[UA] Greetings

[James O'Rance]

Stuart Anderson <stuartanderson at qwest.net> said:

 >>>I wasn't going to chip in here, but I'm actually having a disagreement 
with an office mate, and as long as someone else asked . . .
Without being negative or judgmental, my impression is that racial issues 
are huge in Australia.<<<

I'll try to keep this brief, as I've been a student of teaching and 
philosophy, not social studies, and it's getting OT.

One of the biggest problems imho is that there are people living in 
third-world conditions in a first-world country. This is extremely galling 
when you consider that the continent was stolen from them in the first 
place, that there was genocidal violence committed against them for over a 
hundred years, and afterwards even an attempt of "integration" that 
basically meant eliminating native culture.

A major point of contention is the "sorry" issue: should modern white 
Australians apologise for the horrid things that our ancestors did? 
Personally I believe that if you take pride in the accomplishments of your 
ancestors (all good and proper) then you should feel shame for their crimes 
as well.
However, there are people who don't feel that they should be held in any way 
responsible for crimes committed before they were born. Unfortunately, our 
current Prime Minister is famous for this stance.

The position of ethnic immigrants is much more positive. Although there is a 
degree of racism that can be seen - rural areas are p(erhaps unfairly) 
infamous for it - cities like Sydney and Melbourne are very multicultural, 
and better for it. I was among the minority of blonde "Aussie" types in my 
senior year, with friends of Italian, Greek, Croatian, Philipino, Maltese, 
etc descent. I don't remember much racism at all (a bit of ethnic pride 
between a Croatian and a Serian guy, but that's it).

 >>>I think most Americans think Australia is a big, good-natured,
24-hour party. I don't know if that comes from Outback Steakhouse 
commercials or what.<<<

Keep in mind that most Australians live in suburban areas around the major 
coastal cities. I vaguely recall a UA book describing a kangaroo-skin 
wearing "Aussie"; I don't know if I've ever *seen* kangaroo-hide clothing.


Cheers,

James O’Rance
“Divine being creates petting zoo. It gets out of hand.”
- The Bible (summarised by John W. Mangrum)

http://www.geocities.com/dragon-dreamer/


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