Australia Uses Harsh Graphic Novel To Ward Off Refugees
- Thread starter Andy Chalk
- Start date
You'd think all the lies about the dangerous wildlife was made up by tourists right? Wrong you fools, a clever ploy to keep it all to ourselves! N'yuck, n'yuck, n'yuck.
Don't look at me, I didn't vote for them. Granted wouldn't have mattered. No matter who we picked, refugees'd be fucked either way, but a majority of Australia likes flinging around the word '******' too (Abbot's anti gay stance, herpy, derpy, do)
Don't look at me, I didn't vote for them. Granted wouldn't have mattered. No matter who we picked, refugees'd be fucked either way, but a majority of Australia likes flinging around the word '******' too (Abbot's anti gay stance, herpy, derpy, do)
Australia has the most racist government that I know. It makes me ashamed to be an Australian - in fact, I prefer to call myself a New Zealander, since that's where I grew up, even if I'm Australian on paper.
Wow, even the Escapist is not safe from the Labor/Liberal blame game.
Face it, both of your parties are abhorrent, power hungry pariahs who have grown so desperate for power that they're willing to appeal this much to the racist underbelly of Australia's middle class. Who would've thought appealing to the bogan vote could net you government so easily.
Face it, both of your parties are abhorrent, power hungry pariahs who have grown so desperate for power that they're willing to appeal this much to the racist underbelly of Australia's middle class. Who would've thought appealing to the bogan vote could net you government so easily.
Pretty sure the government doesn't listen to anyone, they just pretend to for votes. Having said that Australia and a significant enough portion of Australians are racist bogans. I suspect the anti-immigration policy is financially motivated.GoddyofAus said:
They're not Australia's problem.Evil Smurf said:
And if you even knew what Liberal really means you'd know the two aren't mutually exclusive.
Where does this irrational bleeding heart that wants to bring ruin onto 1st World Countries come from?
Stop being so calm and rational!
Why can't you just run on pure emotion!!?!?! :'(
As someone who has been a big proponent of the US tightening it's borders, and using some rather heavy handed and perhaps even murderous methods to get illegals out, I'm hardly going to be critical here. Indeed your old buddy "Evil" Therumancer even goes so far as to thinking we should have provisions in the government to remove the citizenship from the unassimilated after the fact. Basically if your offended over the US flag being shown in the USA under any circumstances, you don't belong here. I don't care if it's a foreign holiday, I'll even say your welcome to celebrate it, but when it comes to claiming people can harass you with the flag of what is presumably your own country that's a problem.... and honestly it seems Australia is smarter than we are in the USA since they seem intent on making sure they will never have that problem.... indeed the saddest part of this entire thing is that it means I'll never be able to become an Australian citizen if I wanted to . Not that I would likely ever quit the US even if it goes even further to pot, as much as I hate it at times, it is my country. 
At any rate, I don't consider it that shocking. Understand the US is incredibly liberal when it comes to it's immigration policies and people saying "oh, oh, but we're a nation of Immigrants" even as we come under pressure about displaying our own flag, and problems rend the nation around us. I remember France got some attention for similar things when the EU was first getting started. France was all upset and almost dropped out apparently because of concerns about how easily people from the rest of Europe to come into France and draw benefits to live. I seem to remember around that time, and right afterward even after the EU got going, that France had some rather heavy handed propaganda circulating, I'm not sure if it was official government stuff or not though, since it has been a while. The point here is that it seems most nations aren't as open in their attitudes or their borders as the US is, even if one argues it's hard to actually get into the US legally... but that comes from an overloaded system, which becomes even more overtaxed when we have a hard time simply saying "no".
At any rate, I don't consider it that shocking. Understand the US is incredibly liberal when it comes to it's immigration policies and people saying "oh, oh, but we're a nation of Immigrants" even as we come under pressure about displaying our own flag, and problems rend the nation around us. I remember France got some attention for similar things when the EU was first getting started. France was all upset and almost dropped out apparently because of concerns about how easily people from the rest of Europe to come into France and draw benefits to live. I seem to remember around that time, and right afterward even after the EU got going, that France had some rather heavy handed propaganda circulating, I'm not sure if it was official government stuff or not though, since it has been a while. The point here is that it seems most nations aren't as open in their attitudes or their borders as the US is, even if one argues it's hard to actually get into the US legally... but that comes from an overloaded system, which becomes even more overtaxed when we have a hard time simply saying "no".
See, my basic attitude here is that living in the first world is not a right. When a bunch of people who failed in their own hellhole of a country ask for citizenship I do not feel any obligation to take them in and their problems. Especially if the people are simply motivated economically and want a better quality of life than what they had, as opposed to really being a part of your culture. I'm an American, and yes I know the whole "nation of immigrants" speech and the whole "give us your desperate and poor" schtick, but the bottom line is that for every immigrant that succeeds probably ten more are going to do nothing but become a burden to society, because if they don't have the skills to succeed where they were, they probably don't have the skills to succeed in a more advanced nation, especially if they don't speaking the language. As "mean" as it is, you wind up with the social and public services facing more of a burden, causing the government to have to borrow more money as a result, and the assorted problems that come from poverty when you find these guys who never had the tools to succeed inevitably forming migrant communities and squatter/shanty towns in the shadow of other areas to succeed. There have been all kinds of exposes about the little communities that have formed down in California, Texas, etc... and the people that live there, usually intended as a plea for sympathy and assistance, with people mentioning how all these people came here pursueing "The American Dream". In reality I can't get "The American Dream" for myself when you get down to it, so what makes you think I'm going to support giving it to these people, and really when I hear some of the stories I can't help but wonder why they were ever let in because it doesn't take a genius to figure out where they were going to end up. The US doesn't hand you a job, a car, and an apartment when you come across the border, most long term Americans have some trouble maintaining those things, so basically some unemployed bum stumbling through the immigration process is likely to become an unemployedGoddyofAus said:
bum in the USA, he simply wants to be here because our social benefits are better.
In short, your likely to hate me too, but I see where Australia is coming from. If you think these battles are nasty look at the ones the US has to deal with once we opened that door. While it's not the sole cause it does help contrinute to that staggering 17 billion dollars in debt, and honestly we're the only country I've heard of where we've actually had society wide fights over the right to ban our own flag in public buildings because it was upsetting immigrants
during foreign holidays.... think about that for a second.
I'll also say that at the end of the day I think it's less "Racist and xenophobic" than classist when you get down to it. The problem with most refugees in my experience has less to do with their ethnicity, and more with what they have to contribute to society. When the US is already dealing with massive unemployment problems for example, even a guy showing up with a trade like "mechanic" (to use the example from the Aussie propaganda) is pretty much useless when we have tens of thousands of those or more pretty much out of work, and you can see a hundred applicants at a garage when a job opens up in some places. It might tug at your heartstrings, but some unemployed mechanic on one side of the border is likely to be an unemployed mechanic on the other. On the other hand some guy coming up to become a citizen who wants to be American, already has some resources to support himself for a while, and a skill that's actually in demand (or has already secured employment, or is independently wealthy) that's a different story, that tends to be less of an issue with most countries.
We'll ultimately have to agree to disagree for the most part I'm sure. Despite how it might sound I do agree that it's not a nice thing, and it would be good to be able to help, but as someone else pointed out, when your country already has issues (and Australia apparently has them, just like the USA) it's not a good idea to start volunteering to take on everyone else's issues as well.
Haha, I had the same reaction at first myself.Fox12 said:
That said I'm from the opposite camp (which should surprise none of The Escapist regulars) I'm not exactly pro-immigrant and as someone who has been for much, much, harsher policies in the US, I'm hardly going to complain about Australia doing the same things I believe in.
Truthfully though I do kind of wish people would stop dropping the "ists" into this, at the end of the day the issue is largely an economic one. Cultural assimilation issues come later usually, and really looking at how smashingly things have gone in the US with us fighting to display our own flag in schools on foreign holidays like Cinco Del Mayo, it's no wonder a lot of other countries are becoming wary of this pre-emptively.
I'll also say that on a lot of levels it occurs to me that if these people put half the effort into improving their lands of origin as they do trying to get into a first world country, they wouldn't be all excited to flee to other nations.
Hate to say it man, but just because the US does something doesn't mean it's a good idea...RedBackDragon said:
I think you should be able to critique another country even if yours does the same thing, presumably you don't have any hand in the making of this book, just like I don't have any hand in whatever immigration laws the States has.
[Insert snarky comment about Government here]
It's the first piece of honesty shown by the Abbot government.[/Insert]
Psssh, seems like a lot of money. Just send out a 5 min video of any outer suburb train station. The level of boganism and racism is sure to deter anyone from coming to Australia.
It's the first piece of honesty shown by the Abbot government.[/Insert]
Psssh, seems like a lot of money. Just send out a 5 min video of any outer suburb train station. The level of boganism and racism is sure to deter anyone from coming to Australia.
you do know that the reason germany is never in the news for basically killing refugees by denying them aid while at sea is because we pay Italy and Spain to do that for us. i wish i was kidding, at some point we seriously discussed the idea of drones over the Mediterranean to take potshots at boats. with missiles.Karadalis said:
people discussing immigration always proves that civilization is basically a tiny layer atop a huge pile a huge pile of ignorance and fear.
You understand that by them going willingly into those camps sort of shows how harsh the environment they must have come from, yes? Because, most of the people seeking asylum have a choice between a very painful death or trying to make it to your shores to be treated badly.
I understand that you don't have the supplies or resources to accompany them, but why not just send them on their way elsewhere instead of imprisoning them and paying people to take care of it for you?
I understand that you don't have the supplies or resources to accompany them, but why not just send them on their way elsewhere instead of imprisoning them and paying people to take care of it for you?
This is not an argument that can be won, I have tried, I have tried with foreign people, I have tried with Australian people. i have tried with Friends and with Family, It doesn't end well.
Liberal vs Labor doesn't matter they both had bad ideas although the Liberals seems a bit more... Proactive as apposed to reactive. The facts are this
1. These people have come thousands of miles to get here past several other countries and sometimes From other countries, they have been selective, I think its a bit odd
2. They risk their own lives on an obviously long and dangerous trip in commonly un-seaworthy vessels packed with other refugees. It isn't smart, but perhaps that is an indication on the state of the area they are leaving.
3. No one can verify who these people are, this is the one that the xenophobes use as their straw-man, but it IS a VERY valid question as they could be known criminals, terrorists or the people the others are running from. It would be a poor government to allow people who are potentially dangerous to just walk in, even if its only a slim chance is it a chance you could take?
4. and finally, What is the solution, every time this argument comes up this stops people in their tracks, and they either respond with something stupidly sappy like, "We sHouLD Let ThUm in and WE WiLl aLL Be BFFs' aND Have Kake!" or something moronic like "WE SHOULD HAVE A BIG WALL WITH GUNS AND JUST BLOW THEM OUT OF THE WATER RAAAAGHHHHHH!!!" It all sounds so very juvenile.
So, actual ideas for a solution? or just more complaints?
Liberal vs Labor doesn't matter they both had bad ideas although the Liberals seems a bit more... Proactive as apposed to reactive. The facts are this
1. These people have come thousands of miles to get here past several other countries and sometimes From other countries, they have been selective, I think its a bit odd
2. They risk their own lives on an obviously long and dangerous trip in commonly un-seaworthy vessels packed with other refugees. It isn't smart, but perhaps that is an indication on the state of the area they are leaving.
3. No one can verify who these people are, this is the one that the xenophobes use as their straw-man, but it IS a VERY valid question as they could be known criminals, terrorists or the people the others are running from. It would be a poor government to allow people who are potentially dangerous to just walk in, even if its only a slim chance is it a chance you could take?
4. and finally, What is the solution, every time this argument comes up this stops people in their tracks, and they either respond with something stupidly sappy like, "We sHouLD Let ThUm in and WE WiLl aLL Be BFFs' aND Have Kake!" or something moronic like "WE SHOULD HAVE A BIG WALL WITH GUNS AND JUST BLOW THEM OUT OF THE WATER RAAAAGHHHHHH!!!" It all sounds so very juvenile.
So, actual ideas for a solution? or just more complaints?
No, living in the 'first world' is not a right. It's just dumb luck.Therumancer said:
You might not feel any obligation, but you might stop to consider that you basically had a 9 in 10 chance of being born in less fortunate circumstances.
Which is why we let almost all of them in. We treat them like shit with at best questionable legal standing for what we do and then once the paperwork is done its decided they should be let in in spite of our attempts to keep them out.Ed130 The Vanguard said:
