There's so much hoolabaloo about multiculturalism, religion & whatever you can think of & it always targets the countries which people migrate to. Question : are people so thick that they don't realise that other places are different to where they come from so therefore accept this difference. If they leave due to persecution then surely the last thing they'd want is dragging the cause of this persecution with them.
I came to Australia because I wanted to get away from the european bureaucracy & for a better climate. Unfortunately, this is now in jeopardy. The whole world knows Australia is a western style Nation so why do people who detest the West move here ? The reason is an insidious agenda, not seeking a new or better life. Sadly, so many Australians have had it so good for a long time that they've become blind to this takeover by stealth which is helped along by ignorant australian academic do-gooders.. I personally have no qualms about where my neighbours hail from but I draw the line when they start to impose another culture onto me & expect me to change. By all means go & ask a country to let you live there but abide to its rules, the benefits of which made you want to go to this country in favour of yours.

In short, people who hate the west are still perfectly greedy enough to be happy living western lifestyles.

Dear Individual,

You make so many generalisations and
sweeping statements - I'm unclear as to
who exactly are you talking about?
Who are these people of whom you speak, -
your neighbours? Do you know them that well
that you are able to make all these assumptions
about them? "A take over by stealth?" What exactly
does that mean?

And you refer to "ignorant academic do-gooders?"
It seems to me that somehow the words - "ignorant"
and "academic" don't quite fit together. And as for
"academics being "do gooders," really? You mean that
they teach, or that they encourage lateral thinking?
Then how can they be ignorant? Surely they must be
qualified in something to be considered an academic?

Ah well, life can be defined as a long process of
putting up with Other People's irritating habits.
Yet I am constantly amazed at how tolerant even the
most intolerant people are of their own foibles.
The man who detests the way his neighbour sucks air
through his teeth will never be upset by his own habit
of cleaning his ear with the tip of his little finger
in public.

There is a misunderstanding about what multiculturalism was meant to be and how it was meant to work. It was never about assimilation, it was about harmony and respecting many diversities, and a law of discrimination being umpire so that one ethnic culture does not impose over another.

I live not far away from Kings Cross and a find some hypocracy from people who are speaking Arabic, taking over the underbelly, treating the women like dogs, taking over the drug trade, and probably going home to their nice parents as good little religious boys. The violent attacks from the various gang wars including those from Lebanese and other middle eastern backgrounds are clashing with biker groups and other low lives.

This does not mean that all people with Muslim and middle eastern backgrounds are deliberately causing trouble on the streets of Sydney. But as eye witness, I see clearly, some are. Let's not deny this.
And yes, there are other groups like the triads, the other ethnic mafias that would gladly fight to take their place.
But I do wonder if there is any truth in what Pauline Hanson is ranting on about. Are some migrants so sanctimonious about themselves, putting Australians down as second class citizens, while they treat our women like dogs and literally defecate on our city streets? Is this deliberate to degrade Australia or is this survivalism?

These are a minority of migrants who are making a bad name for a majority of good migrants who just want to do the right thing. What do we do about the bad ones? Multiculturalism is supposed to be about harmony, and some are clearly not harmonic in Australia, even by their own rules from their own cultures.

Who and what has to change?

"ignorant"
and "academic" don't quite fit together.
Foxy,
It's a perfect combination, it's proven daily !

"A take over by stealth?" What exactly
does that mean?
Foxy,
are you living on a hobby farm all by yourself ?

Foxy,
in all sincerity, to be an academic is only deemed a qualification by other academics. I have stated before that yes, there are people who are academically very switched on & are of great benefit to society. The problem is that we really need to come up with a new term for those who received higher education but fail to use it for the good of society. Don't forget that the standard of education has been dropping for a long time now & just about anyone can be an academic, you just have to continue going to college. How many hare-brained statements do we hear every day from these Experts ? Can you count the number of statements made in the media by blue collar workers & small business owners ? Those who make our economy go round ! Those who pay the fees & taxes & employ others ? No, they don't get asked by the media. It's always some no-clue Dr this & Prof that or some psychologist who wouldn't be able to stand on their own feet to support themselves. Lucky for them Government has a stockpile of cash to distribute for those mindless schemes.

It seems to me that it's individual who can't accept change.

Australian society is very different now to what it was 30 years ago when s/he migrated here. Its increasingly multicultural nature is something from which all Australians have benefited, including the disaffected minority who yearn for the good old days when Australia was an outpost of Europe in the Antipodes, and England was still regarded as the mother country.

Fortunately, most of us prefer living in the present.

Dear Individual,

I firmly believe that you can't tar everyone
with the same brush be it academics, immigrants,
refugees, or locals. We're all unique, multi-faceted
individuals. Everyone who comes from somewhere else
and settles in another country has their ups and
downs of adapting to life in their new country.
There's usually confounded expectations, culture shock,
conflicting loyalties and a search for belonging, and
(often) language. Many people as well as facing
adjustment difficulties, suffer from a sense of guilt,
at having left their people to continue to struggle
against repressive regimes. They may have found a greater
physical freedom in their new country, in that their lives
are no longer in danger, but the struggle they commenced
with their conscience allowed them no spiritual freedom.

People often talk about hardships of the first few years
and the nostalgia with which they remembered the countries
they had chosen to leave. On returning to them for the
first time, however, they are reminded ot the reasons
they left. The first trip back is often a common turning
point., after which many people become more content, and
determined to establish their lives in their new country.

As another poster pointed out - the so called "trouble-
makers," to which you refer - are a minority. And it's
important to put things into perspective and as I said
earlier - not tar everyone with the same brush.

The multicultural nature of Australian society means that
there is no single national identity but a gathering of
many cultures, and this is one of the most unique and
rewarding aspects of living in Australia. The nature of
being Australian is to be part of this diversity.
The wide and varied gathering of "identities" is in keeping
with the sense of potential and openness so many people enjoyed
on coming here. My parents felt privileged not only to have
been able to make a home here but also to have found their
own sense of belonging.

individual,

Foxy, CJ, commonsense.... three
individual .... nil and still digging.
Give up while your behind and think it through.

Individual,
The following quote may interest you, as it supports your contention.

"One day millions of men will leave Arabia to go to Europe. And they will not go there as friends. They will go there to conquer it. And they will conquer it with their sons. The wombs of our women will give us victory." Former Algerian president Houari Boumedienne.

This is happening now.

The only reason I can see that muslims would move to another country with quite alien culture to them is that they see themselves as 'pioneers for Islam'. As their numbers grow they become more influencial in the political scene. Even now there is a UK government minister that is Islamic who openly speaks about a future UK PM who is Islamic. Gradually Islamic law is being imposed.

In the meantime, those muslims that immigrate to western countries enjoy the life and privileges that western culture offers.

Multiculturalism is a failed ideology and our previous government dropped the term. The present government has done the same and has discontinued use of the term. 'Unity in diversity' is an unattainable myth. Integration is the only way for a cohesive society.

Australia has always been a multi-racial society, but never multicultural. Our basic foundations are Westminster. There are aspects of many cultures that are harmfull to our unique society.

Dear Banjo,

According to Dennis Pryor in his
booklet, "Political Pryorities : How
to get on top of Australian Politics."

He states the following about the
Westminster system:

" Westminster system
The illusion that the Australian government works,
or should work, on the same principles as the
British government. The similarities between the
two systems are largely those of decor, like the
use of the mace.

The major difference between the two systems is that
Australia is a federation, a concept totally
incomprehensible to the British.

An appeal to the "Westminster system" is a slogan
used by the Opposition parties in an attempt to trick
their opponents into foolish resignations."

Foxy,
When I said that our basic foundations are Westminster, I meant just that. Our parliaments, courts, defence, education, local councils and police are all based in those in the UK, with some modifacations. In fact many of our other institutions and cultural traditions are based on those in the UK.

These are the foundation blocks of our culture and society.

Maybe it was laziness on my part and perhaps I should have taken the time to explain it more fully, but I thought the use of the word Westminster would surfice.

Banjo,

The problem I have with many discussions on OLO is that they tend to deficient in the following.

1.They are argued by the very unrealistic polarized extremes.i.e you either support AGW or you don't, You're either pro labor or the anti labor camps.

2.The devil is always in the detail.

re the latter I would suggest that the differences i.e. the detail between the Australian system that was modeled on the Westminster system is substantially different.

Even the laws and structure, while there are some decisions that influence extra juristictionally . In detail, they maybe valuable as amplifying in illustrating a principal but they are far less dominant as a precedent citation as such. Therefore, direct comparisons can be perilous.

Foxy,CJ,Examinator:

It has been said " There are none so blind as those that cannot see!"

Look around you, take particular note of the scenes presented by the TV cameras as they pan the masses choking the streets of our major cities CBD`s during news broadcasts etc,.....pick the "white trash" out the predominantly Asian/Afro multitudes, then tell us that we DO NOT have a problem!

It is not an unforseeable fact that at some time in the not too distant future we may be faced with hostilities from one or other of these non-white Anglo Saxon / non-white Caucasian countries,.... countries whose former residents are now residing in Australia, so it is to be asked as to exactly where the loyalties of these "political, financial, opportunistic refugees" will lie, should the inevitable hostilities occur?

It appears that in recent times we have been "forced" to embark on a campaign of filling the beds with foreigners, simply to appease the whims of the "Populationists" in their crazy plan of "Populate or perish!"....this type of thinking in today`s modern world is total insanity and at best most irrational, but it certainly does seem to grab votes!

We are now witnessing the rapid escalation in crime across the country, and I have noticed that if a perpetrator or suspect is a member of the Indigenous community, the fact is openly stated by the media, ...however if the perpetrator or suspect is of Ethnic decent the fact is very seldom disclosed by the media,.... in essence Australians do not want to be told that migrants are causing trouble, as it may slow the influx accordingly!

Enough is enough!

Dear Crackup,

I'm not sure of the statistics -
but the last crime arrest that I remember on the news -
was of the bikie drug dealer and his associate -
both criminals heavily involved in drug trafficking.

What about those young kids who beat up that grandmother?
They weren't of any ethnic descent.
And there's many more incidents - taking place daily.
For which locals are responsible.

Let's not forget - Australia's early White settlers,
unlike their American counterparts who left England
to the promise of a richer and freer existence,
were dragged kicking and screaming from the dungeons
of Newgate and the hulks of Bristol to the living death
of an isolated and barren land.

There were prostitutes, bushrangers, cattle-rustlers,
and all forms of rogues and criminals who came to these
shores from England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Germany,
France, USA, China, India, Arabia. The country was built
on that heritage.

Today's cultural economic betterments have been brought
about by the different wave of migrants over the years -
from which we've all benefited. We've changed from a
cultural backwater, a conformist society, to one that
is unique and admired all over the world.

Australia is under a legal obligation to accept a
certain amount of asylum seekers/refugees. Most countries
receive a far greater proportion of refugees per capita
than Australia ever did.

Now with the skilled migration program that the government
has put in place - this will supply our country with the
workforce shortages that we need.

As I said in my previous post - "troublemakers" come in
all shapes and sizes, however, it's important
to remember that they are a minority.
Let's not tar everyone with the same brush!

Today's cultural economic betterments have been brought
about by the different wave of migrants over the years -
Foxy,
These were migrants who decided to leave their homeland to start a new life in Australia. Unfortunately, nowadays a large %age of people arriving on these shores do not share these goals, on the contrary.