Good migrants for our culture
THE elephant in the room in the debate over welcoming white farmers from South Africa is not that they’re white, it’s that they’re likely to quickly integrate in Australia.
And North Queensland should be volunteering to take these people who are being brutalised and murdered at an alarming rate under an increasingly despotic regime.
With our farming and mining jobs, similar climate, and even declining populations in some towns, an influx of skilled South Africans would appear to be a bonus. Rugby union and cricket clubs especially would be pleased, and they need the numbers.
Left-wing refugee advocates and the Greens have slammed Immigration Minister Peter Dutton for suggesting special consideration be given to these – gasp – white people, as if white people can’t be persecuted.
But they fail to see that the colour of their skin is merely a byproduct of what makes white South Africans attractive candidates to come here.
They play and love the same sports, they speak English, they enjoy a barbecue, they love a beer.
We share a common history of European settlement. Really, the only integration required is getting them to say “barbie” instead of braai, and to switch from bunny chow to kebabs after a night out. There are plenty of non-white immigrants who have integrated well but it’s the relative ease with how white “Saffers” would integrate that appeals to average Aussies.
As one bloke said to me recently: “I have no problem with immigrants, but I want people who come here to be what’s best for Australia.”
When you see gangs in Melbourne wreaking criminal havoc, gangs raping girls and shooting each other in Sydney and murderous terrorists sprouting from immigrant families, it’s fair that people are wondering if it might be time for a different tack.
We have plenty of people from non-European backgrounds who are shining lights of immigrant integration, but there are many who don’t learn English, who live in enclaves, don’t adopt Australian customs and live on welfare.
Not all cultures are created equal and the last thing many believe we should be doing is mass importing people who have neither the experience of western culture nor the willingness to embrace and defend it.
People should be free to discuss whether bringing white people from South Africa is better for Australia than mass importation of people whose cultures are vastly different.
If you were invited to someone’s house, it’s expected that you respect the rules of that house. The househoulders may slightly alter their practices for you, but for the main, visitors have to adapt to the host’s paradigm.
As a kid, when I had friends come around for sleepovers.
In our house, we said grace, the TV was off during dinner, we said “please” and “thank you” every time, we rarely had cordial, Mum and Dad were “Mr and Mrs Tomlinson” to our mates, and we had set bed times.
This was a shock for some friends but they all just adapted. A few played up and that meant another invitation over was probably not offered.
It wasn’t like a prison camp though. If a kid didn’t like cabbage or zucchini, they were given a pass (no such luck for the Tommo kids).
And if they didn’t believe in God, they weren’t forced to say grace.
But there were some basic rules and visitors were expected to accept them. Just like when we went to other people’s homes.
If the host family didn’t say grace, we just said a quiet grace to ourselves, we didn’t demand that they respect our beliefs and change their rituals.
Champions of multiculturalism believe anyone should be able to come here and largely be able to live how they used to live at home.
They say it is the hosts who have to adapt to the newcomers and embrace their habits.
If that system worked, you’d be getting no complaints, but there are enough examples here and in Europe to show there are major problems with trying to mix oil and water.
The North was built on the sweat of immigrants but they were mostly European, Christian and desperate to integrate as quickly as possible.
Persecuted white South Africans and Zimbabweans represent a similar demographic and should be given priority in the immigrant queue. They certainly shouldn’t be discounted simply because they’re white.