davo

before you go off on a rant I suggest you READ the post. Trinity clearly stated "in my LAST workplace". He/She said nothing about needing to surround him/herself with people from other cultures.

You must be very desperate to criticise such a well intentioned post.

I work with a variety of nationalities too, not through choice but through circumstance - while we don't have the time or the facilities for feasts (lucky Trinity) we do manage to work together without our skin colour/culture getting in the way.

I guess, davo, you have never socialised or worked with people other than Aryans. You poor deprived little individual.

Hi Brazuka, welcome to the discussion. Yes I am dinki di. No wuckers.

No, I have never read Keith Windshuttle’s book on the White Australia Policy, because I did not know it existed. But now I know of its existence, I will buy it and I will read it.

Your claim that “barely any Australians thought like me” is a meaningless generality, could you be more specific?

As for claiming that I should go to Alabama where people apparently think like me. Well, thank you for displaying to all of us your typical intellectual doublethink, because you just shot yourself in the foot.

You are suggesting that white people who live in Alabama are a despicable mob. By doing that, you are prejudging a racially distinct group of Alabaman people with a negative stereotype, which is an act of racial bigotry. In other words, my dear Brazuca, you are just as big a racist as I am.

redneck, i think you are right in suggesting that we can all be racist at times, but celebrating it as virtue - as you do - is quite another thing. I can't help but feel the anonymity these forums provide also provides you with a dutch courage you would not openly display if we met face to face. I predict your response to this will be cogniscant of this never happening. C'mon prove me wrong.

Hiya Deuc, thank you for your input.

You can denounce racism all you want, Deuc, but you had better be careful. Racism is simply a product of group loyalty and intergroup hostility. So unless you have no allegiance at all to any family, tribe, clan, organisation, race, or nationality, then you can never display a preference for any of them, or you are in effect, committing a sin which you appear to think is a moral absolute. Nor can you exhibit any hostility to any other rival group, without leaving yourself open to a charge of “hypocrisy.” Brazuka has already learned that, the hard way. But if you want to walk around pretending that you are some kind of Mother Theresa, who holds no ill will towards anybody, then go right ahead. But it seems like a hard act to follow.

Whether racism is good or bad is entirely dependent upon social circumstance. If you have a multiracial group that you are desperate to maintain peace within, then racism is bad. But in wartime, racism is good. It is very common for countries at war to portray their enemies as sub human untermenschen, because it helps absolve the guilt they feel at murdering their enemies by the tens of thousands.

Is greed good? Self interest is the driving force of capitalism and self interest is not considered bad in free market economies. But at what point is self interest, greed? Is all self interest, greed?

Racism can be simply be a person looking after the self interest of the group with which he identifies with, and which gives him protection and support. Most people would consider loyalty as good, but at what point is it bad?

Any person who wishes to be considered a part of any group, must sublimate his own self interest to some extent, and give priority to his own group to some extent, or he is worthless to the group. If you consider such behaviour is an absolute evil, Deuc, I do not think any group at all would welcome you into it’s ranks.

redneck, how far are we heading off topic here but there does seem to be relevance as well. Thanks for the response. I get the impression that what you really care about is culture. Would you be willing to be friends with someone of a different race if they fitted in with your view of "Aussie" and somehow you got to see that or will their race forever be a show stopper?

"You may not like “racism”, but then you probably do not like “Lust”, “Envy”, “Pride”, “Greed”, “Sloth”, “Anger” or “Covetousness” either. But I think that you would admit that you may have been guilty of all of these sins, at one time or another, to one degree or another"

I've probably tried them all at times. I understand the reason they are in the list but suspect that context has a bit to do with it. Anger has it's place and I'm not real convinced that lust is not important in keeping the species going. If I do a good job at something then I don't mind being proud of my work.

I've had my moments of racism, the issue being that those moments are not things I celebrate but rather moments I prefer to look back at with disapointment. A place to stop and say "I can be better than that".

You are correct in saying that racism has been with us for a long time. A lot of things have been with us for a long time that we are fighting like crazy to put behind us. Crime has been with us for a long time too but that does not mean I have to welcome the burgler into my house.

R0bert

And so the logic goes like this. Racism has been around for thousands of years and so it is inevitable and therefore justifiable.

What redneck is suggesting is "I can justify being a racist because it is simply a product of group loyalty and intergroup hostility". (ie, i don't need to think for myself because society tells me how to believe, or my fear of how racially diverse society is tells me how to fear, and thus rationalize these fears). It’s a call to embrace an irrational fear.

In more elaborate words, this clearly shows a a kind of strict adherence to received views & prevailing social trends. Its also shows an inability to deal with ambiguity and this is where the use of prejudices & stereotypes to create certainty are used as rhetorical devices to seemingly appear 'rational' and informed.

"We are all different, thus we will not get on with each other."

But not one iota of an explanation about why we do get on, why we do peacefully cohabit and why we should better understand why this happens and what impedes it.

I’m still waiting for your reply redneck my friend.