Racism Dog Whistle
Peter Costello's recent remarks about the Muslim community assimilating into the general Australian population (whatever that is) is an invitation for every red neck and shock jock in the country to 'have a go' at then. The most visible members of the Muslim community are women, and they'll cop the brunt of the day to day abuse.
I'd have thought that the way to encourage 'assimilation,' and make them not want to 'have a go' back, is to make the group feel welcome. Assist the early arrivals to live their lives as best they can in a foreign environment, let the second generation do the difficult job of straddling the two cultures, and hopefully the third will seamlessly fit in to the general community. This has worked before.
Perish the thought that the miserable conservatives that run the country would want the newcomers to feel alienated and seen as a threat to the general community, a threat which only they claim to be able to handle.
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I'm slightly surprised that no one seems to have thought to ask the question "How come the first Europeans to arrive here didn't think they should adopt the ways and laws of the indigenous people". Hypocracy rules!
Sue, look what happened to the Aborigines.
If we don't require newcomers to assimilate, the same thing will happen to us.
I hope you like veils.
Don't be silly, EP!
For us to be in the same situation as the Aborigines, there'd have to be (conservatively) 400 million Muslims living here.
You don't need to rush out and buy the burqa yet, Sue.
Well that's relief! But really I was just trying to point out how consistantly selective our beloved leaders are in their sweeping statements.
We are ruled by the lazy quick grab.
Very wise comments.
And yes, as a person from a migrant family myself, I can assure people that it does take a while to 'assimilate' -- partly because one's values have been formed in a context which can be very unlike the newer context one has entered.
Unless this is understood by the community at large, newcomers will only be alienated to the point where they conclude that it is impossible -- or just too hard -- to assimilate. When they come to these conclusions, they will turn against the culture that should have welcomed them. The effects of this will be unpleasant for all.