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?

[azureline**]

Where  did I say I did? and .... do I know you?

I am in a position to know what happened in our street/block, I lived there, we were all friends, the neighbours in those days were friends, almost an open door policy for children, the women had tea daily, in and out of everyone's home, a gate between the side fences, walked the footpaths in the evening etc to chat. Small town.

[**dirty.girl**]

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@azureline** wrote:

Where  did I say I did? and .... do I know you?

I am in a position to know what happened in our street/block, I lived there, we were all friends, the neighbours in those days were friends, almost an open door policy for children, the women had tea daily, in and out of everyone's home, a gate between the side fences, walked the footpaths in the evening etc to chat. Small town.

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*facepalm*  Karen, do I need to cut and paste my last comment? You are seeing the Greek experience through your own young, white female eyes. You have no idea what personal struggles your Greek neighbours went through on a daily basis so you can't say the entire neighbourhood or even the street was never hostile to them. You weren't them, you weren't around them 24/7 so you don't know.

[lyndal1838]

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@**dirty.girl** wrote:

That's because you're not Greek. I was trying to by polite but it's kinda not your business how I am related to this and I certainly find it perculiar that you specifically asked your Greek neighbours whether they had heard of children being force fed kerosene or not... Racial attacks agaonst the Greeks weren't isolated incidents, they happened all the time. But you are not Greek, have never been part of the culture nor have had any connection to the Greeks apart from one or two neighbourly chats over the fence, so you're not really in a position to say how living as a Greek person in the 1950's was.

The only Italian horror stories I have heard had nothing to do with Australians doing anything to them.

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I agree it is not my business how you know what happened to the Greeks during the 1950s but it was relevant to know if it was experience or hearsay.

And why is it peculiar to ask my Greek neighbours, who are also friends of over 40 years standing....they were Greek children growing up in the 1950s in Australia and definitely in a position to hear about these things.  We are talking here about 8 children and their respective partners, all of whom grew up in 1950s/60s Australia.

They certainly did not all live in the areas they now live....they lived in different areas of Sydney as well as country NSW and their partners were from all over Australia.  I would say they would be a fairly representative selection of Greek families of the 1950s.

You obviously had very different experiences but it is not fair to say that it happened to all Greek children.

[**dirty.girl**]

See above comment.

[thegoblinswillgetu]

You expect your comments to be taken as fact without backing them up?

[thegoblinswillgetu]

As I already asked, have we met???

I like links to back up a debate.

[thegoblinswillgetu]

No, no we don't.

Some never will.

[thegoblinswillgetu]

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@**dirty.girl** wrote:

That's obvious.

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I'm glad we understand each other then.

Bed time for those who live in the US.

Good night.

[thegoblinswillgetu]

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@**dirty.girl** wrote:

If you're American then I don't understand you at all.

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Sorry to hear that dirty.

I understand you perfectly fine.

[the_great_she_elephant]

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@**dirty.girl** wrote:

That's because you're not Greek. I was trying to by polite but it's kinda not your business how I am related to this and I certainly find it perculiar that you specifically asked your Greek neighbours whether they had heard of children being force fed kerosene or not... Racial attacks agaonst the Greeks weren't isolated incidents, they happened all the time. But you are not Greek, have never been part of the culture nor have had any connection to the Greeks apart from one or two neighbourly chats over the fence, so you're not really in a position to say how living as a Greek person in the 1950's was.

The only Italian horror stories I have heard had nothing to do with Australians doing anything to them.

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That's because you are not Italian, have never been part of the culture nor have had any connection to the Italians apart from one or two neighbourly chats over the fence, so you're not really in a position to say how living as an Italianperson in the 1950's was.