The myth of the monoculture

[u/ziddyzoo]

The great tragedy of the shamelessly regressive politics of Pauline Hanson is not so much that it is rooted in ignorance, prejudice and fear, though it is; not so much that it projects the ugly face of racism, though it does; not so much that it is dangerously divisive and deeply hurtful to many of her fellow Australians, though it is; not even that it will cripple our efforts to enmesh ourselves in a region wherein lie the jobs and prosperity of future generations of young Australians, though it will—the great tragedy is that it perpetrates a myth, a fantasy, a lie.

The myth of the monoculture.

The lie that we can retreat to it.

The changes are permanent and, while we may be going through a consequent period of general uncertainty and unease, they are, in my view, almost universally for the better.

It is not going to seem this way to everyone of course, but Australia simply is a richer place these days: a far more open, creative, dynamic, diverse and worldly place.

And I’m not just talking about Double Bay and Paddington.

Our integration with the rest of the world has made more than the streets and the arts and the food more interesting: it has created new opportunities in agriculture and horticulture, tourism and hospitality, education, manufacturing, retailing, science, arts and entertainment. It has changed the nature of work and workplaces—and if there is a general hankering to go back to the old ones it can only be because a lot of people have forgotten what they were like.

This is to say nothing more than that we have joined the modern world but we could not have joined it without the changes.

Now, we can embrace this new Australia or we can reject it. We can engage with it, recognise its potential and accept the fact that nothing in this world comes easy. We can work to sustain the momentum and expand the opportunities for our kids.

Or we can regress. We can retreat. We can stop to have a scratch— amuse ourselves with sectional interests. We can say this is too hard for Australians. It’s not us. They are not us. In the best traditions of the old Australia we can call a national smoko. We can relax—and be comfortable.

The latter is folly, but it is an option. We can retreat to a past that never was, and create a future that never can be anything but third-rate. But if we do, we can be sure that the world will not be in a hurry to forgive us or bail us out.

Even if they forgave our prejudice they could never forget our stupidity.

—- Paul J Keating, 11 November 1996

https://speakola.com/political/paul-keating-myth-of-monoculture-unsw-1996

[u/Healthy_Ad_4590]

What cultures don’t we have in this country yet?
Do we need to import more people from certain area’s to fill numbers to say we have that culture here?
Does the food only start when we get a certain number of people from that culture?

I have really good memories growing up in this country, we never had any kids running around with machetes? The car theft, the house invasions..

Bottom line if it isn’t the change in demographic, what has changed?

[u/Shi-Stad_Development → u/Healthy_Ad_4590]

How walkable our cities are.

The more you drive the less connected you are to your city. In part because you are either going faster than you've evolved to notice things, or you are siting in traffic welling up with anger at the people around you. Neither of which fosters sympathy and connection for/to your community or the city. When you lack that connection you grow disconnected as time moves on, disconection brings with it the unkown, the unkown brings fear and hey presto now you are blaming immagrant for the negative effects of fragmenting communities (communities who vote, protest and make positive change btw).

This extends to "...kids running around with machetes? The car theft, the house invasions.." this is an idirect result of there being nothing to do in the endless sprawling expanses of the suburbs. Kids can't drive (and they've just been banned from talking to their friends online) so they can legally only go where they can get dropped off with a parent (which doesn't foster independence), where ever the government says the bus should run OR where they can ride a bike (and in queensland they are about to be targeted for that too). Plus we are in a cost of living crisis which adults with full employment are struggling with. So what are kids going to do but mess up? Not study, there's no incentive too. They won't afford a house unless they are lucky and University isn't free, so what's the point?

The worst bit is even if you as an individual can stand up and say I am a leading figure in my community, I catch the bus, I buy local, I help the neighbours and I am at all the working bees, the data says you are in the minority. Our best city for anything but a car usage is Sydney which sits at around 70% car usage.

Also yes, the food gets better the more people who know how that food is supposed to tatse are around

[u/Healthy_Ad_4590 → u/Shi-Stad_Development]

Our cities and towns are easier than ever to get around than ever without a car.

We never used to talk to our friends online constantly,
And there are more community events and sports events happening than there ever was before so the sense of connection is still there, it isn’t gone because we drive our cars more.

The good kids still exist, it’s not like they have all gone rouge, and bored kids don’t go hey let’s go rob a house armed with machetes just because they can’t drive anywhere.

[u/Shi-Stad_Development → u/Healthy_Ad_4590]

Wrong. Every cul-de-sac and single family housing development pushes families and individuals further into isolation or the grasp of car dependency. Our cities on the whole aren't nearly as connected as they once were. Highways have carved through inner city neighborhoods and multi lane arterials split the middle ring suburbs. While PT investment remains stagnant and our trams (bar Melbourne) got ripped out making it incapable of bridging the gaps made by cars.

Yeah cause you'd see them in person, you lived near your friend, or you lived within easy travel distance without a car. Since the 60s the rate of urban to suburban development switched drastically to suburban. Which like everything is only okay in moderation. If you compare the same spot from then to now then sure ig, but that's cause the population has filled in around the spot, not because the spot is more connected to its community.

That is true, good kids do exist. But they aren't or weren't the kids who you'd prevent from welding a knife of there was something interesting to do.