When I used to live in Oz (before the o'seas stint in my life) Australia Day was the official end of the school holidays and therefore marked by nothing more than stationery supplies and new uniforms (plus a lot of furniture moving when I was a classroom teacher). While I was o'seas, apparently it became the reason for a lot of community gatherings - face painting (green and gold of course ... or maybe red white and blue, wallaby patting and barbecues (total fire bans notwhithstanding).
Then last year I was stunned by the number of Southern Cross car decals, tattoos and beach towels. Aussie flags flying from cars and off balconies. The whole flag waving thing freaks me out a bit (shades of post 9/11 in the US where (so I was told) every street looked like some sort of parade and if you didn't fly the flag you were somehow on "their side" (a sort of if you are not for me you are against me). Anyway ... extreme patriotism has always seemed dangerous to me especially linked to lots of flags ... perhaps because they are so often linked to martial parades.
But there is another element ... last year (and apparently in previous years as well) mobs of Anglo-Saxon Australians of the yobbo variety rioted and insulted and bashed non-Anglo looking Australians with the usual epithets and cries of "go back home".
Given that my Aboriginal colleagues used to call January 26 "Invaders Day" I wonder how the yobbos would react if the "Go back home" cries were directed at them (because in fact we ... the Anglo-Saxons of Australia, are descendents of the invaders if not actual invaders ourselves). We are a nation of immigrants and this is our home.
Given that almost half of Australians do not have English as their mother tongue, given that we have the largest mosque and the largest Buddhist temple in the Southern Hemisphere (apparently), perhaps we need to keep clearly in mind that we are (whether some like it or not) culturally diverse and this holiday that we are about to celebrate is supposed to be a holiday of unity. I really hope that this year it can be.
So waving an Australian Flag or sporting a southern cross is Xenophobic? So we've permitted Muslims and Buddhists to build the largest temples in the southern hemisphere we must now quieten our national celebrations so as not to offend them!
No Dammit! We 'tolerate' them, they must 'tolerate' us - flags, southern crosses, lamb chops and green & gold zinc cream.
Posted by: Nick | January 19, 2010 at 12:14 PM
No .,.. these things are not xenophobic ... but beating the shit out of somebody who is not an Anglo-Saxon is - this is not about quietening our national celebration - it is about our national celebration not being hijacked by a bunch of yobbos. Oh ... and we did not "permit" them to build the religious buildings - that is guaranteed under UDHR
Posted by: pamela | January 24, 2010 at 09:12 AM
If you are happy to accept that not all Muslims are terrorists (and that only a minute proportion are), why is it so hard to accept that not all Caucasian Australians who celebrate Australia day are violent, red-neck racist yobbos.
There is a dickhead element in every group, race, culture.
And yes, we do 'permit', because UDHR is recognised here (cf Afghanistan, Iran etc)
Posted by: Nick | January 24, 2010 at 10:07 PM