I love Australia and I honestly believe it is one of the best countries in the world. Australia is one of the few nations that was not founded in war. Our country is made up of people from hundreds of different nations all living together in relative harmony.
It is amazing to just to walk down the street, your nose will pick up the scent of the best food from many different parts of the world.
Our strongest value is to give people a fair go. We don’t treat new people with suspicion instead we buy them a beer. We make sure everyone is included. In Australia we have no aristocracy, everyone is equal and we don’t call anyone sir – even the Prime Minister.
But again a chain e-mail threatens everything we hold dear. The ideas of Pauline Hanson have been discredited and her racist ideals are no longer fit for the political arena, but her beliefs have not died. Many who think as she does are still around – still spouting their theories.
The e-mail is titled: It’s Our Country! – Australia the right to leave.
It brings up a few examples like Sydney not wanting to put up Christmas lights or a Muslim woman in South Australia who apparently is veiled in her driver’s licence photo.
It goes on to say how many recent immigrants are diluting our sovereignty and our national identity.
This rant starts with: “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.”
And goes on with: “However, the dust from the attacks had barely settled when the ‘politically correct’ crowd began complaining about the possibility that our patriotism was offending others. I am not against immigration, nor do I hold a grudge against anyone who is seeking a better life by coming to Australia.”
And later: “We speak ENGLISH, not Spanish, Leba…” You get the idea.
There are a few questions I would like to ask the authors of this e-mail. Do you eat salami, kebabs, noodles, pizza or lasagne? You do! Well that must make you a fucking wog. Get out. Leave. I don’t want your kind in Australia. Bloody hypocrites. No seriously you are entitled to your own opinion, but try to keep your beliefs consistent.
The e-mail gets a little strange towards the end with: “’In God We Trust’ is our National Motto. This is not some Christian, right wing, political slogan. We adopted this motto 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.”
I never knew Australia had a motto, but anyway… I would argue one of the best things about Australia is that God is not a large part of our culture. In Australia it is considered rude to judge people according to their beliefs. I am an atheist and I do not believe I’ve ever been criticised for my lack of belief. This is part of our belief in the fair go. No matter if you are black, brown, beige or purple or whether you have unusual religious beliefs or if you are disabled.
The funny thing about this e-mail (as you may have guessed) is that it’s not original. This was originally written for a local newspaper in the American state of Georgia. One or two words have been changed for an Australian audience, but essentially it is exactly the same. The two examples at the top of the e-mail about Sydney Christmas lights and the female Muslim driver were not in the original article. A few things were added and taken out and it was turned into a chain e-mail.
The source of the Sydney Christmas lights story is about the Lord Mayor of Sydney Clover Moore in 2004 wished to cut down on the expenditure for Christmas decorations. Some right-wing commentators suggested that maybe the real reason was not to offend Muslims. Then Prime Minister John Howard agreed with them. Clover Moore denied this was the reason and in subsequent years emphasised the role of Christianity in Christmas.
In the American chain e-mail it was a Muslim woman in Florida who was veiled on her driver’s licence – she must have emigrated to South Australia. There is also an English version of the e-mail. That Muslim woman gets around a bit.
This e-mail is another sad example of ignorant people trying use lies and so-called “patriotism” to incite hatred of others.
The authors of this e-mail would see Australia a boring place with only meat and three veg to eat. There would be no cafes with tables and chairs in front. Pizza and the most Aussie of all dishes the chicken parmigiana would be banned.
Cultures that are open and flexible are successful. Those that are closed and ignorant die a slow and often painful death. Even our language is a bastard combination of French, Saxon, Latin and many others. This is one of the reasons why it is the most successful language ever known. The very culture you live in was forged by the blending of others.
As soon as someone begins to believe that their culture is superior people start being hurt. I believe that every culture that has come to Australia has improved our society – from the Chinese during the gold rush and the Afghans that opened up the interior of our country to the aboriginals that were here before we came.
Please do not demonstrate your ignorance by forwarding e-mails such as this.
Originally posted on Christopia December 2008.
