Take a moment to read this poem

Discussion in 'General chat' started by frosty, Dec 12, 2005.

  1. frosty

    frosty Junior Member

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    I think it is very relevent to permaculture because it is about an attitude to life and consumerism

     
  2. Lolly

    Lolly Junior Member

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    :crybaby: so sad, so sad.. it depicts the very essence of human nature at it's worst.

    Let's not forget though, that whilst there is darkness in our world, there is also still light. With light comes hope, and if we lose our hope we lose our drive and without positive drive in the world all will be lost.

    Linda
     
  3. Guest

    After actually taking that extended stand of silence in the name of global destruction,

    Aussie's can raise their heads and consider the 160, 000 qualified people who were ripped from their families, often for crimes that still today remain incomprehensible, and sent here to build this country in the name of incarceration under martial law - and we can muster some of that resilience.

    We can feel that resilience coursing through our veins and turn to the earth with renewed vigour.

    We can also add to that reflective moment, the 70,000 desperates who arrived from all corners of the globe during our gold rushes, willing to work hard, live hard and build lives from rock. We can muster from that a little of their hope.

    And hold onto it.
     
  4. Richard on Maui

    Richard on Maui Junior Member

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    in the spirit of that great poem, Rainbow Farmer, you gotta remember that most of those goldminers from around the world, if they weren't from europe or especially Britain, were sent packing!
     
  5. frosty

    frosty Junior Member

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    rainy [​IMG] I cant really work out what you are trying to say

    are you in trying to say that Australia hasnt particapated in the global destruction the crimes :evil: because we are in there boots and all

    look at how we have treated the indigenous people here and how our stupid farming methods bought from Europe have detroyed the land .....

    qualified people :? qualified in what ? skills that werent necessary in the long history of this land before the whites decided to take it from the traditional owners .......

    and then surely even you cant say that aussies arent good little consumers and resources wasters now :evil: we follow faithfully in americas detructive footsteps in every way spured on by our very own Bonzai

    [​IMG]

    If you want a moment of silence
    Then stop the oil pumps
    Turn off the engines and the televisions
    Sink the cruise ships
    Crash the stock markets
    Unplug the marquee lights,
    Delete the instant messages,
    Derail the trains, the light rail transit



    so true

    frosty
     
  6. Guest

    mmm. There was one particular nationality that was dealt with somewhat warily on the goldfields, and involved in quite a bit of conflict. The Chinese. History shows that very often their passage was funded and they arrived here under the employ of their home country. They were not surrendering their finds - instead collecting them for their return (their return was always intended as part of their working conditiions)

    It is very difficult to build something and see progress, when you have people coming in and taking the very resource that the country was hoping to grow on. I guess at times, it became difficult to differentiate, as conflict certainly did exist.

    It's a bit like this site really. This site is about growing and creating, and how we deal with progress. To diminish that purposeful goal by repeatedly coming in and taking "all the good bits" leaving the trash and just going home, is not very progressive, helpful and far from adding sustenance to the larger environment. That's how I see it, Richard, but it is all perspective.

    Our history is huge, so maybe I have missed some mass evacuation? As far as I am aware, our multicultural roots are very much embedded in this time frame (goldfields), and pretty much every country is well represented with descendants still identifiable today. Many of our transport structures were introduced by teams of identifiably mixed cultures. Each and every small mining town was well represented with a good mix of cultures, and it was invariably from those small town, or near those small towns, that todays towns were created.

    Many of the Chinese introduced market gardens, and did stay. Not as many as actually left though, under their work contracts. The ones that built lives here worked hard and were well respected members of their communities. Many had the skills to feed the enmasse arrival of people who needed feeding in the mining communities, and they did it. Many of the early 'stores' in mining towns were run by these gardeners. As we all know, it is foolish to bite the hand that feeds you.

    Sustenance.

    We have seen clearly what happens when everything is switched off. Consider the violence that occurred after recent flooding in the states... the community can't cognitively process the loss of basic (and accumulated) needs. The community feels punished, victimised and retaliates.

    What is happening in Sydney, Frosty. You tell me.
     
  7. Richard on Maui

    Richard on Maui Junior Member

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    Well, there was this law called the White Australia Policy, right? It was in effect until the 1970's and it effectively stopped most of those non european types from hangin around. I mean, if the red carpet was there, how come my grade one class in 1980, didn't have a single Chinese or Afghan?
    Australia was almost monocultural until the 80's. The Chinese gardeners and Afghan cameleers weren't allowed to stay beyond their immediate usefulness to the Britich Empire...
    There are some pretty horrible stories about Chinese mining camps in Victoria being burned down by rioting Aussies. The Chinese were so hardworking, organised and coo-operative that they were much better at extracting the gold...
    What is going on in Sydney is largely, in my view, a result of the discraceful racism promoted by the Howard government ever since that boatload of Afghani's were prevented from landing in Australia. They have played the race card to stay in power, and now we are reaping the results.
     
  8. Guest

    mmm. I was under the impression it was a revolt in relation to mass colonisation and the ongoing brutal rape of young girls, and gang beatings of young guys... but I don't live there. I'm a good thousand+ k'saway.

    Is there anyone on here, who lives there, who can share on what they are living in in Sydney and what is taking place around them? It would be good to slash away the propaganda.
     
  9. frosty

    frosty Junior Member

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    I agree Richard

    of course right wing politics has always been about them and us it needs conflict to survive and prosper

    as to rapes etc its only that rapes by people of ethnic origins are noticed more and used by the corporate media and govt to stir up conflict

    and yes I do live a long way fom sydney but am closely following a discussion on another board involving people who do live there ....... someone there said this is australia's "Nazi moment"

    frosty
     
  10. Richard on Maui

    Richard on Maui Junior Member

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    Yep, and you can bet that there are far rightists there joining the fray and stirring shit up.
     
  11. biofarmag

    biofarmag Junior Member

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    I'm not commenting on these incidents, because I'm fully aware that I don't know all the facts....certainly not enough to make a judgement on. Reason? Because I know I only know what the media are telling me.
     
  12. Guest

    Hey Richard, did you grow up in Queensland?

    Queensland was originally established as a penal colony for the 'worst offendors", so was somewhat slow to establish, as it had a reputation for being 'dangerous, harsh etc.' Our new arrivals tended to (and still tend to) locate themselves in the south east corner. Some were drawn further afield in the name of long term employment (Snowy Mountains Scheme, road and rail developments etc.)

    There was no official 'White Australia' policy, as such. That description was provided in hindsight. Our immigration restrictions were not unlike many other countries of that time frame. They were well supported by the people of the time and were introduced as a result of the huge public outcry to diminished wages and productivity.

    When you consider the problems were originally based around the Chinese, who's economy still remains very different to ours in terms of wages, and the kanakas who had no currency at the time - it is easy to see how these gentle and hard working folk unknowingly entered into an economic problem, quite probably with the very best of intentions.

    The 1901 restrictions were not race based. The law prohibited those considered to be insane, anyone likely to become a charge (reliant) upon the public or upon any public or charitable institution, and any person suffering from an infectious or contagious disease ‘of a loathsome or dangerous character’. Prostitutes, criminals, and anyone under a contract to perform manual labour within Australia (with some limited exceptions) were also prohibited and language tests were included.

    During and after WWII, Australia became home to 200,000 displaced people and many of those married Australians and stayed on, and many Japanese War brides were also accepted. While it is true that for a long time, they could not stand as citizens, by the mid 1950's they were able to apply after 15 years. About 10 years later it dropped to 5 years.

    I am a tad older than you (at least ten years, but sssssh! :wink: ) and spent my childhood in South Australia. I only remember 2 kids from my grade one class. One was an indian girl named Nadia whose mother always wore sari's and gave me one when I was at her place, and the other was the Italian boy I sat next to. Both of them spoke their national language fluently amongst friends and in their homes.

    Queenslanders were very late to receive any sort of noticable influx due to the bad rep. It took many years to turn the Queensland image around from first 'dangerous' and then 'backward' to eventually portray the state as the beautiful state it is through mass tourism promotions which really only began to have any sort of effect during the 1980's. This led to the purchase of large quantities of land throughout Queensland by foreign investors, and population increases in the city areas (Brisbane, Gold Coast and temporarily in Cairns) Regional areas in Queensland however, were largely built by the early nationalities that arrived during the gold rush, and continued to identify themselves as Australians.

    The media is zeroing in on all sorts of angles with this Sydney thing, but we have to remember there are people there, living it, and there are clearly real problems, not just philosophical or political ones. I would really like to hear from someone down there... I hope someone pops up that can shed some light on it.
     
  13. frosty

    frosty Junior Member

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    worth reading on sydney situation

    the email goes on to say


    we cant make it but I am proud that some people see the truth

    there is talk that here will very likely be similar race riots here over the weekend ..... the radio is warning families to stay away from beaches

    not at all surprising WA is not called western redneckia for nothing [​IMG]

    and of course Qld has always been known as eastern redneckia :lol: :lol:

    frosty
     
  14. biofarmag

    biofarmag Junior Member

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    There are quite a few Queenslanders, like myself, who don't regard ourselves as rednecks.
     
  15. Jez

    Jez Junior Member

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    Rainbow,

    I think you're missing the devious fine print in the immigration act - they tested them for English literacy and almost none passed...convenient huh? Not too black or yellow...just too 'stupid'...:)

    In many cases they were given tests which the average British-descent Australian would have greatly struggled to pass.

    On the Sydney thing, I had a very eye-opening insight into this area in the mid-80's. I went to Sydney for a sporting event and was billeted in Lakemba directly across the road from the famous Lakemba Mosque.

    We stayed with a 'White' family who had three kids...both parents worked 12 hour a day jobs, didn't own a car, their daughter slept in their room while the two boys shared a closet masquerading as a bedroom. They had to walk their kids the couple of blocks to school (taking time off work to do so) every day out of fear for their safety. We had to be escorted to the sports ground every day for the same reason...

    What was this reason? Every Lebanese kid I saw had their shirt tucked in at the back on one side to show off their 12" flick knives. We're not talking about isolated incidents, we're talking kids from about 10 upwards, roaming around armed in large packs looking to cause problems for anyone who wasn't Lebanese.

    Now I'm a very tolerant person on most levels, but if this was going on in Lakemba 20 years ago how do you think it is now?

    I had a very left-wing University education in History and Indigenous Studies, and it's far too simplistic to take the "it's all the fault of Howard or White Australia or whatever" - a large slice of the blame belongs with the ethnic communities themselves from what I have seen.

    That may put me on the opposite side of many people I respect and admire, but I'm not going to pretend I didn't see what I did see in order to be perfectly in step with whatever others think.

    Wholly blaming one side will get us nowhere in this conflict...each side has justifiable cause for grievance IMO.
     
  16. Richard on Maui

    Richard on Maui Junior Member

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    I did grow up in Qld, on the edge of Brisbane and Logan cities actually... I actually do have a red kneck, forever forgetting to put my hat on, but my politics are about as radically left as you could go, I think... :lol:
    Now, I spent a few years in inner city Melbourne, where there are mobs (perhaps a poor choice of words) of Lebanese and Turkish people, and I never once saw a flick knife. Just tonnes of cheap and good baklava and felafel! I guess gangs suck wherever you find them.
     
  17. Richard on Maui

    Richard on Maui Junior Member

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    And by that, I mean, I have felt more intimidated in my life by yobbo Aussie surfers than I ever have any other ethnic group... But whatever... I'm sure that there is plenty of blame to go around. (I still reckon that this wouldn't have happened if the ALP had been in power for the last ten years, although obviously life under them wouldn't be perfect either).
     
  18. biofarmag

    biofarmag Junior Member

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    I also spent time in Lakemba. I lived there for a few years, and left around 15 years ago. I can also relate very well to the fear that existed there. And when there was a brutal pack-rape of an "Anglo" girl there a year or so back by middle-eastern young men, the Mufti at Lakemba said that girls dressing immodestly were virtually "asking for it".

    I agree that Little Johnny and his blind support of George Double-Yuhh, his attitude toward refugees, and his bloody fridge-magnets has certainly not helped the situation.

    But I also agree with Jez that nothing is gained by oversimplifying the situation, and deciding that being on the left of politics means closing your eyes to the fact that human beings of all colours and creeds have a huge habit of stuffing up badly.
     
  19. heuristics

    heuristics Junior Member

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    take a moment to read this poem

    Feel sick in the guts and as a 5-generation Aussie very angry about what is happening in the City's beaches and streets at the moment.... I want to live in a country that is tolerant of all and it makes my blood BOIL to see yobs decorated in the Oz-flag Pauline Hanson-like as they lash out indiscriminately at anyone of non-Anglo appearance.......

    But then, I ALSO know that a few disgraceful members of certain ethnic groups have been behaving in a very belligerant and intolerant way themselves for some considerable time.

    IMO the media (Alan Jones and assorted other luney shock jocks) have a lot to answer for the events of the last few weeks (And Daily Telegraph which spent the week before inciting a lof to the "feeling" on both sides... Now they've got "behaviour" that will be sure to increaase their circulations they are crying "shame shame".

    I have copied some posts from Crickey.com.... if you're really interested in where and how a lot of this all started.... read the bit on Alan Jones and racial hatred. And I don't buy the argument that a radio voice cant "make" people riot (Hitler?????? he maaged to get a crowd motivated!! ) These sort of voices DO KNOW their power - and they abuse it for their own entertainment.... And now we see even more laws rushed thru to give police even more power..... the thing is, a lot of the small incidents that have built over the years could have been stomped on by active community policing well before now....



    Shakira Hussein, PhD student in the School of Social Sciences at ANU, writes:

    Like many Australians, I did a large part of my growing up on the beach, enjoying most of my time there. I'm also Muslim, of mixed Pakistani/Scottish background. I wouldn't pretend that young Middle Eastern/Muslim youths don't hassle women on the beach. Of course they do. But since when have young white Australian males not done the same?

    As teenagers on beach trips, my friends and I (with me the only non-Anglo among us) put up with the most revolting sexual harassment from young men – none of them Middle Eastern. And young women then (and now) were expected to take it all in good part – only humourless feminist dykes would object to being sexually harassed, and at times sexually assaulted, on the beach! Or so we were led to believe. From the stories of teenage female friends, not much has changed on that front.

    But the same young men who'd think nothing of engaging in that kind of behaviour now say they won't put up with "our" women being harassed by "their" men (or even with "our" women engaging in consensual relationships with "their" men). I don't defend sexual harassment or loutish behaviour by young Muslim men. But they did not create the ugly side of Australian beach culture. It was there already. Lately, I've been to the beach several times with female Muslim friends, some of whom lived most of their lives in countries far from the ocean, others who are strong swimmers, even when fully dressed and wearing hijab. It's a very Australian outing, no matter how you're dressed or what's in your picnic basket.

    How the hell do I explain to my young daughter the news footage of the last few days? Or reassure her about our planned summer beach holiday? And will I feel comfortable in future suggesting to newly arrived Muslim immigrants that we take a trip to the beach so that they can find out what Australia is all about? Will I hell.

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    2. Will Alan Jones be sent to jail for inciting racial hatred?


    Hugo Kelly writes:

    While pedants will argue whether Alan Jones's frenzied efforts to whip up unrest at Cronulla amount to sedition, it does appear he's broken one law of the land – the Racial Hatred Act.

    The law is clear here:

    It is unlawful for a person, by a public act, to incite hatred towards, serious contempt for, or severe ridicule of, a person or group of persons on the ground of the race of the person or members of the group. 'Public act' is defined in the ADA under section 20B as including:

    (a) any form of communication to the public, including speaking, writing, printing, displaying notices, broadcasting, telecasting, screening and playing of tapes or other recorded material...

    Jones's conduct in the lead-up to the Sydney violence, including reading out on air emails haranguing "Middle Eastern bastards...and scum," would appear to soundly fit that criteria.

    While Jones has gone on holiday, the law does not. There is an interesting, harsher section of the Act, 20D, which provides for racial vilification to be considered as a criminal offence in certain circumstances: "An act will be serious racial vilification if done by means which include: threatening physical harm towards, or towards any property of, the person or group of persons, or inciting others to threaten physical harm towards, or towards any property of, the person or group of persons."

    The maximum penalty for individuals is six months' jail, a hefty fine, or both. Interestingly, the consent of the Attorney-General is required for the prosecution of offences of serious vilification. Despite a number of referrals, there have been no prosecutions under section 20D.

    Jones's reckless behaviour – his call for rallies in the street, his fanning of the racial flames – would make an interesting test case for a law that's been on the books for 15 years, but never been tested.

    What we need now is a brave, independent, clear-thinking Attorney. Philip Ruddock, where are you?

    According to the Act, the Attorney-General would only be required to give consent once the DPP had assessed a brief of evidence and decided to prosecute. So, first what we need is a complaint to police and/or the DPP. Any takers?



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    3. The riots: ringing the race bell


    Hugo Kelly writes:

    Labor frontbencher Robert McClelland belled the cat this morning on Radio National: "I disagree with the leaders of both political parties who say there's not a racist element. Clearly there is." He should know; as the federal member for Barton, his electorate covers Brighton-le-Sands and lies adjacent to Sutherland Shire.

    McClelland knows full well – even if his leader won't admit it – that this is both a culture clash and a battle for scarce resources. None of which is new. The Westies v Surfer stoushes of the past remind us that kids from the poorer suburbs will try to use the beach – and the nimbys who live there will try to stop them.

    We turn to erstwhile Crikey commentator Paddy McGuinness for some rational perspective. He wrote, back in 2002 in the midst of the Lebanese gang rape "epidemic," that violent sex crime "is not confined to Muslim or Lebanese communities." In this case, blaming an excess of testosterone fuelled with misogyny on religion is clearly nonsense.

    While Peter Ryan in today's Australian was eulogising Geoffrey Blainey, it's worth recalling the words of former policeman Tim Priest, the one man crime fighting vigilante who teamed up with Alan Jones to bring down former NSW police commissioner Peter Ryan.

    Priest had some feisty, but ultimately prescient comments to make in this Quadrant speech last year: You may wince at his argument that "the rise of Middle Eastern crime in Australia" is all derived from some racial characteristic, and code words like his claim to speak for "we, the silent majority" are a giveaway. But it is food for thought when we witness the failure of basic policing on the beaches and suburbs of Sydney.

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    4. Mark Latham's message: 'I told you so!'


    Hugo Kelly writes:

    It's just before Christmas, the best time to sell a few books. So Mark Latham was out at Sydney's Gleebooks in conversation last night with fellow author Margaret Simons, and taking advantage of the forum to throw potshots at some favourite bogies.

    The Sydney riots were a handy backdrop for Latham to pursue his thesis of a breakdown in social cohesion. True to his disengagement from formal politics, Latham told the crowd the Sydney riots underscored his lack of faith in the system.

    His advice? "Look after your own. If everyone looked after their own a lot better we'd look after each other a lot better as well." He was at pains to explain this was not some perversion of nimbyism, but rather encouraging genuine connections between people.

    Lamenting the first mobilisation in his lifetime of a large number of Australian citizens against another group of Australians due to racism, he was quick to find a cause – the fruits of "Howard's Australia.'

    Particularly Howard's statement when aged 50 that "Australia has too many Asian migrants." Latham sees no reason to suppose that Howard's opinions have altered, pointing out that by 50 most adults have considered opinions.

    Latham reflected that historically, the White Australia policy inculcated generations of Australians into racism, and contended that until now apathy has kept the peace. Until now people have complained to their mates while having a beer at the bar.

    People, he said, have been stirred up by exaggerations from the conservative media and politicians about the war on terror. "So much of society has broken down...as a society we are substantially weaker...we need to build trust between people."

    He saw the reactions of politicians as proof they are helpless. "When people start taking to the streets and talking the language of racial hatred then that is racism." Quoting the Chinese proverb that the first step in solving a problem "is to say what it is," he singled out Bob Brown as an exception, a politician "who tends to bell the cat more."

    His conclusion: "In this situation the political system is impotent...the media are going to report then people are going to forget." But, Latham argues, this isn't a law and order issue, it is to do with society itself. And politicians have not yet developed the necessary tools or language.


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    5. Mike Carlton, David Flint and argumentum ad hominem


    2UE broadcaster Mike Carlton writes:

    David Flint's “Defence of the shock jocks” in The Australian this morning is more of the bilge we have come to expect from him. He is, remember, the author of those gushing “Dear Alan” (Jones) letters penned to The Parrot during his disastrous time as chairman of the now defunct Australian Broadcasting Authority.

    It would waste space here to rebut his usual litany of arch-reactionary twaddle. Enough to say that Flint has been wrong about everything from the Iraq War to the Cash for Comment Inquiry (from which, oh dear, he had to withdraw in confusion after a blundering on-air chat with John Laws).

    But it is worth highlighting his ignorance of the workings of talkback radio. If I have his drift, Flint seems to believe that the open line is the undefiled answer to that conspiracy of the left-wing media “elites” he finds plotting at every keyboard.

    “While they [the lefty elitists] can filter their letter columns, they just cannot control talkback,” he blathers.

    Tosh. Talkback callers are invariably asked what they want to say before they go on air. This is to discard the lunatics, the drunks, the defamatory and the sub-judice. But it also allows the presenter to select which opinions to put to air. Some of us try to choose a representative cross section. Alan Jones, when he was at 2UE, was notorious for airing only those callers who agreed with him, or who wanted to brown nose him, or – better still – do both. I doubt that he has changed at 2GB.

    In the event of a caller pulling a swifty and daring to disagree with the oracle, it is simple to fade the volume and talk over the top, end the call or, if things get desperate, chop it with the seven second delay system. It is an editorial process as easily manipulated as the letters pages or the opinion columns. The startling thing is that a former chair of the ABA does not have a clue that this is so.

    Another of Flint's dopey notions is that “in the past 10 years, the ascent of John Howard has given a new impetus and authority to talkback. He chose not to have his words mediated and interpreted by a hostile media. Instead, through talkback radio and also breakfast television, he speaks directly to the people…”

    This is pure smarm. When Howard's in trouble he will appear only with those presenters who, either by ignorance or design, give him an arm-chair ride. You're doing a wonderful job for Australia, Prime Minister…why, thank you, Alan. It is magnificent, no doubt, but it is not journalism.

    Flint's rant about the supposed failure of multiculturalism (along with some similar floss from Miranda Devine in the SMH today) is merely more of the new political correctness from the new elite they presume to speak for.

    Multiculturalism worked perfectly well before the Howard government came along. But, as Malcolm Fraser said at Melbourne University last month, “ the [Liberal] party has become a party of fear and reaction. It is conservative and not liberal. It has not led in positive directions, it has allowed and, some would say, promoted race and religion to be part of today's agenda.”

    With a lot of help from David Flint's friendly shock jocks, of course.

    And David Flint responds:

    Mike Carlton's email is a textbook example of that logical fallacy, argumentum ad hominem. I shall recommend it for use in the classroom. While a presenter can attempt to filter talkback, at least you get through. Compare that to the letters columns. And if a presenter tries to censor views, the audience soon wakes up to that, and can change the dial. The PM doesn't back away from the hostile interview - in fact he shines in them. The choice of the programmes he appears on probably has more to do with their ratings, which for some reason upsets Mr Carlton.
    Back to Top


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    6. International reaction to Cronulla


    Editorial cartoon from Toronto's Globe and Mail, 13 December

    Race riots shook Sydney, Australia's biggest city, with thousands of white youths rampaging through a well-known beach suburb, attacking people of Middle-Eastern background. They were egged on by white supremacists and neo-Nazis. Meanwhile, in the steamy tropical outpost of Darwin in the north, a burly Outback drifter was sentenced to life in prison for murdering the British backpacker Peter Falconio four years ago. Suddenly, Australia no longer seemed quite so lucky. Both stories offered violence, desperation and a chilling glimpse into the darker corners of Australian society. – Nick Squires, Daily Telegraph (UK)

    Even if the police manage to lock Cronulla down, the new Anzacs will regroup in the time that it takes to send a text message, faster than the police can reorganise to intercept them, and Lebanese Muslim youths, inspired by rap, ablaze with bling, armed to the teeth in their customised cars, will race to meet them. Already "patriotic" troops are massing on the Gold Coast and in the suburbs of Perth. This looks like being a bloody summer in Australia. – Germaine Greer, The Guardian

    The "lucky country's" historic racism lingers on, like a sun cancer, just below the skin. Given the right circumstances all the advances of recent years – the abolition of the White Australia policy, the encouragement of a multicultural, multiracial society with emphasis on tolerance and harmony – can apparently vanish overnight... Those Australians who are proud of their multicultural, "fair go" society – and I believe that they are still a big majority – now need to recognise that a nasty side to their fellow citizens is still there and fight to preserve the new Australia they thought they had already built. – Philip Knightley, The Independent

    It is admittedly difficult to picture Australia as an inherently racist country, especially after the generous response of many Australians to the tsunami victims...Nevertheless, it is hard to swallow attempts to deny the evidence of racial and cultural intolerance on display in the Sydney suburb of Cronulla and on the streets of Lakemba. Like it or not, all societies have racist elements. While millions of Australians are not racists, the thousands of hotheads with too many beers in their bellies in Cronulla represent the ugly fringes of Australian society. – Editorial, Malaysia's New Straits Times
     
  20. Richard on Maui

    Richard on Maui Junior Member

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    Well, if Alan Jones went to hell, I mean, prison, over this, that would be one good outcome... Shall we all write Mr Phillip Ruddock a nice letter?
     

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