Anyone else agree?
Posted on 01/01/2006 4:01:07 PM PST by naturalman1975
PLANS to erect the Australian flag over the Bondi Beach pavilion were vetoed because of fears the symbols could incite further racial violence on Sydney's beaches.
In a decision met with outrage from residents, returned servicemen and ethnic groups, Waverley Council voted six to four against the proposal, declaring Australia's most famous beach should remain clear of flags to "remove provocation".
Mayor Mora Main and fellow Green George Copeland led a block of Labor councillors, including deputy mayor George Newhouse, Peter Moscatt and Ingrid Strewe, vetoing the plan by Liberal councillor Joy Clayton on December 13.
The Australian flag and an Aboriginal flag were to be provided by Wentworth Liberal MP Malcolm Turnbull, who yesterday led a chorus of opposition to the move.
But an unapologetic Cr Copeland said the council remained concerned about a repeat of the racial violence that erupted at Cronulla before Christmas.
"The previous weekend, the Cronulla riots happened and in those riots, the Australian flag was used by both sides as a symbol around which to perpetrate racial violence," Cr Copeland said.
"The people from Lakemba burnt the flag and the Cronulla people swathed themselves in it while pounding people.
"It was used a symbol for racial violence and we didn't want to wave a red rag in front of either side on New Year's Eve."
Muslim leaders yesterday described the decision as misguided and presumptuous.
Founder of the Islamic Friendship Association of Australia, Keysar Trad, said decisions made on behalf of the Muslim community with no consultation caused only further division.
"To suggest in the slightest Muslims would be offended at the sight of the Australian flag is naive," Mr Trad said.
"Many Muslims call Australia home and they are just as happy to see the flag flying high as any other Australians."
Waverly Council has also offended community organisations that proudly fly the national flag daily.
NSW Police Association president Bob Pritchard said he could not envisage any context under which the Australian flag would incite racial tensions.
"I can't see any justification for not flying the national flag. It represents us all -- it should not represent any separation of race or instil any feelings of racial tension," Mr Pritchard said.
"I believe this is an example of political correctness taken to the extreme and to me this is wrong."
Cr Main said yesterday that concerns about racial unrest were only part of the reason behind the council's decision.
"I thinks it's just that Bondi is not a ceremonial place. It's a place for recreation," she said.
Why do I have the feeling that these people would prefer to have a reg rag flying above them.
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already posted..
Make sure the women wear burkas instead of bikinis too.
Well, when you elect undisguised communists, you can expect decisions like this.
Unbelieveable.
Maybe I'm missing something, but it strikes me as extremely odd that the flag of any country would not be permitted to fly above its own soil. How could that possibly be interpreted as provocative?
Is there any place in the US where the US flag is not legally permitted to fly?
Democratic party headquarters except during the month prior to elections?
Berkeley firefighters told to remove Stars and Stripes from rigs
and many others...
It's not that it isn't permitted - this decision by Waverly council doesn't ban anything. But the council owns the building and so it can choose whether to fly the flags or not.
If there's another privately owned building nearby, its owner to choose to fly a flag if they wanted to.
[Is there any place in the US where the US flag is not legally permitted to fly?
In San Francisco, police uniforms were forced to remove the American flag in 2003.
In the Brave New World of PC, it IS provacative.
In a related story, Kofi Annan bans all national flags and contemplates renaming every country in the world as Nation.
Sharia...coming soon to a beach near you.
This is a very bad precedent. The UK is ashamed of its own flag, and all that the gesture accomplishes is the creation of more suicide bombers.
bttt
Isn't political correctness wonderful. Now we can be held hostage in our own land out of fear of offending immigrants and foreigners.
Damn are you sure that's in the USA, I thought it was part of Mexico.
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