Carr 'astonished' by Thatcher's 'racist' comments
#31
Re: Carr 'astonished' by Thatcher's 'racist' comments
It depends on what she was getting at though, doesn't it? I agree in essence, but I think my concern is more cultural than racial. I choose to live in a Western liberal democracy, and these are white countries, for the most part. If Australia was 75% Asian, but identical culturally and politically to where we live today, I shouldn't have a problem with it, should I?
#32
Re: Carr 'astonished' by Thatcher's 'racist' comments
I agree. Most East Asian migrants do seem to adapt quite well and make good citizens IMO. I believe in the melting pot approach to migration where different ethnic groups gradually integrate and adopt the prevailing culture but, in so doing, also have a small and hopefully positive influence on the mainstream culture. Obviously, some ethnic groups are better at this than others. If you look at the descendants of Italians, for instance, they are now almost indistinguishable from the mainstream but they still conserve some of their values like hard work and respect for family. This has been a good thing for all Australians who may be just a little bit more hard working and family minded than if the Italians had never come here.
#33
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Re: Carr 'astonished' by Thatcher's 'racist' comments
I agree. Most East Asian migrants do seem to adapt quite well and make good citizens IMO. I believe in the melting pot approach to migration where different ethnic groups gradually integrate and adopt the prevailing culture but, in so doing, also have a small and hopefully positive influence on the mainstream culture. Obviously, some ethnic groups are better at this than others. If you look at the descendants of Italians, for instance, they are now almost indistinguishable from the mainstream but they still conserve some of their values like hard work and respect for family. This has been a good thing for all Australians who may be just a little bit more hard working and family minded than if the Italians had never come here.
#34
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Re: Carr 'astonished' by Thatcher's 'racist' comments
I agree with you. We know that in the last decade Italian, Greek and Polish immigrants are down, and Indian and Chinese are up. However, people claiming English, Irish, Scottish and "Australian" ancestry constitute 90% of the population, while Chinese make up around 4%, so there's a long way to go.
#35
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Re: Carr 'astonished' by Thatcher's 'racist' comments
I agree with you. We know that in the last decade Italian, Greek and Polish immigrants are down, and Indian and Chinese are up. However, people claiming English, Irish, Scottish and "Australian" ancestry constitute 90% of the population, while Chinese make up around 4%, so there's a long way to go.
#36
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Re: Carr 'astonished' by Thatcher's 'racist' comments
That may be the case, but I would immediately say (without checking 2011 census) that Asian does not equal Chinese. I said Chinese were at 4%.