My view and thoughts on everything!

There has been a lot of debate recently over the Australian Government’s decision to look at amending section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act.   The amendments proposed include removing the provisions making it unlawful to “offend, insult or humiliate” based on a person’s race.   This would be replaced with a new clause that bans racial vilification.   In brief, a large number of Australian’s feel that the proposed changes will, in effect, allow people to be more racist to others. Since the debate about section 18C has started there has been a couple of incidents, most particularly in multi-cultural Ryde, where a poster was displayed with the words “No more Asians.   It’s not the face of Australia.   We speak English.   Save our Aussie culture”. Under the proposed amendments a number of migrant groups fear that they will incur more racist incidences like this one. Before I move on, I would point out that every country has elements of racism. ...

Australia is a country, similar to the US, that has been built on migrants. Since the 'White Man' arrived in 1788, and the numerous convict ships that followed, Australia has been home to many migrants from different regions, religions, cultures and traditions.   In the early days Australia definitely had an Anglo Saxon feel as virtually all migrants were from the British Isles. Most were petty thieves who were put on boats heading to Sydney, for stealing things like a loaf of bread.  This migrant flow changed in the nineteenth century when gold was discovered 'in them thar hills' and before long a large number of Chinese prospectors arrived with dreams of 'making it rich' through what to some is the most precious of metals. Fast forward to the twentieth century and Australia said g'day to a number of Greeks, Italians and other Europeans as the country expanded, and the domestic workforce was unable to cope accordingly.  The 1970's onward...