They will, Flightless, they will.

>>Sure, I eat with Chopsticks and celebrate Chinese New Year. That's part of my cultural heritage, but ultimately I identify with being an Australian. The problem is there are people that come to this country that do not.<<

Just give them time.

Of course, one sure way to drive them back upon themselves, and ensure that they stay as close to their clan as possible, is to share the views of TheRealists.

You see, they actively agitate against the absorption of new cultures, most probably because change makes them feel uncomfortable. In the face of their opposition - if there were enough of them, that is - the tendency would be for new arrivals to seek protection from their fellow-countrymen. 'Twas ever thus.

But time has a habit of making these petty differences disappear, to the point where we all wonder what the fuss was about. How many people still want to see a "British Australia", as Foxy reminded us was once widely expressed.

http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?discussion=2268#49620

Just TheRealists, I suspect.

That's a very pretty picture that is painted. I do think it's a shame that we can't all get along, but I don't believe racism and white supremacy is at the heart of the problem.

TheRealists,

Your 'few points' in response to mine bore little relationship to mine, but never mind. The main point is that the research you introduced - and misunderstood - did not conclude what you said it did.

Moreover, the assertion that a lower rate of volunteering among newly-arrived Australians 'proves' that multiculturalism has failed is a load of illogical nonsense.

Pericles put it succinctly: "If there has been a decrease in volunteering, one might also assume that because multi-culturalism came about at the same time as two-income families became the norm, this may have had some impact on voluntary work hours. Correlation does not always = causation."

I have read quite a deal of your website. I think you basically conflate immigration policy with multiculturalism. They are two quite different things. The first is about who is allowed to come to this country and the second is to do with programs to encourage positive outcomes from diversity for all Australians. I'm sorry you seem unable to see the sorts of benefits that Pericles identifies. It's your loss.

Dear Pericles,

Well put.

AS Phillip Adams once expressed:

"It's important to remember Australia
before the most recent wave of immigration.

It was dull, self-satisfied and joylessly conformist.
Not simply null and boring, but nullarboring.
Not merely mindless, but lobotomised.

Of course, the option of multiculturalism involves
taking some considerable risks, but almost every
human experience is based on experiment, innovation
and adventure.

In the past we've had to travel the globe
(which, thanks to multi-cultural marketing, media
and technology is suffering from galloping homogeneity)
to see worlds that contrasted with our own.

In a multicultural society, such experiences would be
within walking distance. Or over the back fence.
Good heavens, we could even risk inviting them inside.

I remember ordering my first 'cappa-cheeno.'
Minutes later I learned two new words from the
man behind the hellishly steaming espresso machine,
'prego' and 'grazie.'

And that was just the beginning...I began to suspect that
the world didn't end sharply, a few miles beyond St. Kilda
beach."

This was back in the 1980s.

Most of us have since moved on.

Some never will. As Pericles points out,
they're in the minority, and will end up on the
dust heap of history as our diverse population
continues to grow and live in harmony.

Your argument about the rise in two income families fails to recognise that volunteering is relatively higher the more homogeneous the community is, notwithstanding any rise in two income families.

My article stated that multiculturalism is bad for Australia. I feel that policies that cause Australians to be less caring towards each other is a bad thing for Australia.

I think that the white flight from troubled suburbs, the segregation of schools by race, the breakdown of community life are all more important than any shallow benefits that multiculturalism may bring to some in our society.

Can I just make another point? So far people have argued about how they enjoy certain food, have learnt new words and how an African helped another African once. My argument is that multiculturalism is making Australian communities less caring towards each other, which is backed by research.

Just because I picked up an umbrella for an Asian lady recently doesn't discount this. Just because I have friends from Asia, Europe, North America, India and Israel doesn't discount this. Just because I enjoy singing Karaoke with Asian friends and eating Indian with my Indian friends doesn't discount this. Just because I chose to stay in the city doesn't mean that people in more troubled suburbs don't feel the need to flee the city as their neighbourhood becomes more multicultural.

Just because I (or you) benefit from multiculturalism doesn't mean that everyone benefits.

I don't care about the people who benefit from multiculturalism.

I care about the disadvantaged people living in troubled suburbs that experience the negative aspects of multiculturalism. The people who may not be well off, who may not be super-intelligent, who may not even have Internet access or even a login to OLO, but who have to lap up all the so-called joys of multiculturalism that we citizens of this world thrust upon them. They're the people caught up in this bold experiment of multiculturalism. The irony is that the very people who purport to care the most for these people peruse policies that do them the most harm.

Do you volunteer, TheRealists?