Australia to immigrants - Like it or leave

[Justforfun000]

While I could do away with the "Christian" focus per se.....I still basically applaud the speech. It needs to be said more. A country needs change too, but not specifically driven by individual minorities expecting religious consideration as a special right.


Aussies… Blunt as a badger’s backside!!!!

Whole world Needs A Leader Like This!


Prime Minister Kevin Rudd - Australia

Muslims who want to live under Islamic Sharia law were told on Wednesday to get out of Australia, as the government targeted radicals in a bid to head off potential terror attacks..


Separately, Rudd angered some Australian Muslims on Wednesday by saying he supported spy agencies monitoring the nation's mosques. Quote:

'IMMIGRANTS, NOT AUSTRALIANS, MUST ADAPT. Take It Or Leave It. I am tired of this nation worrying about whether we are offending some individual or their culture. Since the terrorist attacks on Bali , we have experienced a surge in patriotism by the majority of Australians. '

'This culture has been developed over two centuries of struggles, trials and victories by millions of men and women who have sought freedom'

'We speak mainly ENGLISH, not Spanish, Lebanese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, or any other language. Therefore, if you wish to become part of our society . Learn the language!'

'Most Australians believe in God. This is not some Christian, right wing, political push, but a fact, because Christian men and women, on Christian principles, founded this nation, and this is clearly documented. It is certainly appropriate to display it on the walls of our schools. If God offends you, then I suggest you consider another part of the world as your new home, because God is part of our culture.'

'We will accept your beliefs, and will not question why. All we ask is that you accept ours, and live in harmony and peaceful enjoyment with us.'

'This is OUR COUNTRY, OUR LAND, and OUR LIFESTYLE, and we will allow you every opportunity to enjoy all this. But once you are done complaining, whining, and griping about Our Flag, Our Pledge, Our Christian beliefs, or Our Way of Life, I highly encourage you take advantage of one other great Australian freedom, 'THE RIGHT TO LEAVE'..'


'If you aren't happy here then LEAVE. We didn't force you to come here. You asked to be here. So accept the country YOU accepted.'

[weemadando]

I'm about to have dinner, but consider this an advance for later:

Australia - more racist than pretty much anywhere, but try and get us to admit it.

[thejester]

Can we have a link to this? Because I'd be putting a ten on it being a load of horseshit. There's no way Mr Sheen would stick his neck out this far.

EDIT: Yeah, it is.

[weemadando]

Then again, we've also had people coming out today and saying that we should have just left people to burn to death or drown rather than letting them into our country.

Nothing would surprise me when it comes to the casual racism espoused by most Australians and endorsed, tacitly or otherwise by our Pollies.

[mr friendly guy]

I would believe some Australians sprout such views and skewer the immigrant debate to blatant strawmen. However from Kevin Rudd? I smelt bullshit in the first few lines. I have said it before, and I will say it again despite those who will come and flame me, its the Liberals / National coalition that like playing the race card, not the ALP.

Just look at U-Turnbull playing the Chinese scare card. OMG, Chinese companies are going to own 9% of Rio Tinto. Look, 9%, how scary is that. If they used Malcom Turnbull's name I might be more inclined to believe it. Or they could use Ross Lightfoot or Wilson Tuckey.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

While I could do away with the "Christian" focus per se.....I still basically applaud the speech. It needs to be said more. A country needs change too, but not specifically driven by individual minorities expecting religious consideration as a special right.

I think before you make a remark such as this, you should put it in the context that Australia in the last decade or so, has several eruptions of xenophobia both mainstream and on the fringes. This should not be construed entirely on the issued of religious consideration but rather, the latest in many many outbreaks of racism in the country.

[Justforfun000]

Hey guys. This was sent to me via email and it didn't include a link although it came with a picture of the speaker...for some reason it looked like it was copied directly from an article so it looks like it might have fooled me if it is in fact incorrect.

Justforfun000 wrote:
While I could do away with the "Christian" focus per se.....I still basically applaud the speech. It needs to be said more. A country needs change too, but not specifically driven by individual minorities expecting religious consideration as a special right.

I think before you make a remark such as this, you should put it in the context that Australia in the last decade or so, has several eruptions of xenophobia both mainstream and on the fringes. This should not be construed entirely on the issued of religious consideration but rather, the latest in many many outbreaks of racism in the country.

[Justforfun000]

Forgot to add my comments after that last post quote and then it was too late to edit...so this is in response to the above.



Edit: I forgot to post my comment after this quote above...

While I'm not condoning xenophobia, there is a fine line that needs to be drawn here and where in my country the government has actually bent over backwards at times to placate foreign cultures to the expense of our own traditions, I think it's fair enough to stand up for them. I am no longer Christian for all intents and purposes due to my de-conversion, but I still want Xmas lights in the stores and any related religious scenes placed in public places as decorations. It's still a part of my culture, and I feel I have the right to enjoy the superficiality of these portions even when I may not be a practicing Catholic any longer.

I'll be damned if I'll agree to a muslim from Iran successfully removing a manger scene from a bank window display or an Hindu from India decrying a billboard involving a cow and their transformation to a hamburger. This is the country they are choosing to come to, and while moral issues that are able to be discussed and rationally debated in a secular fashion should always be welcome, things that "offend sensibilities", that are 99% of the time based on nothing more than religious beliefs, fall into my "Too fucking bad" category.

I'd just love to see anyone go to their countries and pull that nonsense. You'd be lucky not to be throw in jail.

This oarticular story may be one of those exaggerated out of context blurbs people send through tht internet to get a rise out of people, and if it is mainly incorrect then I apologize for pasting it without checking the original source. I was hasty. However it brings a good point to light...People still feel very strongly about the right to hold on to their own form of culture, and most places in North America and Europe are very generous in their allowances for those who are different. Most religions can be practiced freely and without attack. But when people start complaining about cultural traditions that have been in place for hundreds of years defining places like Canada and the US, then even though some might be religiously based, so fucking what? We grew into these expressions of them and if we decide as people to slowly lose interest in celebrating these events and dumb down the glitter and the "Merry Xmas" on our own, that's fine. But no way in hell should a foreigner moving into YOUR sphere of influence should be able to cite their "offended sensibilities" as reasons for the country to change. Fuck them.

[mr friendly guy]

The thing is, if some migrant comes to your country and becomes accepted, ie passes the criteria for citizenship, then their views suddenly become part of your "sphere" of influence. The same way some British migrants come to Australia, rant about how Pakistani's have irrevocably damage the culture and lifestyle in the UK, then bitch about the multiculturalism of Australia without seeing the irony.

Oh, the other thing that gave this away was this line

'We speak mainly ENGLISH, not Spanish, Lebanese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, or any other language. Therefore, if you wish to become part of our society . Learn the language!'

Kevin Rudd can speak Chinese, and isn't exactly shy about advertising that fact, since China is one of our bigger trading partners.

[hongi]

It's still a part of my culture, and I feel I have the right to enjoy the superficiality of these portions even when I may not be a practicing Catholic any longer.

You'd be fine with Muslims hanging up Ramadan decorations then?

[Covenant]

It's still a part of my culture, and I feel I have the right to enjoy the superficiality of these portions even when I may not be a practicing Catholic any longer.

You'd be fine with Muslims hanging up Ramadan decorations then?

Around here they just use Christmas Lights on the outside.

[Justforfun000]

The thing is, if some migrant comes to your country and becomes accepted, ie passes the criteria for citizenship, then their views suddenly become part of your "sphere" of influence. The same way some British migrants come to Australia, rant about how Pakistani's have irrevocably damage the culture and lifestyle in the UK, then bitch about the multiculturalism of Australia without seeing the irony.

Living there eventually gives you some nominal right to speak out on the country and the direction it is taking, but I still don't see how this would give a right to denigrate the public displays of Xmas trees. These are expressions of faith that have become legal holidays and therefore have a valid claim to our culture and their inclusion within. A contrary point of view based on a different religion is to me immediate grounds for dismissing this as an actionable protest. Yes the Chrisitian faith may be the main reason why many holidays in this country are celebrated and the many trappings of the season go hand in hand with that, but it's already a well established tradition that most people, in fact I'd wager practically ALL who are born here, are used to and basically condone or approve of such public expression because it's always been part of our lives. Even atheists can celebrate Xmas by putting up trees and giving gifts. We have made it a secular based holiday as well and this is perfectly fine.

What's not fine is people who do not like this coming into a country they are looking to adopt as a new home and then actively complaining and trying to prohibit such expression because it either "offends" them or makes them feel bothered in some other way.

Like I said before, in my opinion...too fucking bad.

[Justforfun000]

Absolutely! It's one of the reasons I love living in Toronto. We celebrate our differences, we don't let it divide us. When any part of the community is celebrating, the greek section's Taste fof the Danforth, the Italian section going nuts when Italy wins a game and the entire city parties with them, gay pride, etc. etc.

We feel many different cultures enrich the city and the country as a whole. Obviously any violent or illegal activities cannot be condoned in religions name, but if it's not hurting anybody, great. But as to being "offended"? Fuck em.

[bobalot]

Considering how apathetic most Australians are to religion, I knew this was totally bullshit as soon as I read this bit. If a PM said something like this, he/she would never get away with it without a lot of political damage. Most mainstream Australians would think "What a fuckwit" or "Sounds like an American"

'Most Australians believe in God. This is not some Christian, right wing, political push, but a fact, because Christian men and women, on Christian principles, founded this nation, and this is clearly documented. It is certainly appropriate to display it on the walls of our schools. If God offends you, then I suggest you consider another part of the world as your new home, because God is part of our culture.'

Religious text on the walls of public schools would never fly in Australia. The idea would never get the time of day.

I harbor similar sentiments for people trying to install things like sharia law in Australia. However, this entire spiel sounds like a redneck rant. I seen plenty of these douches around running around telling every body else "how" to be patriotic. How I "have" to love the flag, and do certain things in order to be considered a "true" Australian.

They can build a boat and fuck off to America where this type of loud mouth patriotism originated from.

[bobalot]

I'm told I basically have to have a green and gold erection every time Australia is mentioned. We used to be proud of the fact that most of us couldn't remember the national anthem or that flag waving was something only done on Anzac or Remembrance Day. Anybody with a flag pole on their house was deemed a wanker. It was a quiet love of our country, we never had to childishly let everybody else know.

Now every Anzac day, we have bogans running around forcing people kiss the flag under threat of violence. Fuck the new Australian jingoists and fuck their loud mouth patriotism.

That rant (although fake) sounds a lot like this new ultra patriotic jingoism that is creeping into Australian culture.

[Stark]

Don't make Howard say 'mateship' again. He'll do it.

The Sharia thing is pretty funny though.

[hongi]

'IMMIGRANTS, NOT AUSTRALIANS, MUST ADAPT. Take It Or Leave It. I am tired of this nation worrying about whether we are offending some individual or their culture. Since the terrorist attacks on Bali , we have experienced a surge in patriotism by the majority of Australians. '

'This culture has been developed over two centuries of struggles, trials and victories by millions of men and women who have sought freedom'

'We speak mainly ENGLISH, not Spanish, Lebanese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, or any other language. Therefore, if you wish to become part of our society . Learn the language!'

'Most Australians believe in God. This is not some Christian, right wing, political push, but a fact, because Christian men and women, on Christian principles, founded this nation, and this is clearly documented. It is certainly appropriate to display it on the walls of our schools. If God offends you, then I suggest you consider another part of the world as your new home, because God is part of our culture.'

'We will accept your beliefs, and will not question why. All we ask is that you accept ours, and live in harmony and peaceful enjoyment with us.'

'This is OUR COUNTRY, OUR LAND, and OUR LIFESTYLE, and we will allow you every opportunity to enjoy all this. But once you are done complaining, whining, and griping about Our Flag, Our Pledge, Our Christian beliefs, or Our Way of Life, I highly encourage you take advantage of one other great Australian freedom, 'THE RIGHT TO LEAVE'..'

'If you aren't happy here then LEAVE. We didn't force you to come here. You asked to be here. So accept the country YOU accepted.'

Quite aside from the content of the message here, the tone just pisses me right off. I'd like to see someone walk up to an immigrant and speak the contents of the above post into their face. They're liable to get pissed at your attitude first and foremost - put simply, we shouldn't be screaming into their faces that 'This is OUR COUNTRY, OUR LAND, and OUR LIFESTYLE'. I don't even think this post was meant for immigrants, it seems to have been written for Australians of the same political stripe as the author.

[Rye]

The idea that society's as good as it will ever be and if you don't like it you should fuck off is so childishly simplistic that it's no wonder that children worldwide find it an argument of quick recourse. Learning language really ought to be a matter of manners if you're living in a country; nothing is more embarrassing than a British tourist attempting to communicate with Spanish people by speaking louder. Acknowledgement of a place's customs and standards is fine, but that doesn't require that you don't criticise them in line with your beliefs. The "like it or fuck off" smokescreen tends to gloss over that one, as fun and cathartic it is to use on right wingers when society revolts against racism, say.

[Darth Onasi]

Why is it every Christian fundie out there will always declare that their country was founded on Christian values, by Christians, and nothing else?

That said, fuck anyone who wants to spread that retarded shariah law.

[Twoyboy]

Why is it every Christian fundie out there will always declare that their country was founded on Christian values, by Christians, and nothing else?

When people say this about Australia I usually point out we were also founded by convicts... so let's all go out and steal something!

[HSRTG]

I'm fairly sure this is a barely edited copy/paste job of a right wing email rant my mother gets from time to time. The "We speak ENGLISH" line is what I primarily remember. Simply replace Australia with America, and Bali with WTC and you'll see how it fits.

'IMMIGRANTS, NOT AMERICANS, MUST ADAPT. Take It Or Leave It. I am tired of this nation worrying about whether we are offending some individual or their culture. Since the terrorist attacks on the WTC, we have experienced a surge in patriotism by the majority of Americans. '

'This culture has been developed over two centuries of struggles, trials and victories by millions of men and women who have sought freedom'

'We speak mainly ENGLISH, not Spanish, Lebanese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, or any other language. Therefore, if you wish to become part of our society . Learn the language!'

'Most Americans believe in God. This is not some Christian, right wing, political push, but a fact, because Christian men and women, on Christian principles, founded this nation, and this is clearly documented. It is certainly appropriate to display it on the walls of our schools. If God offends you, then I suggest you consider another part of the world as your new home, because God is part of our culture.'

'We will accept your beliefs, and will not question why. All we ask is that you accept ours, and live in harmony and peaceful enjoyment with us.'

'This is OUR COUNTRY, OUR LAND, and OUR LIFESTYLE, and we will allow you every opportunity to enjoy all this. But once you are done complaining, whining, and griping about Our Flag, Our Pledge, Our Christian beliefs, or Our Way of Life, I highly encourage you take advantage of one other great American freedom, 'THE RIGHT TO LEAVE'..'

'If you aren't happy here then LEAVE. We didn't force you to come here. You asked to be here. So accept the country YOU accepted.'