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The racism furphy
The Australian ^ | 22nd December 2005

Posted on 12/21/2005 2:10:25 PM PST by naturalman1975

Cronulla is quiet again; those intent on exploiting it are not

OBSESSIVE Howard-haters and publicity-hungry expats have been keen to exploit the Cronulla unrest for their own ends. The lawbreaking in Sydney's south, they have informed us and the world, is a manifestation of the deeply embedded racism in the Australian psyche. This racism, historically enshrined in the White Australia policy, has been reinvigorated by John Howard as part of his campaign to conscript blue-collar voters to the Liberal cause. As a result, racism is on the upswing, while support for multicultural tolerance is waning. In the aftermath of Hansonism and now Cronulla, this has sullied our image in the region and the world. We will pay a heavy price for giving the racist hordes the "dog whistle", and only a hefty increase in spending on multicultural affairs can drag us back from the brink. There has even been a partial echo of this view from the anti-multicultural Right, with some using the riot to claim vindication for their longstanding argument that the tolerance of Australians for a multi-ethnic, multiracial society is stretched beyond breaking point.

The only problem with this dire picture is that it is supported neither by the facts nor by the polling on which it relies. A poll in The Sydney Morning Herald was headlined "Voters disagree with PM on racism" and showed three in four respondents parting ways with Mr Howard's view that there is little "underlying racism" in Australia. But as our Newspoll this morning shows, when people are asked a more pointed question – "Do you agree that Australians are racist?" – the proportion plummets to well under half. True, today's Newspoll does indicate an increase in those opposed to multiculturalism, from nearly one in six in 1997 to nearly one in four today. But in the first place, there was bound to be some slippage in support, following events such as the racially motivated Sydney pack rapes in 2000, Labor's perpetual ethnic branch-stacking scandal and – above all – 9/11. Moreover, asking people what they think about multiculturalism is a bit like asking them what they think about public-private partnerships in infrastructure: most don't think about it at all. If ordinary people are unhappy about anything, it is the nation-of-tribes vision propounded by the ethnic essentialists in the multiculturalism industry. A vision of different groups rubbing along happily together in a tolerant, "melting pot" society, which is what multiculturalism should mean, would draw very wide public support.

How do we know? Partly because the big story about race, immigration and the Howard Government is not the story told by the Left, which is dominated by big chapters on Hansonism and the Tampa, with appendices on Vivian Alvarez and Cornelia Rau. The real story is of a massive immigration program, now approaching 140,000 newcomers annually, plus another 14,000 under the humanitarian and refugee rubric. And this acceleration has occurred without any visible sign of public disquiet or backlash, apart from the rumble on the sands at Cronulla, which had much more to do with a clash of ill-bred and lawless young males.

Moreover, confounding Germaine Greer's prediction of "a bloody summer in Australia", Sydney's southern beaches have calmed down nicely. Blanket policing has been a success, and on Tuesday NSW Police Commissioner Ken Moroney urged Sydneysiders to go back to the beach. Perhaps the real sociological point in all this is that, for many baby-boomers finding themselves in a post-theological world, anti-racism has become the new religion. In fact, there is a degree of racism in every society, and in every human being: to make one's mission the eradication of this ingrained element is an exercise in fanaticism. But the great corrective to the "deep underlying racism" view is a postwar record in immigration that remains the defining achievement of Australia in our time. Even now, a quarter of Australians were born overseas. Far from having anything of which to be ashamed in our treatment of immigrants, we have every reason to be proud.


TOPICS: Australia/New Zealand; Editorial
KEYWORDS: sydneyriots

1 posted on 12/21/2005 2:10:26 PM PST by naturalman1975
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To: naturalman1975

I think most of the people in this world have about had a bellyful of multi-cultural tolerance.

Multi-cultural tolerance is when we ignore anything the poor minorities do because they just dont know any better or its in their culture. Getting tired of making excuses for their actions.


2 posted on 12/21/2005 2:25:26 PM PST by sgtbono2002
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To: naturalman1975

Howard should treat being called a racist by Germaine Greer as a complement to be worn as a Badge of Honor.


3 posted on 12/21/2005 2:27:58 PM PST by wmileo
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To: naturalman1975

Religion is NOT "race".

Aussies are against these islamist animal's crimes and their attempts to intimidate Aussies, in their own country.

"Racism" is the left's omni-smear insult and attack vehicle. No "reasonable" person has anything to do with a "racist", (except the left's favorite "victim" groups, who get complete pardons for their infamous and strident racisms).

So...to the leftstream media of the world, islamist gangs raping Aussie women, while telling them they are raping them because they were " Australian whores", or beating up two lifeguards while telling them, that that beach "belongs" to the islamists, neither is "racist".

But when a thundering crowd of rowdy drunken yobbos show up the next weekend to "dispute" the previous weekend's claim to ownership of the beach, of a part of AUSTRALIA, by racist islamist immigrant criminals, that's "racist".

I call BRAVO SIERRA!!!

AUSTRALIA is NOT France.

(I am uncomfortable when I'm on the same basic side as a "gang" named "The Bra Boys", but...there ya go.)

Boot all of the islamists back to their original fifth world sh!thole countries. There they can sniff each others butts five times a day in peace.

Win, win.


4 posted on 12/21/2005 2:41:51 PM PST by porkchops 4 mahound ("Si vis pacem, para bellum", If you wish peace, prepare for war.)
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To: naturalman1975
I think the "R" word (racism and racist)has lost all meaning. It has been so overused and overexploited by leftists that it instantly destroys the credibility of the speaker using this term of slander. Most people roll their eyes when this term gets injected into a conversation.
5 posted on 12/21/2005 2:56:50 PM PST by rockthecasbah (4th & 9. 1:32 left in the 4th quarter. Down by 3 at Notre Dame. No problem. Fight on!)
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To: porkchops 4 mahound
(I am uncomfortable when I'm on the same basic side as a "gang" named "The Bra Boys", but...there ya go.)

Just remember that their name comes from the fact that they are from Maroubra and not for any other reason.

The fact that they are absolute scum is far more of a concern to me than their name.

6 posted on 12/21/2005 3:07:30 PM PST by naturalman1975 (Sure, give peace a chance - but si vis pacem, para bellum.)
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To: porkchops 4 mahound

"But when a thundering crowd of rowdy drunken yobbos show up the next weekend to "dispute" the previous weekend's claim to ownership of the beach,..."

Part of the crowd of the angry 5,000 who showed up at Cronulla.

"A thundering crowd of rowdy drunken yobbos"?

PLEASE LOOK CLOSELY. THE MAJORITY OF PROTESTORS WERE LOCAL CITIZENS. THEIR PROTEST WAS LEGITIMATE.

7 posted on 12/21/2005 3:49:54 PM PST by Fred Nerks (Read THE LIFE OF MUHAMMAD free pdf download - link on My Page)
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To: Fred Nerks

I was using the left's style of words, as an apparently ineffective attempt at sarcasm.


8 posted on 12/21/2005 3:57:21 PM PST by porkchops 4 mahound ("Si vis pacem, para bellum", If you wish peace, prepare for war.)
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To: naturalman1975
My "agreement" is straight up "Realpolitik" to me, "the enemy of my enemy...".
9 posted on 12/21/2005 4:00:33 PM PST by porkchops 4 mahound ("Si vis pacem, para bellum", If you wish peace, prepare for war.)
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