Sorry Squeers, I don't think it's a red herring at all.
If we can't agree on a standard definition of a common word like “immigrant” on a thread of this nature, what chance do we have of any useful dialogue?
Your statement that “the rest of us are immigrants” would literally suggest the 'white invasion' occurred only one generation ago. Once we deny the validity of birthright or generational inheritance, all people born here are the same, regardless of their ancestry.
Should I be thrown out of this country simply because I happened to be born the wrong colour?
Or should I be ashamed of being born the wrong colour in this country?
I have no idea whether any of my ancestors wronged any blackfella, nor do I care. Since -not having been born- there is nothing I could do to prevent it, how can I share guilt?
There is more than enough guilt about what is happening today to go around, without having to feel guilty about being born the wrong colour in the wrong country.
Concerning the “Aboriginal Problem”, as morally reprehensible as the “stolen generation” policy might have been, as a social experiment the results were interesting to say the least.
That stolen generation proved quite conclusively that when blackfellas are raised as whitefellas, they are to all intents and purposes white.
I reckon just about every country redneck I ever met has told me he/she knew at least “one good blackfella. A classic redneck response would be “if ya just closed your eyes, you'd swear he was white!”
As much as I hate to admit it, but I have to agree with Hasbeen:
“The hand out mentality destroyed a whole host of successful, independent communities...”
this again, is not a racial problem, but a cultural one, which applies to everyone. We now have a frightening number of families who are third and even fourth generation dole recipients.
And they most certainly aren't all black.
It's all about how children are raised, and what values are impressed upon them.

Poirot's post about being woken up at 2 am is a classic example of cultural difference. I would suggest very few whitefellas (at least a generation or 2 ago) would be inclined to knock on a stranger's door in the middle of the night to ask for help in anything less than a life or death emergency.
But in a tribal culture, that would be perfectly acceptable.
This is one area where it might be nice for whitefellas to learn from blackfellas. I have always envied this extended family attitude, and the fact that the word “orphan” can have no real meaning in a tribal culture.
Unfortunately, it puts an intolerable strain on (white) traditional values of personal, private, individual ownership.
When an old -stolen generation- blackfella mate of mine bought a new chainsaw he said I could borrow it any time, -so long as I promised to lock it up. “Otherwise those B@#$% B@#$%s will help themselves, sure as sh@#, and I'll never see it again.”
I think this difference in attitude, between individual and tribal ownership is probably one of the biggest if not the biggest stumbling block to amiable relationships between our cultures.

Grim,

You're right about that difference being the biggest stumbling block. Non-indigenous people simply don't understand that kin is not something "separate" to indigenous people an nor are possessions something that "belong" only to one person. I was very aware of that when these people came to my door. I rang someone they referred to as "Uncle Dougy". I was slightly reticent to do the talking, but was told that Uncle Dougy was a fine man, a friend to everyone. Unfortunately, Uncle Dougy has his phone on the answering service. Put me in mind of Uncle Tadpole from Bran Nue Dae.

SPQR, I try very hard not to move in "circles". Which is more than can be said for the ambition of most Aussies to follow the arrows around the likes of IKEA and be conveyor-belted into the parking lot having exercised their cultural duty.

JoM,

In any culture, free thinking and freedom of spirit are rare attributes. To describe "White" Australian society as definitively possessing these traits is almost laughable. The principle freedoms bestowed on the majority of white Australians in the 21st century are the freedom to toe the line, to go into debt - and to shop till they drop.

to knock on a stranger's door in the middle of the night to ask for help in anything less than a life or death emergency.
But in a tribal culture, that would be perfectly acceptable.
This is one area where it might be nice for whitefellas to learn from blackfellas.
Grim,
In this country they don't need to knock on anyone's door. All the help imaginable is being thrown at them in wheel barrow loads without them even asking. No asking if the rest of us agree or not. That's democracy the australian way.

Poirot,

You are right, kin or the onetalk system in New Guinea, was a cultural asset in tribal days, but in todays society they become destructive. In PNG it is almost impossible for a local to run his own trade store. He can not refuse a onetalk anything he needs, regardless of the ability of them to pay.

I have also seen an aboriginal/european mix race personally expand in PNG, when his ability as a mechanic earned him much greater respect there, than it had in Oz. Respect earned is the greatest reward of all.

As far as restrictions on freedom is concerned, these are personally chosen, by those who feel more secure in being part of the herd.

Do you remember that add for Carnation milk, "the milk from contented cows"? I often see those cows in our suburban population. This is unfair of me really, as most folk have a more pleasant satisfying life as part of the herd.

There is nothing stopping them from becoming a fighter pilot, a racing car driver, or a cruising yachty bum, as I did, except the fact that they don't really want to do those things. It is only for a few minutes on a cold wet Sunday afternoon that they even dream of them.

One has to give up so much, & strive so hard to achieve big dreams, that for most people they are not worth the candle. That new carpet for the lounge room, that looks nice, & feels great under your feet is probably a better dream for most than a Bathurst checkered flag, or a veggie patch at Nimbin.

Jay Of Melbourne,
<Pray tell, which ideology formed the White Australian identity?>
There's no "which ideology" to me. Ideology is the common logic/sense we all construe within. The evidence suggests the Australian stereotype came to prominence after white Australia's early history and with the stirrings of cultural independence, abeyance to a harsh landscape and Federation, all nicely timed around the Fin de siècle. I don't care whether Fernadez or anyone esle "would validate any negative commentary on his own people". I do when it's valid.
<So you've stated categorically that merely being White is "passive racism", good to know where you stand, you say you are anti Racist, what you are is Anti White, anti Racism is a code word for anti White.>
I've said no such thing and please don't try to implicate me in your antagonistic propaganda.