Multiculturism

[sssaau4]

What is it?

Say I come here and i am asian.

I can speak my language at home to my family, I can cook the food i like at home (or anywhere) I can do my rituals to my gods, no one will care.

So what is that multiculturalism all about?

it seems like empth words to me.

i don't understand.

i come from a different culture, english is my 2nd language.

i cook my countries food at home and hubby puts up with it or i cook him something else if it's too much of an aquired taste.

i speak english (foreign) to other people in the shops because no-one would understand a word if i spoke in my native tongue.

so what exactly is multiculturalism?

is it some ideal where i could talk in my native tongue here and expevt other people to understand me?

is it the freedom to cook my "foreign" meals as i please?

can someone please enlighten me what it actually means?

[cherry*135]

sss - you weren't excluded from entering their shop. If you really wanted to buy some spices you could have asked the shop-keeper for advice?

What about Asian food supply stores? I haven't been to one of them, they have been part of Aust for years though ..do they have products from Asia with original labelling on it in a foreign language?

[chapmmarga]

Different cultures mixing and sharing ideas is the main purpose or idea of multiculturalism .Defined by Wikipedia in part as

 focuses on interaction and communication between different cultures. Interactions of cultures provide opportunities for the cultural differences to communicate and interact to create multiculturalism .Sadly in Australia, this has failed in many areas.

[lis351]

What about Asian food supply stores? I haven't been to one of them, they have been part of Aust for years though ..do they have products from Asia with original labelling on it in a foreign language?

Generally, yes, there is Asian writing on the original packaging with a sticker next to it in English, describing the ingrediants or what is inside the package. Same with nearby Indian grocers.

Also, Im faily sure it is illegal to import items destined for food that have absolutely no English writing on the labelling.

[sssaau4]

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@lis351 wrote:

What about Asian food supply stores? I haven't been to one of them, they have been part of Aust for years though ..do they have products from Asia with original labelling on it in a foreign language?

Generally, yes, there is Asian writing on the original packaging with a sticker next to it in English, describing the ingrediants or what is inside the package. Same with nearby Indian grocers.

Also, Im faily sure it is illegal to import items destined for food that have absolutely no English writing on the labelling.

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I know what you are talking about and i am fine with those packages.

i regularly buy miso paste, gochujang, mirin and ryroishu. i couldn't live without it! I would die of  boredom or deprivation of nice food.

what i am talking about is labelling exclusively in arabic. what's the point of having a shop and excluding anyone who does not speak arabic?

i LOVE to try new interesting foreign food but that arabic shop was very disspiriting.....

[sssaau4]

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@j*oono wrote:

That's where the multi part comes in sssssssausages.  This is where you need to learn what the labels mean. Then you will be doing your part too.

We don't label our products in Arabic or Chinese or German.

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uuhhmmm that is my beef.

i am interested in buying new interesting spices but if they only label it in arabic it excludes me which i think is not ok.

[sssaau4]

i think i mispelled gochujang. the point i try to make is that ...never mind.

just google daktori tang it's delicious.

[sssaau4]

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@chapmmarga wrote:

Different cultures mixing and sharing ideas is the main purpose or idea of multiculturalism .Defined by Wikipedia in part as

 focuses on interaction and communication between different cultures. Interactions of cultures provide opportunities for the cultural differences to communicate and interact to create multiculturalism .Sadly in Australia, this has failed in many areas.

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interaction and communication...

does not happen if you insist of  labelling things in your language.

did you know that ""black forest cake" really is called "Schwarzwaelderkirschtorte"?

i betcha you would have a hard time to pronounce it. yet we do not insist on the correct spelling(leave alone the pronounciation) but roll our eyes and go along with your distorted version....

[k0llectable5]

I think it comes down to the type of government in power.  Do they promote nationalist ideals (ie:Israel) or internationalist ideals? (ie: Australia)

The more internationalist they are, the more important the concept of multiculuralism and tolerance seems, especially when they have lax mass immigration policies on the agenda.  Whereas a nationalist government will steer away from promoting multiculturalism and focus more on a strong single ethnic society.

To me there is no "real" multiculuralism in Australia. It's more of a multi-ethnic society.  And I think Australians are taught from a very young age to be empathetic, tolerant, welcoming etc etc to all immigrants, and if they are not, then then they will be labelled racist.  Which these days is a crime almost as bad as murder...

[cherry*135]

Australia is a multicultural society. Different cultures and diverse ethnicity living in a single country.

Racists are racists. There are no valid excuses for them.

In Australia "Racial discrimination is when a person is treated less favourably than another person in a similar situation because of their race, colour, descent, national or ethnic origin or immigrant status."

Examples of racial hatred may include:

racially offensive material on the internet, including eforums, blogs, social networking sites and video sharing sites"

The Racial Discrimination Act aims to ensure that Australians of all backgrounds are treated equally and have the same opportunities.

This Act makes it against the law to treat you unfairly, or to discriminate against you, on the grounds of race, colour, descent, national or ethnic origin, and immigration status."

Human Rights Commission

Sssau.. If you are concerned about food products not having labels in English contact the appropriate Govt Dept about it.

http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/consumer/safety/responsible/Pages/default.aspx

[boris1gary]

secondhandwonderland wrote: 

and if they are not, then then they will be labelled racist.  Which these days is a crime almost as bad as murder...

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yes racists are racists,  to suggest that "these days is a crime almost as bad as murder" is a little hysterical and not at all true.