Here we go again. The integration mass debate has been started by politicians too gutless and/or stupid to deal with harder questions of economics. Pointing fingers at others without realising three fingers are pointing back at them.
Once again the pseudo-intellectual monoculturalists are coming out of the closet, dusting off the attitudes that have been used for over two centuries in Australia. One of my recent favourites has been a line from an editorial published by that American-owned newspaper the calls itself The Australian.
How wonderful it would be if the next generation of [Muslim] Lebanese-Australian kids held as their models the successful chief executives and footballers from their communities, rather than drug barons and night club owners.
What can I say? Or rather, where do I start? My responses aren't exactly the most intellectual-sounding, but then neither is what I'm responding to. So here goes:
[01] Is Professor Marie Bashir Dutch? Is Steve Bracks German?
[02] What proportion of drug barons in Australia are Lebanese?
[03] What proportion of night club owners in Australia are Lebanese?
[04] Let's look at CEO's. What proportion of Australian Catholics look upto Rupert Murdoch as their model? And for what? How many Catholics living in the ACT would manage companies that avoid taxation? Or that engages in illegal phone tapping? Is success in Australian patriotism measured by how readily one gives up one's Australian passport to become an American?
[05] What kind of footballer is successful? One who successfully dodges allegations of gang rape or group sex or bestiality? How many females does one have to sexually assult before becoming a successful footballer?
[06] Did Hazem ElMasri recently retire from a successful career in chess or lawn bowls?
Okay, that's enough. Now let's enjoy Amr Zaid's bass guitar.
Words © 2011 Irfan Yusuf
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