PART 1 of 2

The Author said:

"Even without government support, multiculturalism will still stand as a unifying force for Australians everywhere."

COMMENT: What absolute and total ROT ! I've seldom heard such blatant self contradictory statements as this "Multi"(Diverse) + "Unifying" (bringing together)

I'll repeat my own mantra again "When was the last time you saw a Union marching chanting "The Workers Divided, will never be defeated" ?

Thats right..NEVER.. what you DO hear is "The workers UNITED will etc"

Then: quoting Costello and Robb

[the “M” word has been transformed by interest groups into a philosophy that put “allegiances to original culture ahead of national loyalty”.]

and that is EXACTLY what has happened... and it's also the reason why the change came about.

Lets look at one of the authors statistics.

[one in every four (24 per cent) Australian was born overseas and 15 per cent of the population speaking a language other than English at home.]

yes..and if you look at the ethnic breakdown of that 24% you will find MOST of them come from the UK. i.e.. the original racial/cultural stock which produced Australia as we know it today.

IF EVER there was an unbeatable argument for limiting non traditional Australian racial/cultural stock it is that CLAIM !

I can hear the echo's of those voices against indiscriminate migration after WW2 saying "Watch out..if you let just anybody come here pretty soon they will be telling you that you don't have a culture and 'Now look.. all of us different groups here.. your prevailing culture no longer applies' "

Well guess what.. THEY WERE RIGHT ! If they authors viewpoint is anything to go by.

Does Yung Lo realize just how insulting, offensive and racist is his claim ? here he is saying in effect "All your cultural development as Australians since European settlement is now of little value..its just one among many, and now it will simply be subject to the various ethno/linguistic/cultural pressures from all the various migrants as they compete to establish their own culture as top dog."

This is a positive article. Good to see those most affected by redneck reactionaries still have a little optimism to share.

Does Boazy realize just how insulting, offensive and racist is his rant above?

Boaz: "here he is saying in effect "All your cultural development as Australians since European settlement is now of little value.."

What absolute and total ROT! Jieh-Yung Lo says no such thing - and that Boazy interprets his article thus is just another indication of the warped workings of his missionary brain.

Take a pill, Boazy.

As someone who can remember the New Australians (migrants who arrived after WWII) before the word multiculturalism was invented, and who married one of those newcomers (a non-English speaker), I'd like to make a few comments.

MC is an idealistic concept with an unworkable reality. We laughed at US movies of the 1950s, that showed much flag waving, and US migrants being thankful that they were in the land of the 'Free'. However, I can now understand the problems and what the US at the time was trying to achieve. Not to make people give up their ethnic foods, literature, music or such but to try to weld/meld migrants from diverse backgrounds into being proud of being US citizens, Americans. To inspire them to be proud of their new country. To learn English in order to help their new country as well as themselves.

MC which appeared in the 1970s, supposedly celebrated the differences of our migrants but never required anything more of them. We have lost the plot, in more ways than this.

Today our schools teach post-modernist agendas, patriotism has lost favour, and as far as I can tell, children no longer salute the flag, learn national songs, or even know about our historical heritage. By that I mean that it is owned that Aboriginal heritage goes back 40,000 years or more...and we are all glad that Aboriginal history is belatedly acknowledged...but we seem ashamed of the glorious past of Ancient Greece, Rome, the Renaissance, down to present day Australian artists, writers, Philosophers. There are dark happenings in our past but the achievements, glories outweigh these many times.

We also don't hear of our early settlers and the hardships endured to build today's Australia. My grandparents lived in Western Queensland without electricity, medical help, libraries, etc, survived the Great Depression by shooting rabbits and eating their own vegetables.

Let MC die a proper death and let us all encourage our new comers as well as everyone living in Australia today, to be proud and work hard for this country with all its drawbacks as well as its potential

This is a nice little rant that makes people feel good. I'll be first to admit that I have benefited having friends from a variety of differnet backgrounds. To pretend however that their are not major problems such as caused by the rednecks and racist Lebos in Cronulla is burying your head in the sand. Who wants to become like France or England?

The author speaks of the 'real test" is how we see ourselves as a civil society. The society is becoming less civil and the more we allow those that oppose Western values the more we will have trouble. Our real test is being selective in who we allow in this country. It will be interesting to see if Pauline makes it into the Senate. Even more interesting if she managed to hold balance of power.

David, why are you so hysterical and afraid?

Why do you find it necessary to distort what Jieh-Yung Lo says? I've read the article three times and I can't find anything remotely like: "All your cultural development as Australians since European settlement is now of little value." How did you construct such a weird meaning from the article?

amber300, I think you have listened uncritically to too much Donnelly-type propaganda about what schools teach. Sweeping assertions about our schools rarely reflect the reality. Take the time to go down to your local school and see for yourself.

The proposition that multiculturalism and pride in Australia are in competition is absurd. We can have both. I am proud of Australia because of its multiculturalism (among other reasons).

runner, I think it's time to define what you mean when you use the grab-all phrase 'Western values'. Do you mean, for example, serial lying and cheating among politicians? Or adultery? Or binge drinking? Or the drug culture? Or screwing workers for as little pay as possible? These are all readily found in Australia. Are they 'Western' values?

The values I want to honour are not 'Western' but universal - like respect for humanity, tolerance of difference, freedom from repression, the right to free speech, equality before the law, respect for the rule of law, and so on. I don't see where multiculturalism threatens those values - in fact it enhances them.

Many of those who condemn 'multiculturalism' describe and condemn practices that are nothing at all to do with multiculturalism. They construct a bogey man and play on people's fears.