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?

[chapmmarga]

There are some cultures that do not intergrate with each other at all at any level. These groups build their own little communities in areas within the traditional Anglo/European suburbs here in Australia. They have their own grocery stores, fruit n veg shops, their own butchers etc. They are not concerned or interested about selling to the wider population,hence the productsare labelled in their language. These items are imported from their country of origin usually. The type of products on offer may not be grown or manufactured here.

I personally do not agree with this at all. If a product is sold in Australia, it should be labelled in the language of the country it is being offered for sale. The same goes for any products that have certification for different religious reasons, they should be clearly labelled.

My opinion ,that is all. 

[k0llectable5]

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@boris1gary wrote:

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.

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I should've known I wouldn't be able to get away with hyperbole like that on this forum lol.

I actually didn't mean literally.  What I mean is that if you dont like seeing Melbourne's Western suburban streets slowly filling up with vietnamese, Indian and African shops, walking around being the only Aussie to be seen, going to shops and feeling unwelcome and not able to read the labels on products (because none are in English), having traditions slowly taken away so as not to offend anybody, Living in an environment that promotes tolerance rather than acceptance, community division, and the ever increasing dilution of the Australian culture, if you dont like one or any of these things and you are outspoken  about these issues.

Make no mistake, you will be labelled racist. 

A quote from the Australian voters party website: http://ausvotersparty.org.au/2012/01/multiculturalism-2/ 

There is no absolute definition for multiculturalism although it is basically the blending and developing of relationships among peoples of varying ethnic and religious backgrounds. It requires the acceptance of newcomers by long established communities without discrimination of any kind. It also requires newcomers to participate fully in their new society to ensure their integration into the social, economic and cultural background of the host community or nation. Integration is the key word in multiculturalism for without integration the population is just a number of tribes competing against each other for cultural supremacy.

This article on Multiculturalism makes some good points for and against imo...

[siggie-reported-by-alarmists]

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@sssaau4 wrote:

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@am*3 wrote:

Cultural and ethnic diversity.

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what does it asctually mean?

I come from a different culture.  your culture is often very alien and weird to me.

as i said  i cook my country food at home and i buy things from ebay from home because rhey are better quality.

apart from that i like to go to pubs and eat burgers or schnitzel and unles i open my mouth no-one would guess that i am foreign.

so can you give me an example?

does "multiculturalism" just mean that i am allowed to cook my own food at home or what?

does it mean that i have the right to talk to Australians in my native tongue and expect an elaborate answer? (unlikely, i know, sorry i am just exploring every possibiliy)

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You buy things off ebay because they are better quality?........lol..... 

Wind up thread.....looks like you snagged a few...... keep reeling them in....

[chapmmarga]

We have the right to feel secure and safe in our own country. I am offended and intimidated when people speak their native language in front of you, then laugh whilst looking at you. Does anyone feel intimidated by this. Our racial discrimination act should be a two way street. If you want to converse with someone,in public, then please have the courtesy to do so in the language spoken by the majority of the population of the country you are living in.If you want to talk in your native tongue at home,or social events...go for it, nothing wrong with that at all.

[siggie-reported-by-alarmists]

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@chapmmarga wrote:
We have the right to feel secure and safe in our own country. I am offended and intimidated when people speak their native language in front of you, then laugh whilst looking at you. Does anyone feel intimidated by this. Our racial discrimination act should be a two way street. If you want to converse with someone,in public, then please have the courtesy to do so in the language spoken by the majority of the population of the country you are living in.If you want to talk in your native tongue at home,or social events...go for it, nothing wrong with that at all.

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So you can listen in on others conversations that are none of your business.......lol.

[cherry*135]

The OP comes from an EU country where things ARE better made... that is what she means, buys from ebay in her home country.

Not a wind up... the op has been posting here for a long time.. diff id's.

There are no laws that prevent any person from speaking a language other than English in public. 

 Doesn't worry me. My daughter has learnt a second language, if she spoke it in public (being an Australian citizen, English first language) would that upset people?

[siggie-reported-by-alarmists]

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@am*3 wrote:

The OP comes from an EU country where things ARE better made... that is what she means, buys from ebay in her home country.

Not a wind up... the op has been posting here for a long time.. diff id's.

There are no laws that prevent any person from speaking a language other than English in public. 

 Doesn't worry me. My daughter has learnt a second language, if she spoke it in public (being an Australian citizen, English first language) would that upset people?

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How can you pressume what another poster is thinking, or intending.....why would you speak on their behalf?

The OP's ID was registered yesturday..... how would you know Am3 who the OP is, and what country they  might be from.

Wind up thread....lol.

[katydidthat]

Well, I know that when I go overseas, I continue to speak English (unless it's a French speaking country). So, no, I'm not intimidated by other people speaking a different language here.

[k0llectable5]

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

With the host population expected to be totally accepting to different cultures displaying no discrimination at all.  And the immigrants being totally accepting to "integration" 

Is that how you honestly believe this country to be?

[boris1gary]

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@chapmmarga wrote:
We have the right to feel secure and safe in our own country. I am offended and intimidated when people speak their native language in front of you, then laugh whilst looking at you. Does anyone feel intimidated by this. Our racial discrimination act should be a two way street. If you want to converse with someone,in public, then please have the courtesy to do so in the language spoken by the majority of the population of the country you are living in.If you want to talk in your native tongue at home,or social events...go for it, nothing wrong with that at all.

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don't travel much then? or only to countries where you can speak the language. I've never understood this fear of others and why some people always assume that everyone is talking about them if another language is heard, don't worry about it your not that important, maybe some counselling about paranoid tendencies will help.