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The Forum > Article Comments > Taking the sharp edge off our fears > Comments

Taking the sharp edge off our fears : Comments

By Andrew Bartlett, published 27/1/2006

Andrew Bartlett argues Australia needs to put some serious resources into multiculturalism and migrant settlement programs.

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Jolanda, have you had a read of the article Merideth has been posting links to?

Whilst aspects of it are very concerning it is at the same time a fairly strong rejection of racism. Certainly a sense of the superiority of muslim belief in the article despite it's stated rejection of elitism but that's not racism and has no substantial difference to the views expressed by many christains on this site and elsewhere.

It's worth remembering that the article was published in the summer of 1996/1997, my own views on a lot of issues have changed a lot since then and the world has changed fairly significantly. I'd like to know if Keysar Trad's views have changed at all in that time.

You might also note that muslim is not a race, it is a word used to describe those who embrace the Islamic faith in the same way that christain is not a race.

R0bert
Posted by R0bert, Monday, 30 January 2006 7:32:45 PM
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Could those reading this post place a character (A) etc at the top of their next post indicating a choice from one of the following. If they have another choice give it the next character in sequence and indicate the option so others can choose. This way we can gather a straw poll from those reading comments on what their preferences are.

(A) Reduction in Australia's current level of population (State a figure less than present population)

(B)Skilled Migrants only at current net levels. (Or state a figure higher or lower than current levels)

(C) Skilled Migrants and Refugees only to net levels (Or state a figure higher or lower than current levels)

(D) Migrants only from countries with the same cultural values as the majority of Australians retaining current net levels.

(E) Increase the current levels of migration from unspecified cultures. (State a final figure of what level you would see as optimon for Australia eg 55,000,000.)

(F) Increase Migrant and Refugee intake and spend X resourses on settlement programmes for those not familiar with our social and cultural values. (State a figure of how many and a level of expenditure per person)

(G) My personal choice would be to retain current net levels of population by immigration equating equal to the similar intellectual levels as are leaving for permanent overseas positions. With a genuine refugee intake of not more than 24,000 or 0.001% of the National population per annum with real education and housing settlement programmes for up to one year.
Posted by Philo, Monday, 30 January 2006 7:39:13 PM
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Pliny the Elder (ad77) in his monumental work titled “Natural History” documented heavily what he referred to as the “monstrous races”. Ever since then (and probably even earlier, if we are to believe the Old Testament writers) the fear of “the other” has been an integral, albeit tragic, part of human society. And since earliest times politicians and leaders have used a fear of the other to bolster fragile positions by creating a common enemy. It saddens me that this forum seems to capture the fact that we haven’t really progressed very far as a human species. We are still obsessed with blaming someone else whose race, religion or worldview is in anyway different to our own for the problems we face in our lives, rather than face the possibility that it is our own laziness or inadequacies that create our problems.

I worked in the Balkans last year - a fascinating microcosm of the divisions that tear apart the world right now. I wonder if we are able, as a nation, to face the possibility that, 500 years from now our children’s, children’s, children will have taken the fear of the other, passed from generation to generation to the point of stupidity that the Balkans has reached. Do we have the courage to accept that the world is changing and it is our own inability to cope with change that leads to a need to blame someone else for our own inflexibility. Do we have the courage to change – or do we want to wind the clock back to a perceived “golden age” of Australia where the white Australia policy reigned supreme and muslims stayed in isolation. The same time period in the Christian world, when the fear of the other was a fear of the catholic or the protestant typified in the stupidity of Northern Ireland.

One final truth that we have to face up to. Fundamentalist Christianity is just as intolerant as fundamentalist Islam. Both require nothing short of absolute conversion of the other to their way of thinking and their world views. Neither is right.
Posted by sladeb, Monday, 30 January 2006 7:58:13 PM
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Leigh

Thank you for your last post. Much appreciated. I'm glad that someone understood what I was on about.

Cheers mate
Kay
Posted by kalweb, Monday, 30 January 2006 8:07:56 PM
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Robert,

people say its impossible to reform islam to Western standards and i agree, but really its our only option, but how do you reform a deep religious conviction?

Homophobia and Islamic fundamentalism 2002

http://www.greenleft.org.au/back/2002/519/519p7b.htm
Posted by meredith, Monday, 30 January 2006 8:28:04 PM
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One last point, those who speak of separation of church and state as Yabby did 28 Jan should look to the US. It is not true to assert that we have a separation between church and state in the US, and increasingly in Australia the same is true. The influence of the christian right on US and Aussie politics is deplorable at best. Also look to the Middle Ages of Europe – no separation there. The church ran Europe. In fact if intolerance was practiced by anyone back then, it was Christian intolerance that was at issue.

Now to a more positive posting. BOAZ-David – you asked me to list related issues in a systems view of overpopulation. I took a short time last night to build a Mindmap. It is unfortunate that graphics can’t be posted here as the picture would tell a thousand words.

So a quick listing would give-

Overpopulation, immigration, birth rate, aging population, social security pressures, demand for services (who is going to provide all that nursing home assistance?), economic growth (is this a creditable measure anymore or does it increase environmental degradation?), environmental sustainability (what is our sustainable capacity? Can we solve the water problem? Can we overcome our obsession with car ownership?), globalization of the workforce, impacts of mixed cultures, loss of low skilled jobs overseas and need to reskill the workforce, religious intolerance, cultural clash, language training for new immigrants, affluenza, gross consumerism, suburban sprawl, greenhouse gas issues ...

AS you can see, it doesn’t take long to multiply the range of issues which all come together to shape new policies on the future of Australia.

Finally, Andrew quoted the view that based on extant immigration rates, population would stabilize by 2050. Many attacked him. Could I draw attention to the CSIRO “Future Dilemma’s” Study. From the executive summary:

The base case scenario gives 25 million people by 2050 and that population size should be maintained indefinitely if the assumed birth rates and immigration rates are maintained.

The base case scenario referred to here is an immigration rate of 70000 per year.
Posted by sladeb, Monday, 30 January 2006 8:39:57 PM
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