity has little to do with immigration policy, but multiculturalism is, nevertheless, a convenient whipping boy for those insecure folk who feel like lashing out at something.

They will settle down in time.

Andrew:

That's a panoramic view of some of the ethnic weldings that have happened in Australia and elswehere in the last 60 + years.
Forgive me if I make a few tiny, trivial (perhaps) comments.

1. I think we underestimate the power of feeling different, and feeling alienated. I walked through Germany once with a pleasant guy who entertained me by telling jokes about black men and their large appendages, day after day with no repetition.. He grew up in North Carolina in a time of the earliest school integration.
There were riots of some kind on beaches in Chicago,when people first saw large numbers of black people's bodies semi-unclothed.

2. The Daily Telegraph in Sydney has been running an anti-migrant, anti-Muslim line - perhaps because it senses the resentment among ordinary working-class Australians for the privileges that seem to be given to Muslims.

3. And the media have been identified in the police report on the Cronulla riots and their aftermath as important contributing causes of what happened on both sides. Who controls the media..??

4. Universities have been runing scared for some years. No Aborigine must be allowed to fail. We must at all costs show our sympathy for Muslims. No confrontation must be allowed which could show the university as unsympathetic to migrant aspirations, even if these people have been blatantly plagiarising. ALlowing this fear to dominate proper university testing and toughening of students only helps open the gates for resentment, as we saw at Macquarie last year. A sensible middle ground must be found between the extremes.

So once again Andrew, a fine piece which opens up many worrying issues. I fel that politicians will, like the Tele, sense the mood and push back the privileges extended to many migrant groups. It will be difficult finding a sensible common ground betwen Aussie triumphalism and ethnic polyglot diversity. We need good people to steer us through the issues and inform the electorate. The politicians only follow the throng, as we are seing with the turnaround in American opinion on Iraq. The people choose, and leaders follow.

Another valuable and thoughtful contribution - as well as a bit of a history lesson.

And Leigh................................. this boat has sailed - we are knee deep in immigrants and I am loving it -

Multiculturalism is the cultural status quo in Australia. Those who oppose it have the onus of:

a. showing they properly understand it; and
b. showing why we need governmental intervention to dismantle it.

Conservative opponents of multiculturalism have failed to show any proper understanding of the concept and of how it plays out in reality. Is it any wonder, then, that true conservatives like Tony Abbott continue to support it?