tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17639100.post4579873924705407467..comments2024-01-30T20:05:29.835+10:00Comments on Woolly Days: Refugees from decencyDerek Barryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15581505641163336050noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17639100.post-28645510957394209112007-05-17T22:10:00.000+10:002007-05-17T22:10:00.000+10:00yeah you're probably right David. My "primal Anglo...yeah you're probably right David. My "primal Anglo-Celtic invasion memory" was a bit of a flight of fancy. Its much more likely to be inspired by selfishness and government inspired propaganda as you say.<BR/><BR/>I missed Living With refugees and must look out for it next time they broadcast it.Derek Barryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15581505641163336050noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17639100.post-39559778512198250532007-05-16T06:18:00.000+10:002007-05-16T06:18:00.000+10:00Although I am no expert on psychology have to dis...Although I am no expert on psychology have to disagree with your analysis of the driving force behind peoples response to people arriving in boats.<BR/>To claim this as a "primal Anglo-Celtic invasion memory" may fit with some known phenomenon, I don't know. But I really do think it is much more basic than that and I am quite sure it is not only people of Anglo-Celtic ancestry who opposed their arrival or fair treatment. I often hear immigrants of none Anglo heritage making the most vocal protests against new arrivals. As if their appearance will somehow force the rest of us out.<BR/>If you want to talk about primal responses I would say the boats have nothing to do with it as such. But it is simply a selfish response to people who may want what we have. <BR/>Maybe its a case of choosing not to identify with the people we are looking at. Being in a boat however does assist this as most Australians travel by plane not boat therefore anyone in a boat is easier to identify as 'Other' or not the same as 'Us'. <BR/>We can then justify our disapproval of them in all sorts of ways that confirm for our consciences that it is acceptable to condemn them because they are somehow below us. But then of course there is the Government approach to boat arrivals and the media hype convincing us that we are under siege which may support your theory.<BR/>I found the 'Living with Refugees' program on the ABC to be a great counter argument for this kind of thinking, although I doubt many watched it.David Jhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06041580123414270092noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17639100.post-26150281218953118592007-05-13T22:32:00.000+10:002007-05-13T22:32:00.000+10:00"theres many aspects of an issue like this which c..."theres many aspects of an issue like this which create the bigger scene".<BR/><BR/>Indeed you're right, Joe and that's why it is a detailed review, David.<BR/><BR/>CHILDREN OVERBOARD stuck because a half-truth became an exaggeration that became government writ. By the time they found out the photos were taken two days earlier when the people were being rescued, it was too later to withdraw the insult and therefore the government steamed on regardless.<BR/><BR/>And yes David, everyone supported them. They turned so savagely against the people arriving not because they knew their story but simply because they simply saw the boats. The boats tapped into a primal Anglo-Celtic invasion memory. Britain and Ireland have suffered millenia of naval invasions and accumulated panic. <BR/><BR/>But no-one in those centuries invaded by aeroplane. These days people come in to the country, they like it and they overstay their visa. <BR/><BR/>Are we then to treat them as criminals who abuse our hospitality or as residents who merely want to share in our fortune?<BR/><BR/>Very few think the first way of air travellers and very few think the second way of boatpeople.<BR/><BR/>DerekDerek Barryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15581505641163336050noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17639100.post-5228781411963242082007-05-13T10:36:00.000+10:002007-05-13T10:36:00.000+10:00It failed to take into account that most overstayi...It failed to take into account that most overstaying immigrants arrive in Australia by air.<BR/><BR/>And thats a huge part of tapping into peoples psyche. Many are terrified by the image of immigrants arriving by boat. It conjures up morbid visions of desperate dependent people. And isn't that a key to the whole issue? How is the children overboard episode referred to? Of course its ...CHILDREN OVERBOARD. That title stuck...as do the horrendous connotations which come with an issue as sickening as that. However for many people the first reference point is the title 'children overboard'. And for just as many people details get washed away by the images of the aforementioned desperate dependent people arriving by boat. An excellent example of terminology dictating hearts and minds. When you have the power to use language so effectively the facts are often deemed irrelevant. Partly too is it because people believe what they want to believe? davidj hits a certain nail on the head when he recalls reasonable people dismissing these people so bluntly. <BR/><BR/>This post digressed slightly from the original subject but theres many aspects of an issue like this which create the bigger scene.Joestokehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01559926000846872071noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17639100.post-4220689193114573202007-05-13T07:36:00.000+10:002007-05-13T07:36:00.000+10:00Wow this is quite a detailed review of the great d...Wow this is quite a detailed review of the great deeds our Federal Government has performed!<BR/>I recall finding myself in deep water back when the Tampa episode was current. I was discussing the shocking state of affairs with a group of people who I thought were reasonable civic minded fellow Australians, when I realized I had misjudged the situation completely.<BR/>I thought the issue at hand was the shocking lack of regard for human life and the apparent condemnation of helpless people but I soon found out the major issue was not this at all, but how are we going to get rid of all these dirty 'Cue jumbers'?!<BR/>I was shocked and deeply saddened that people could turn so savagely against, for the large part, helpless and desperate people.<BR/>It is always nice to read that not all Australians have become so inhuman.David Jhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06041580123414270092noreply@blogger.com