Multiculturalism (1 Viewer)

[yy]

>Subject: FW: Australia- The Right to Leave
>Our Country - YOU Have the right - the right to leave!
>IMMIGRANTS, NOT AUSTRALIANS, MUST ADAPT.
>"In God We Trust" is our National Motto.

i agree, everyone except the Aborigines, should just leave.
christianity was never part of australia before white settlers, and even when the first fleet came, it was only the "official" religion as most people onboard was not concerned with religions at all.

I know people who distrustful of people of middle Eastern or Asian appearance and yet have friends of those backgrounds.

I really don't understand these people.

 

[xeuyrawp]

i agree, everyone except the Aborigines, should just leave.
christianity was never part of australia before white settlers, and even when the first fleet came, it was only the "official" religion as most people onboard was not concerned with religions at all.

I really don't understand these people.

Personally, I think following Christ's normative ethics is a good idea, whether you believe in Him or not.

 

[Captain Gh3y]

That FWD is silly. Our national motto isn't even "In god we trust". We don't even HAVE a national motto.

 

[gerhard]

such a hilarous article. protect australian culture even though we dont know what australian culture is and confuse american culture for australian culture!


can someone seriously tell me what australian culture actually is. theres no point arguing about something not well defined.

personally, i see no reason to defend any culture other than a democratic culture. and i do not see this being under threat.

 

[HotShot]

such a hilarous article. protect australian culture even though we dont know what australian culture is and confuse american culture for australian culture!


can someone seriously tell me what australian culture actually is. theres no point arguing about something not well defined.

personally, i see no reason to defend any culture other than a democratic culture. and i do not see this being under threat.

the best way to find out about aussie culture is to go overseas and ask him what do think of aussie culture?

and they will say (i just went overseas)
-G'day Mate
- a big bellied man, wearing shorts and a singlet down at the local cricket/rugby match, holding can of beer in one hand and another beer for his mate on the other hand.
-then in your backyard, havin an old bbq, with a beer in one hand and beer in another for your mate.

pretty much these beer ads some up aussies culture.

 

[HotShot]

i agree, everyone except the Aborigines, should just leave.
christianity was never part of australia before white settlers, and even when the first fleet came, it was only the "official" religion as most people onboard was not concerned with religions at all.

I really don't understand these people.

if everyone left, australia wouldnt have jack shit. maccas came from america. noodles from china and bbqs from china (everythin is made in china now!), software from india. clothing from india and china. research tech from european countires sweden etc. Ikea would have to go.

then all these one dollar shops would disappear, hald the employees at woolies, etc would be gone.

75% of students in uni would disapper including professors. Australia has jackshit and if wasnt immigrants it wouldnt have got so far, in the economy lifving standards etc.

 

[Mountain.Dew]

heres more of my 2 cents...

problem is that there isnt any REAL definition of the Australian culture. i dont think culture is defined by the objects we hold or the language we speak. moreso, i think culture has to do with the personality of the individual person, and as a whole, collectively, how they socialise. i always assumed that the aussie way was all laid back, take it nice and easy. this, i believe, stemmed from the convicts, who, when they did become freemen after years and years of hard labour (because they managed to steal a single loaf of bread that was half stale anyway), settled down to be farmers, miners, etc...then that was the best that life had to offer --> freedom. combined with the vast desert in the centre, and lush vegetation in coastal regions, it has birthed the bushman. think banjo patterson, think waltzing matilda, think henry parkes.

i believe an integral part of 'culture' is sports. look at the olympics --> the most amount of medals PER CAPITA, a population of 20 million matching toe-to-toe with the giants of the USA, China, Russia, Japan, Germany, who have significantly larger populations. and the evidence of australia's committement, motivation, populairt and success in the sporting arena doesnt stop there.

but, do realise that when we are talking about multiculturalism, this pretty much only applies to Australia's major cities and its nearby urban sprawls --> Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Hobart, Canberra. in other places, it is absolutely dominated by white australians, or the aboriginal people. so, it is assumed that australia is to be defined by a couple of large cities, and largely have ignored the 'previous' culture of the 'bushman'.

another integral part of 'australian culture' is mateship. think of the Anzacs. Only 20 years after the federation of australia was established, we went to war to the now fabled grounds of Gallipoli. It is strange that a legend was born - of mateship, courage, determination: the diggers - outside Australia. i believe that this is what made australia what australia is today, along with sports, and the 'bushman'. traits of this 'australian legend' also appears in sports as well. consider the NRL premiership trophy --> two captains from opposing sides walking hand in hand after a mud-filled match. could that be how we define australia? tolerance? respect? courage? fight to the bitter end?

personally, i have a feeling that these aspects dont really fit together, but then again, what really does define Australian culture? is australia meant to be established from its British colonist 'roots', or the Aboriginal roots that delve far deeper? is there a way to acknowledge the Anglo Saxon way while not disrespecting AND upholding the Aboriginal culture?

just a nice thought, anyway...

 

[Generator]

Tell me what Chinese culture is.

That is a good point - more often than not we romanticise the other and deride what is right before our eyes. That said, the Australian identity is rather loose, so debates of this nature are to be expected.

 

[Mountain.Dew]

Chinese culture eh?

i believe that the qualities of the chinese culture has several strong factors. One factor is tolerance. The chinese people, over the past 5000 years, have witnessed many dynasties fall and rise, has witnessed its country invaded by Mongols, Huns, has been exploited by the British opium trade, have fought back the Japanese in WWII. the chinese people still survive, and now, is a leading and powerful nation in the world. it is able to endure great hardships, make huge sacrifices, and the fruits of its labours are moreover so sweet and tasteful. chinese people have strong work ethics, as is evidenced in australia, dominating the selective schools, honour lists and having their fair share of top UAIs and university places. study, education and learning is highly prized and respected in chinese culture.

the chinese culture is also deeply rooted to family traditions, much like the italians and greeks, and also, the chinese culture is very conservative, traditionalist, but its strength lies in the ability to have the guts to face whatever odds meet them.

that is far, far more deeper and fundamental than what most people will see in chinatown.

 

[xeuyrawp]

Australian identity is rather loose,

Because we're 'multicultural'...

 

[xeuyrawp]

Assimilation.

Yep, as well as screening and a much more tougher allowance of foreign immigrants.

 

[yy]

Tell me what Chinese culture is.

there is no such thing as one Chinese culture, it is a misconception (and it's promoted by the government). Chinese cultures are made up of many different local cultures, each with their own distinct language and cuisine. for example, the wu chinese (which include shanghainese) is mutually unintelligible with mandarine, more so than between most european languages. however, the values that Mountain.Dew described (work ethics and family traditions) are the ones that are shared by most chinese.

 

[erawamai]

Assimilation.

Multiculturalism at its core is assimilation lite. Mainly because it is impossible to totally assimilate into a society in which you did not grow up. Almost all people, whether they be Australian living in Asia, or an American living in France will, if they grew up somewhere else, identify culturally with their place of origin.

 

[supercharged]

Tell me what Chinese culture is.

Look it up yourself.

http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/chinese culture

 

[leetom]

Anglo Australians shouldn't expect Australians of other ethnicities to adopt what Anglo Australians perceive to be Australian culture, because there is no one base Australian culture for everybody to subscribe too. There are mutual civic obligations such as respect for democracy, freedom of speech and equality which all citizens are compelled to abide by.

Anglo Australians need to realise that their culture is just one of many in this country, of no greater importance than any other. Ethnic Anglos think that because their culture has been around the longest, they are somehow entitled to express discontent with the emergence of other cultures.

 

[ur_inner_child]

For multiculturalism to work, as far as I see it, a few ethnicities are also a long way away from multiculturalism ~ Australia, personally doesnt seem like a melting pot of cultures as it prides itself to be.

It seems to be more of a whole bunch of cultures in a mosaic, rather than flowing into each other. This mentality is encouraged through personal and familial experiences, as well as understanding that they are "different" to anglo-saxon Australians by people who may or may not intend this differentiation, and fueling it is the idea that anglo-saxons won't "understand".

I've had a lot of this exposed to me, many families i know, italian, greek, chinese etc. I've also gotten irritated with little things such as one of my good friends:

"there was this fucking asian guy, right, and he couldn't fucking speak any english......."

*turns to me*

"no offense, sorry"

which not only has nothing to do with me except the fact that he's "asian", and i am part of this collective, and therefore i am "different". These small little things I experience quite frequently, and although they may not seem like racial slurs, they DO differentiate who is "the other".

Despite my naturally adopted philosophies of mateship and all things wonderful about Australia, I feel that Australia has a long way to go to reach what everyone thought was a multicultural country. The racism, perhaps is a little less harsher, but when it comes to ethnicities healing old wounds from racial experiences and finally identifying themselves as Australian without anyone ever thinking or suggesting otherwise, multiculturalism could actually work.

I also think that the fact that certain ethnicities hold and freeze what they remember as their culture in their home country (perhaps 50 years ago) and locks itself from any integration with other cultures. There are many asian families I know that often feel they cannot identify with anglo-saxon Australians, because of what they've experienced from them, and locking the mentality that they "don't underdstand".

My rant's a little unorganised... I'm typing in my lunchbreak

I do, although, see progress. But we're far from any utopian society, or the melting pot.

 

[yy]

It seems to be more of a whole bunch of cultures in a mosaic, rather than flowing into each other.

i thought the melting pot model is assimilation, multiculturalism is more like a salad bowl.

 

[leetom]

It's probably less about the guy being asian than his poor command of english. It doesn't really matter what his specific ethnicity was. Complaining about the quality of spoken english amongst different ethnicities is petty but it's not that much of an offence and probably something you'll have to get used too.

 

[ur_inner_child]

i thought the melting pot model is assimilation, multiculturalism is more like a salad bowl.

oh, i never really considered the melting pot as assimilation. is it?

i thought of it as literally groups mixing and affecting one another, rather than one whole take over/disintergration of many groups.

 

[Not-That-Bright]

i thought the melting pot model is assimilation, multiculturalism is more like a salad bowl.

No, the idea of a melting pot is that all cultures would naturally merge together to create a new culture without state intervention.

Monoculturalism is assimilation. It's where all people are forced to practice one culture.