Thanx Ranier, I appreciate your perspective.
I do feel a little though, that your rather harsh assessment of entrenched racism and the 'bad white fella' is rooted in either bad personal experiences, or learned attitudes.

On race issues, I'm quite robust. My kids are too for that matter, but my daughter is probably the most vulnerable. She has such a beautiful personality and is not an assertive person with those outside the family. She was even invited to go on a 'supergirl' course or something.. some female empowerment thing for unassertive girls (from school). She and her fiance read my opening post :)

My experience in Asia cleansed me from any shred of racism, in the "regarding them as maybe just a tad less able than 'us'" kind of way.

It quite blew me away to interact with people who might be using a blowpipe to take down a monkey one minute and be speaking with such intelligent grasp of complex issues the next. Though these days they use a shotgun more :)

This is why I am adamant that Aboriginals can achieve just as much as the white fella, and in the process bring a very rich perspective on life to the community. But of course, 'achievement' has many dimensions. I don't think I want Aboriginals to become 'just like us'
I'd rather they brought the best of their cultural outlook to us so we can all be enriched. One point of high value is the kinship patterns

You point about us really wanting 'your mob' to become 'white' is kind of true and false at the same time. The 'white' thing is purely coincidence. If we were yellow and had slanted eyes and were in the same number I'd think the same. Its not about becoming 'white' its about becoming members of the predominant community. For my ancestors, on the English side, I guess there was some 'becoming french' or 'saxon' etc....

REX.. glad we can agree about something :)

KARTYA JIM...comments noted :) cheers.

BOAZ....You were in T800s thread a minute ago, supporting his racially based thread saying One Nation was not a racist party, when every Aboriginal person in Australia would hotly disagree with you..
Then you had the 'Cherbourg' thread which was completely at odds with The One Nation thread too...

I think you are very confused Boaz_David..Pauline Hansons One Nation.(that term is a joke) only served to further isolate and villify Aboriginal pple and make them fear for the safety of their children at school..and they had experience(and friends of mine )whereby their children were attacked as a direct as a direct result of the hatred she whipped up..this also happened to Asian children..

I dont get you at all...except to state the obvious..and I wont.

What a wonderful article David Boaz. The Ethnic groups in the West are using the racism card to throw the spotlight off their own racism and refusal to marry outside of their own tribes. If you suggest we should promote tribal intermarriage they straight away brand you as a white racist. What could be less racist and more accepting of another tribe than allowing your children to marry into that tribe.

Rainer your hostility to marrying into the white tribe betrays your own racism.. Don’t try and justify it with the racism strick that you people always pull out to beat whitey over the head with when it doesn’t suit your own selfish tribal aims.

The etnic and tribal groups in this country must understand that all the bloodshed throughout history including the conflicts happening all over the world at the moment are tribal conflicts over territorial control. The Germans weren’t anti sematic so much as they feared losing control of Germany to the Jewish tribe who numbered in the millions and were gaining a very strong hold on the German economy with their business success. Because the Jews supported their own people and helped them in business.

The Jews were slaughtered for the very reason that tribal intermarriage never took place between them and the Germans. This is always a danger with religious tribes who have the added excuse of their religion that allows them to practice their own tribal racism and delude themselves they are doing it for purely holy reasons.

As sure as night is day at some point there will be bloody tribal warfare or terrorism in this country unless we all get together to promote intertribal marriage. It might happen in two years it might happen in fifty years. All the etnic groups here must ask themselves if they want that kind of terrifying future for their children. It only takes ONE TRIBE to fail to intermarry and when they number in the millions they will demand a separatist state and the rest is history.

Thanx for the kind words Sharky..

Taurus.. my point about One Nation not being 'racist' is not in conflict with all the other things I've said.

1-Nations view was simply "Treat all Aussies the same" and I struggle to find 'racism' in that ... can you ?

The only almost reasonable argument I've heard against 1-Ns policy was that the Indigenous folk have suffered institutional disadvantage and my raising of the Cherbourg issue illustrates this.

I have to agree that 1-Ns policy does not give this issue sufficient attention, but their policy on Immigration was not the slightest bit racist from what I can gather.

I'm not really confused, just limited by word constraints and the fear of boring people to death with long woffle...

Does that clear it up ? If not.. request further clarification on specific points pls.

Are there any Aboriginal posters on here who DONT THINK Pauline Hanson was racist?

Please it would be refreshing to see if there are Aboriginal people who dont think she was a devisive and nasty peice of work.

Will your answer be a silent affirmation?

OK, Time to organise big ethnically mixed dance nights nation wide. Lets assimilate by means of love and romance instead of by war and terror.