David,

Your observation is correct - people tend to congregate with their own ethnic group.
However, Australia benefits by accepting the idea of many differing cultures living together harmoniously and spreading various cultural mores across a very broad community.

Multiculturalism means just that - many cultures, but the word has come to convey a pejorative meaning to some closed minds.

"Multiculture in Australia consists of people from many cultures getting together with people of their own culture in different areas."

But they don't get together with other cultures. We are becoming a country of tribes. All this 'togetherness' occurs only in TV commercials trying to get all the odds and sods to buy rubbish they don't need.

"Real Aussie culture to me is 'no-culture' or 'anti-culture'".

You know that is not true, AC. We have a distinct culture derived and modified from our Anglo/Saxon/Celtic forebears.

"Successful multiculturalism is where everyone's right to freedom of culture is respected".

No success there, then, particularly when there was no need for the stupid policy in the first place.

The time could come when Australia is threatened by the cultures that immigrants came from. That will bring about a very interesting situation. China and the Chinese diaspora in Australia comes to mind immediately. And the more multicultural we become, the bigger the threat to Australia.

Only very naive (some would say stupid) people approve of multiculturalism; and the very unpleasant future results of it will affect them too

Hi Aidan,

Yes, cultural practices are always changing, even imperceptibly, and certainly when people move from one cultural environment to another, like from one country to another. I'm sure that the cultural practices of the children of most groups differs markedly from those of their parents, and certainly grandparents, and MOST certainly from the cultural practices of their parents'/grandparents' homelands, although those practices would have changed as well in the intervening generations.

David, people coming to Australia are usually skint, so they seek out accommodation in the suburbs which combine cheapness and access to employment. Similarly, when we came back down to Adelaide from the country, we too sought out cheap accommodation which was accessible for our needs. Once migrants - and us too - get on their/our feet, we move out.

So the impression is that some suburbs are overwhelmingly composed of one ethnic group or another, and that 'therefore' they are cliquey, and stick together. Not so: in one suburb here which was assumed to be so Greek, only 12 % of the households were Greek. and since then, I'm sure, most of those - and more so their children - have moved out all over the city.

Ttbn, one thing about multiculturalism in all its various forms that has surprised me, is that given the difficulties that anybody has adapting to a different society, how little crime or violence there seems to be emanating rom those groups. Is there a chronic epidemic of Greek crime ? South American crime ? Cambodian crime ? I don't think so. Not even the current bogey-man, South sudanese crime. maybe I live too sheltered a life, but I just don't see it occurring. Perhaps you can cite the stats ?

I wonder sometimes if some of the hostility to ethnic groups and multiculturalism from some people is the fear that those foreigners will race off their sisters, or wives, or daughters. Inter-relations will certainly happen, and given that

[TBC]

[continued]

and given that I married an Aboriginal woman, I'm all for it. It produces beautiful children. Charles Darwin called it hybrid vigour - it's sort of the opposite of cross-cousin marriage, and all to the good for that. Get ready for inter-racial and inter-ethnic grandchildren, you fellas :)

Joe

Get ready for inter-racial and inter-ethnic grandchildren, you fellas :)
loudmouth2,
I've been saying that for decades. Imagine the racists not being able to bleat racism ! Wonder what they'll invent instead ?

"5Ttbn, one thing about multiculturalism in all its various forms that has surprised me, is that given the difficulties that anybody has adapting to a different society, how little crime or violence there seems to be emanating rom those groups. Is there a chronic epidemic of Greek crime ? South American crime ? Cambodian crime ? I don't think so. Not even the current bogey-man, South sudanese crime. maybe I live too sheltered a life, but I just don't see it occurring. Perhaps you can cite the stats ?"

Joe,

Greeks are Europeans whose culture is little different from ours. Standing out in the criminal gang category are the African gangs. South Americans and Cambodians? We haven't had waves of them, but their crime rate is probably average.

I note that you stay clear of mentioning Lebanese, Vietnamese, Afghans, Chinese etc. - well represented in criminal affairs.

But, the criminal leanings of various cultures is not a concern of mine. I've spelt out my objections to multiculturalism enough times already. Those who don't hold my views will never hold my views, so there's not much point in spelling them out every time the subject comes up.

Not enough people listened to warnings about the pending fall civilisations throughout history, either. The civilisations fell, as will ours. Nothing changes. People don't heed history, nor do they often think sensibly.