Racism in Australia

Ok. I wasn't going to comment on this subject, but with the events happening in Sydney and elsewhere in Australia over the last few days, something needed to be said.

I am ashamed of being an Australian. Totally and utterly ashamed! The events of Sydney where narrowminded, ignorant and totally "UGH!!!" stupid people running around, smashing other people's properties and attacking "non Anglosaxon" citizens is driving me nuts! When I see and hear newsreports of some people saying "I was born here" and "Australia for whites", my blood begins to boil.

Why?

Well, lets take a 2-minute history lesson. Oh stuff it! Its going to be a 15 minute lecture!

Prior to 1788 when the first British fleet arrived, Australia was inhabited by the Aborigines. When the First Fleet arrived and landed, they brought with them not only convicts from what is now the UK, but also from Madagascar, the West Indies, Holland, France, Germany, Portugal, Sweden, Norway and Bengal - just to name a few. So the First Fleet was actually a multi-racial mix of convicts.

During our one "civil war" - if you wish to call it that - there were American Blacks, other Americans, Germans, Austrians, Swedes and Italians who all fought at Eureka. As the two world wars begun and ended, and the world plunged into the Cold War, Australia accepted hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world.

During our first 200 years, Australia accepted people from all over the world to the point that today's society is not only a mish-mash of various races but also of religions. It can in fact be described as a mini-UN and 99.9% of the time, we actually do live in harmony with each other. Except when you have idiots like those in Sydney over the last few days.

I have heard and read people saying that "we" should send these "foreigners" back to where they came from. Others have said that with "Australians" being unemployed, we don't need "more foreigners as well". Well, sorry, but I am at a total loss here.

Firstly. What constitutes an "Australian"? Is it the fact that one is born here? Or has taken out citizenship? Or is it because they are not Anglosaxon? If we use the first criteria [born here], then I am an Australian even though my parents were born in Greece. If "citizenship" is the issue, then my parents are also Australians as they took out their citizenship back in the 1970s. However, if we take "Australian" to mean "Anglosaxon", then ok - ship everyone back to where they came from. BUT, where do we draw the "Anglosaxon" line? One generation ago? Three generations ago? Or ... how far back? And what do we do with those who may have a "British" dad but an Irish or Greek or Asian wife? Break up the family?

Secondly, on the issue of jobs and employment. Who's fault is it that there are people who are unemployed for lengthy periods? The "non-Anglosaxon" people here, or those that have set standards for themselves and won't take a job because "I am too good for it"? And before you start having a go at me, I know people who have never been unemployed, both young and old. They get off their backsides, get any job they can and then keep searching. In fact I know a couple of people who have upto 3 parttime jobs simply NOT to be unemployed.

Some people have said that immigration is bad for the country. I really don't see how though. Let me use an example here and if you find faults in my theory, please tell me.

If we allow 100,000 people to set up residence in Australia, it means that these 100,000 people will need clothing, housing, jobs etc. Lets make a further assumption [for the sake of the argument] that these 100,000 people are actually 25,000 families made up of dad, mum and 2 kids.

These 25,000 families will need 25,000 homes to live in. They will also need 75,000 beds, mattresses, quilts, etc to sleep on; 25,000 tables and 100,000 chairs, 25,000 cars, 25,000 jobs etc etc etc. Now, narrowminded and not very forward thinking people will say "they are stealing the stuff we need!!". Okay, yes they will need all these products and services [as well as jobs]. But when you think about it logically, someone has to produce all this stuff. So the factories will need to increase production to cater for this demand, which means they employ more people. These factories need resources, so their suppliers also bump up production [and hiring] to accommodate their own customers.

The end result is that although we need 25,000 new jobs for these new immigrants, they are actually created a lot more jobs simply to provide them with the goods and services they need. Think I am joking? Think about how many people are needed to build and furnish just one house. No, not just the builders, but also electricians, plumbers, the businesses that create the materials for the house construction, the TV manufacturers, bed and furniture makers and so on. Get the jist?

Australia's economic booms have always been when this country has had a high level of immigration. When immigration has been down, we have faced high unemployment. Coincidence? I think not.

Finally. I wonder how many of those "idiots" drive home in their Fords or Holdens after their rampage and sit down to pizza or a yiros and skull their Coca Cola or Scotch and say "we taught those bloody foreigners a lesson".

Our country is built on the back of the immigrants, whether they came from Europe, Asia, Africa or the UK. Take away the immigrants and you really have very little left.

Enough said! I am going to now sit down and enjoy the rest of my night, and hopefully by the weekend, a lot of those "idiots" are not only behind bars with the law throwing the book at them, but also given an education on reality.

James