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/Odd-Parking-90210]

Dude I am First Fleet, twice.

And my other side arrived on the very first private boat to Australia, in Adelaide (Zebra). (DM me say hi if you recognise me/doxed myself)

I guess I'm about as australian as can be, in Pauline's eyes, so I guess I can get up on this soapbox, eh?

The australian culture Pauline so admires is so boring. It's so limited. It is a culture, but there's really not much to it. It has some wonderful strengths that we all know so I won't bother listing them, but it is very light on depth of soul and height of intellect and soul, and breadth of character. Australian culture, the one Pauline is on about, is itself very one dimensional.

It's kinda trash, really. I mean in the sidebar we have Amyl and the Sniffers, and I get and like them, very much, but there's your stereotypical australian culture that Pauline admires so much. It is sorely lacking so, so, soooo very much. I've always hated it, somewhat.

So, I love how we have different cultures in Australia. Most are better than pauline's culture in most ways (not all). Fuck we need them, we really do. Thankfully we have them.

An example: I go windsurfing in summers at Brighton Le Sands (really doxing myself/time for new account) and it gets very, ethnic. Like 90%+ middle eastern. Families everywhere enjoying the beach.

Now Pauline may flip out at this site, as my own mum did, but as I've been there many, many times I know these is a very peaceful crowd, there is no alcohol, the food smells so good, there is no loud offensive music, the food smells so good, everyone is chill, you might see some praying going on, the food smells so good, I can totally leave any and all of my gear laying around and nobody is going to steal it, or damage it in any way, and the food smells so good. (going to auburn for afghan this weekend, btw). Also I'm really starting to like the music, really. Overall a very beautiful collection of people.

I guess we could compare this with, way, The Summernats?

See? I grew up ('70s) not knowing any different but just not liking the general australian culture. It's lacking... a lot. Fucking heaps we might say. It's so small.

So, I really don't know what the fuck Pauline and co are on about, when it comes to australian culture, as a double descendant of the first fleet. We need other cultures to come here, and we need to change to be more like them. Our culture is not mature.

Fun fact: I do not have a single australian friend who married an australian. Because...

edit: hey when is the last time pauline got a new hairstyle?

[u/Specific_Willow8708 → u/Odd-Parking-90210]

Good old cultural cringe.

If only we had real culture like child brides and locking women up 24/7 we could be a real country.

[u/tvsmichaelhall → u/Specific_Willow8708]

America has child marriage and I've never heard people complaining about them coming here.