hmmm... not much of a solution. Not much of a revelation either but very clear nonetheless. That would go over very well with the unsullied, optimistic and self respecting youth.
I doubt that it would make any difference to those of us who want to maintain our position of privilege in the world. What is needed is a convincing argument that ignorant and needy immigrants are good for us. What we have is a pervading fear of going to the dogs like any number of basket case economies around the world. I think the economic argument is the biggie. The cultural conservatives I suspect are a minority.
The idea of declaring another country is about picking a fight. We could preempt the fight by pegging off a swag of land, calling it Boatpeopleville and making some sort of social contract the consideration of which would be the right to live there. Maybe they could each donate a kidney. Then we could be absolutely reckless about our own kidneys. Whoo hoo. Imigration = parties. Who wouldn't vote for that? Of course you'd only get stupid immigrants.
These days it is the land of the fair go.. for some it seems. Well if your fair skinned you get a fair go.
If you look a bit diff, talk a bit diff or dare to be muslim (or even approximate being a muslim in some minds - ie Hindus) then don't expect a fair go. Those days are over. Pity. I agree that the until around 10-12 yrs ago Oz culture was all the richer for soaking up influences from around the world and evolving them into a unique Oz expression. Seeing asian/indian/greek/polish etc folks at the footy or enjoying a BBQ is every bit as enjoyable as tucking into a deluxe curry i reckon.
What we are becoming is a shallow copy of the US - where we attempt to jealously gaurd the nation for us european origin whities, stating - "We were here 1st so fk orf!" and conveniantly forgetting those that were here 40,000 yrs earlier and discounting their similar views.
If you don't like multi-culturism then go play golf in the US I reckon.
I really hate those "f-off we are full" stickers and "if you dont love it leave" ones, I always feel empathy for people reading those and feeling bad about comming here or feeling persecuted by them. Very agressive and not nesserary IMO.
Agree Doggie. Turns my guts TBH. They seem to be on the back window of a fair few utes. Wish the coppers would slap a canary on em'.
I have been soooo tempted to grab an Artline and add: Fk orf we are full.. of redknecks.
But then I don't wanna have to out run Billy Bob and his ute full of mulleted inbreds.
Also usually has a "unit" sticker on em as well, I spose it makes it easy to pick the d!cks out of a crowd
If anyone's interested King George Square, 1pm this Saturday.
More information at www.amnesty.org.au
Don't know if has been said or not but throw it in anyway. One reason the population has been swelling is that we now count permanent residents as anybody that has been here longer than 12 months, i.e. all of those international students. I think that is misleading as they, mostly, aren't staying.
Fair enough squidy. I am guilty of generalising there I guess I was following on from gestalt's post regarding the tight grip white-bread christian conservatives have on economic and social poawers. Not too disimilar to Oz in that respect.
The falsehood that is fear of invasion or a cultural tsunami is something we seem to studied from the US - particularly in the last decade or so. Breeding the fear serves the purpose of gathering votes at the expense of the enjoyment of cultural diversity i reckon.
How I strange that part of the fear is that jobs will be lost yet the US (and until recently Oz) are happy to take on board temporary foreign workers (from Mexico etc etc) to do the jobs the locals won't have a bar of (at the wages offered) yet are these hard working people are deemed unworthy to be citizens. Pretty odd if you ask me.
"Sure you can come accross the border to wipe my butt but we don't want an invasion."
Those offensive stickers make my brain melt with the stupidity that is being portrayed. Is the shallow end of the gene pool really getting that shallow?
If those people took the time to understand the situations that refugees faced they might change their mind. I'm not holding my breath though when their outlook on life doesn't venture passed the bonnet of their car.
^^^Fek!! How are they gonna fit a lynch mob into that small car?
Truly alarming messages (and complete hypocracy too) on the back of there. No surprise to see the beatification of Bush, celebration of war and Palin stickers amongst em.
Free speach for the ignorant, angry and dangerous.
Sitting in the middle of this car owner's visual rant is an icon that represents one of the biggest threats to the US car industry, read economy.
The knucklehead is driving a Japanese - Toyota brand - car.
Perhaps the owner should put more thought into where US patriotism and nationalism begins and ends.
I might not be popular for this post , but hey its worth thinking about
LET ME SEE IF I GOT THIS RIGHT.
IF YOU CROSS THE NORTH KOREAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU GET 12 YEARS HARD LABOR.
IF YOU CROSS THE IRANIAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU ARE DETAINED INDEFINITELY.
IF YOU CROSS THE AFGHAN BORDER ILLEGALLY, YOU GET SHOT.
IF YOU CROSS THE SAUDI ARABIAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU WILL BE JAILED.
IF YOU CROSS THE CHINESE BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU MAY NEVER BE HEARD FROM AGAIN.
IF YOU CROSS THE VENEZUELAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU WILL BE BRANDED A SPY AND YOUR FATE WILL BE SEALED.
IF YOU CROSS THE CUBAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU WILL BE THROWN INTO POLITICAL PRISON TO ROT.
IF YOU CROSS THE AUSTRALIAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU GET · A JOB, · A DRIVERS LICENCE, · SOCIAL SECURITY CARD, · WELFARE, · FOOD STAMPS, · CREDIT CARDS, · SUBSIDIZED RENT OR A LOAN TO BUY A HOUSE, · FREE EDUCATION, · FREE HEALTH CARE, · A LOBBYIST IN CANBERRA · BILLIONS OF DOLLARS WORTH OF PUBLIC DOCUMENTS PRINTED IN YOUR LANGUAGE · THE RIGHT TO CARRY YOUR COUNTRYs FLAG WHILE YOU PROTEST THAT YOU DON'T GET ENOUGH RESPECT · AND, IN MANY INSTANCES, YOU CAN VOTE.
I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE I HAD A FIRM GRASP ON THE SITUATION
Oh what about this;
The year is 1907, over one hundred and three years ago....
Sir Edmund Barton’s ideas on Immigrants and being an Australian in 1907.
'In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an Australian and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an Australian, and nothing but an Australian... There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an Australian, but something else also, isn't an Australian at all. We have room for but one flag, the Australian flag.... We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language... and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the Australian people.'
Edmund Barton
1907
Every Australian citizen needs to read this! KEEP THIS MOVING
(For those who don’t know Edmund Barton was Australia’s first PM)
I can hear the shreeks of WTF am I thinking ,
but I dont really care
60th refugee boat arrived yesterday
Yesterday in the 60th refugee boat arrived in Australian waters, that is five boats per month for the last 12 months -- over 3000 generally male Muslim refugees.
And it didn't even make the Channel 9 News.
Who are these refugees, these are the ones with enough criminal background or sufficient money to get themselves onto a refugee boat?
Ask yourself, will they ever assimilate as Australians as we know Australians? Will they want more mosques? Will they want their children educated in Muslim only schools? Will they require taxpayer funded medical care, accommodation, language courses, rental assistance and any other government/taxpayer handout?
Do you know the background of all the 911 terrorists?
They were all illegal refugees who entered America under their refugee acceptance program.
Do you know the background of the leader of the Australian terrorist group found guilty of plotting to blow up a major Australian event such as the Melbourne grand finals killing tens of thousands of people?
He arrived in Australia in May 1989 on a one-month visitor's permit, on which he twice gained extensions, and settled in the northern suburbs of Melbourne, an area with a large Muslim population. After the expiry of his permit in 1990 he became a prohibited non-citizen, then spent the next six years fighting through the Immigration Review Tribunal appeals process, for the right to stay. During his hearings he told the Tribunal of his "love of the Australian lifestyle". In 1992 Benbrika married a Lebanese woman who was an Australian citizen, with whom he had six children. He hadn't worked a day since arriving in Australia, living off welfare payments.
HOW LUCKY IS HE ?
Cassa do you aspire to be a nation like Nth Korea, Cuba and the others you have listed above? Don't think so. Pretty dodgy comparison there mate.
Having said that I imagine if you were a citizen of those countries (particularly NK) your view would be extremely popular.
Also, if you care to read back over the pages you will notice that the topic concerns arrivals claiming refugee status. Easy to (wrongly) confuse them with illegal immigrants, terrorists etc - hell our media, politicians and a great deal of the public remain in the dark on this diff (or are deliberately misleading).
Edmund Barton's words are earilly similar to one of the redkneck car's stickers if you care to notice ("The man who loves other countries.."). Are you happy to stand alongside a militant redkneck who breeds hate and violence based on religious background?
Treat genuine refugees humanely, give them access to a fair justice system, education and great Oz lifestyle and they will cherish this country. Show em the steel capped jack-boot up close and they will most likely hate and fester against you. Deservedly so.
BTW - is that your car in the pic Cass?
North Korea is a much nicer place. We should be more like them. Is that what you're saying?
Not at all, I just dont think it should be as simple as a boat trip , holiday on Christmas Island, then all the benefits they get , when they have put NOTHING into the economy,
I am not against immigration, just the way its becoming ever so easy to take money (or be given it ) without so much as a days work.
Come in by the right means , assimilate and enjoy the lifestyle.
The current Government is way to soft on this continueing problem, not that we need to take the drakonian measures that others do , just stop the influx
North Korea is a much nicer place. We should be more like them. Is that what you're saying?
Not at all,
I just dont agree with the current situation- jump on a boat, holiday in Christmas Island for a while , ( how they could possibly determin the good people, from the bad is beyond me, cause most have absolutely no documentation), then arrive in Aus and not assimilate , (which to me should be the reason you come here ,to live like us , not like the place you came from)
Sorry if it seems blunt , but I never here a much different point of view than my own, only HERE on this forum,
And no I dont mix with redneck ute driving mungbeans ,
most are retired, or ex- forces, construction managers, registered builders, and not to forget a member of the AFP, so my views are far from different to the mainstream of society that I mix with,
and thats what it is ,, A View