Mikk is just one of the ignorables on OLO. All chip-on-shoulder. We are not obliged to take any notice of people like that.

https://youtu.be/xqyOpWi1rOs?si=huJrnN_NG56t51I0

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Dear ttbn,

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You wrote :

« … we need a government that will not only drop official multiculturalism, but also get rid of other divisive policies … and removing the aboriginal flag …»
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You might “need” that, ttbn, but the large majority of Australians don’t. In fact, I think it would be true to say that most would consider it to be un-Australian.

In a survey last year 78% said immigration made Australia stronger, though most would prefer less of it. Two polls in December found that around 60% think the current intake is too high. Nobody suggested it should be stopped completely.

Your remarks are reminiscent of the Immigration Restriction Bill of 1901, (generally referred to as “The White Australia Policy”) that was finally abolished by The Racial Discrimination Act 1975.

The Immigration Restriction Bill was motivated by economic factors (cheap foreign labour) but as it applied to Chinese and various other Asian immigrants, it translated essentially into racial hostility.

Your rejection is based on what is known today as ‘identity politics” of which far-right nationalists are ardent proponents, focusing on the exclusion of unwanted migrants from around the world as well as national indigenous peoples.

What you are promoting, ttbn, are ethnic, religious and racial identity politics based on the idea that the silent majority “needs” to be protected from globalisation, multiculturalism, and immigration.

Identity politics is a form of tribalism that rejects all those who are not members of the tribe. It discriminates against anybody different. It’s anti-social, makes people suspicious and wary and isolates the tribe members.

Those are not Australian values, ttbn.

People who follow their tribal instincts have an existential problem, a form of anthrophobia that creates problems in their relationships and interactions with others. It can be quite debilitating.

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Dear Banjo,

Thank you for your eloquent post.
You put things so well and in such a
civil manner. To attack you and your comments would be
simply churlish.

Quite frankly -

I'm so glad to be living in Australia. I've travelled
widely. Lived and worked overseas and to me Australia is the
best country in the world. It's a country where most
of us do finally and formally recognise that we're all
different but that
theyre's nothing threatening in the difference.

Today we're exposed to a wide range of restaurants,
diverse forms of entertainment, beneficial changes in food
habits, less conformity in our dress and behaviour. Our
education, health, and institutional systems have improved.
Much still needs to improve - but we're working on it.
We now have the capability to learn about other cultures.
About each others needs, likes and dislikes.

There's more of an openess to new ideas and changes.
We no longer accept that only our way of doing things
is necessarily the
best way simply because that's the way in which we are
accustomed.

We're all seeking a better life for ourselves and future
generations and we're discovering there is no place for
a "us" and "them" mentality in our society today or in
the future.

Things have changed - and will continue to do so. Most of
us agree that it's been for the better and we shall strive
for it to continue. The education of our children is key.

BJ

You are one of the 'ignorables', but you keep on addressing me as though I am interested in your opinions of my opinions.

I am not interested; and I am not going to argue the toss with a stranger who could be a human, a trained chimp, or these days, a robot.

Have a look at the video I posted on two threads.

FYI (you won't hear from me again), my list of ignorables is as follows:

You
That bloody woman
Paul the Green.

"The Department of Home Affairs has issued a "Multicultural
Framework Review." It explains why Australia has succeeded
where other countries have not."

So the government department in charge of administering the government's policies on multiculturalism informs us that the policies that that department are implementing are a massive success.

Well when a government body tells us that they are doing a marvellous job I'm always totally convinced </sarc>

Seriously, some people will fall for anything so long as it confirms their prejudices.

The fact is that multiculturalism has failed in every country it has been tried. the only reason the problems in Australia aren't as severe as those in places such as France, Sweden, England and Michigan, is that we have fewer of the problematic nationalities in this country. That in turn is due to the far-sighted policies implemented by people like Howard (we will decide who comes to this country and the circumstances under which they come) and Abbott (stop the boats).

But for the efforts of these people we would have been inundated with such massive nationalistic problems that we would envy Paris' and London's relatively lesser problems.

Multiculturalism stands a small chance of working when there is a dominant culture that is supported by the nation, when the members of the other cultures are relatively small in number, when those other cultures bare some resemblance to the dominant culture and, most importantly, when the members of cultures actively antagonistic toward the dominant culture are small in number.