common sense from unsophisticated people who have no understanding of political correctness

"common sense from unsophisticated people who have no understanding of political correctness"
Posted by Paul.L, Sunday, 1 June 2008 4:44:47 PM

Er?!...if you say so Paully. Time for another Bex?
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Lurv talkin' to yer', but don't interpret lack of response to this soooo stimulating exchange wrongly. Post limit is imminent!

And then back to what has kept me away from your sparkling wit!(With a silent T).

Common sense from unsophisticated people who have no understanding of the world outside their benighted suburbs.

That is, unfortunately common, but with little sense.

CJ,

On this I will agree with you. However i think it extends a lot further than you would accept. I think there is a shocking lack of understanding of other communities in this countries. Most people from the left and the right wouldn't know the difference between hezbollah and hizb-ut-tahir.

Multiculturalism has discouraged any kind of sound investigation of other cultures and instead fosters a sense of understanding without actually knowing anything. It also promotes the idea that integrating into your host community isn't important. That you can continue to behave as you did at home.

You say I'm Islamophobic. That I fear all Muslims or Islam? This is not right. I fully believe there are many moderate Muslims and moderate interpretations which pose no threat to us at all. Just because I don't think Keysar Trad is a moderate doesn't mean I hate/fear all muslims. I've seen Irfan Yusuf speak, he seems to be a reasonable person.

I don't believe there should be any religous schools, not just Islamic ones. And if we are all as alike as many say, there should be no need to go to separate schools anyway. And a community has the right to decide if a massive 1200 person school is going to be plonked down in their midst. I accept that there was some pretty unpleasant sentiments being expressed by the unsophisticated Hanson types.

I don't accept that they were wrong about their right to say to a religous school

Of course it is bigotry. Can some people really believe that if the school was Catholic or Anglican that the application would have been denied on 'planning' grounds. Tosh. In fact I doubt there would have been a town meeting.

People forget that when other cultures first emigrated to Australia, there was much angst about the way the new and older cultures viewed each other. My father was called a wog for a long time and that was when immmigrants looked much the same as other Australians.

I remember growing up in a very multicultural area in the 60s and hearing certain cultures denigrating Australian girls as 'sluttish' ('scuse the term) and wanting their sons to marry nice girls of their own culture. Australians were equally suspicious of newer Australians.

Unfortunately, this pattern seems to be the 'natural' phase of transition. Those nationalities that were new in the 60s and 70s are now well integrated into Australian culture and have added to it in positive ways.

Muslims of various nationalities are only into their first generation in Australia. It takes time for acceptance but it is clear that responsibility lies with both new and older Australians, but it does not assist matters if older Australians do not make newer Australians feel welcome in their chosen home.

We are a secular society and if we accept this then we have to accept that Muslim schools will be built in the same way that we allow other religious schools, even those more extremist Christian groups like the Exclusive Brethren.

The whole Camden thing just racks of the fear principle and all it does is to encourage and provide fuel for those few fundamentalists that might make their way to Australia. Surely our secular beliefs and values would make better and positive impact if we embraced new cultures and religions rather than estrange them.

Higher profile Muslims that make the pages of our major newspapers are not the only Muslims in Australia and nor do they represent the views of the majority of Muslims nor all nationalities that might embrace Islam.

Thanks Paul. While I don't understand on what basis you say this:

<< Multiculturalism has discouraged any kind of sound investigation of other cultures and instead fosters a sense of understanding without actually knowing anything. >>

I don't disagree with anything else you've said there - which makes a pleasant change :)

<< I don't accept that they were wrong about their right to say to a religous school >>

I assume you meant "their right to say no to a religious school" - and I agree completely. It's really only the very evident and ugly racism that bothers me.