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charlou
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by charlou » Tue Nov 16, 2010 1:48 am
I have no problem with a multicultural community ... I think of it as a culture in itself ... the Australian culture is multicultural
What I do have a problem with is elements of a multicultural community thinking they are outside the law of that community wrt to human rights etc. Muslims burning poppies is not in this category ... Some of the suggestions among those comments are.
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by Robert_S » Tue Nov 16, 2010 2:11 am
Charlou wrote:I have no problem with a multicultural community ... I think of it as a culture in itself ... the Australian culture is multicultural
What I do have a problem with is elements of a multicultural community thinking they are outside the law of that community wrt to human rights etc. Muslims burning poppies is not in this category ... Some of the suggestions among those comments are.
Those comments are very much anti-everything I like about Western civilization.
On the other hand, even though I hold some strong opinions about some things our military has done, is doing, and probably will do in the future, one thing I won't do is fuck with someone's grief and remembrance. I'm not at all surprised that the poppy-burners brought out the ugly in people.
What I've found with a few discussions I've had lately is this self-satisfaction that people express with their proffessed open mindedness. In realty it ammounts to wilful ignorance and intellectual cowardice as they are choosing to not form any sort of opinion on a particular topic. Basically "I don't know and I'm not going to look at any evidence because I'm quite happy on this fence."
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charlou
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by charlou » Tue Nov 16, 2010 4:12 am
If I were grieving over and remembering someone the last thing I'd concern myself with would be a bunch of people burning some flowers.
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by JimC » Tue Nov 16, 2010 6:05 am
Charlou wrote:I have no problem with a multicultural community ... I think of it as a culture in itself ... the Australian culture is multicultural
What I do have a problem with is elements of a multicultural community thinking they are outside the law of that community wrt to human rights etc. Muslims burning poppies is not in this category ... Some of the suggestions among those comments are.
I agree with you in general about the multi-cultural thing. However, if we are to respect the fact that people have their own valid cultural traditions, that should also imply a certain level of respect for traditions of remembrance in the country they are a part of (which are not at heart religious, or pro-war) The muslim poppy-burners are well out of line, for me, and deserve criticism for their hateful rants. Of course, such criticism should have nothing to do with race at all, but about their actions, which a strong majority of people would consider abhorrent.
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charlou
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by charlou » Tue Nov 16, 2010 6:15 am
I have no problem with criticism either ... even angry criticism ... as distinct from outraged abuse.
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by Mysturji » Tue Nov 16, 2010 7:42 am
Look on the bright side... At least some muslims are starting to get the idea of "freedom of speech".

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by Hermit » Tue Nov 16, 2010 9:15 am
Mysturji wrote:Look on the bright side... At least some muslims are starting to get the idea of "freedom of speech".

That reminds me of the time the Australian Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam, visited The People's Republic of China. (His visit caused outrage in the "free world" until President Nixon followed suit shortly after.) Whitlam said to Mao Zedong: "Australia is a great democracy! Anyone can shout out loud: "The Prime Minister, Mr. Whitlam, is a fink!" without any fear of punishment!" Mao replied: "China also is a great democracy! Here too, anyone can shout out loud: "The Prime Minister, Mr. Whitlam, is a fink!" without any fear of punishment!"
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by Deep Sea Isopod » Wed Nov 24, 2010 3:53 pm
Robert_S wrote:
On the other hand, even though I hold some strong opinions about some things our military has done, is doing, and probably will do in the future,
You mean, doing as the are told?
Personally, I blame the government for what the military has done, is doing, will do in the future.
And the scum who were burning the poppies should do the same.
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Animavore
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by Animavore » Wed Nov 24, 2010 4:04 pm
What is Poppy Day anyway? It's one of those things I see every year and keep meaning to look up and then forget. Does it celebrate the end of WW2 or something?
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by Pappa » Wed Nov 24, 2010 4:21 pm
Animavore wrote:What is Poppy Day anyway? It's one of those things I see every year and keep meaning to look up and then forget. Does it celebrate the end of WW2 or something?
It commemorates the deaths of the soldiers who died in WWI, and later soldiers who've died in all conflicts. It's to remember the sacrifice they gave so we could have the lives we have now.
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by BrettA » Wed Nov 24, 2010 4:44 pm
About a month ago I recall a few Brits here strongly suggesting that the British mind-set was that you couldn't care less about flag burning - there'd be no impact at all. But people get all up in arms about burning flowers? That seems more than incongruous to me, unless the people up in arms about the poppies aren't representative of the Brits mind-set (and I'm not talking about the racism/fucktartery aspect, just the poppy-burning part).
Here in Canada we had a somewhat related outcry about pacifists passing out white poppies - most military / ex-military and more than a few others were outraged. I say pass both out... if the military aren't fighting for eventual peace, they shouldn't be in the military, IMV... not Canada's, at least.
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by Animavore » Wed Nov 24, 2010 7:15 pm
Pappa wrote:Animavore wrote:What is Poppy Day anyway? It's one of those things I see every year and keep meaning to look up and then forget. Does it celebrate the end of WW2 or something?
It commemorates the deaths of the soldiers who died in WWI, and later soldiers who've died in all conflicts. It's to remember the sacrifice they gave so we could have the lives we have now.
we don't celebrate poppy day. the only soldiers tend to be talked about with any reverence are those of 1916. the wars of imperialist europeans was never something we were involved in so when you say 'we' i presume you mean Brits?
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by Pappa » Thu Nov 25, 2010 12:45 am
Animavore wrote:Pappa wrote:Animavore wrote:What is Poppy Day anyway? It's one of those things I see every year and keep meaning to look up and then forget. Does it celebrate the end of WW2 or something?
It commemorates the deaths of the soldiers who died in WWI, and later soldiers who've died in all conflicts. It's to remember the sacrifice they gave so we could have the lives we have now.
we don't celebrate poppy day. the only soldiers tend to be talked about with any reverence are those of 1916. the wars of imperialist europeans was never something we were involved in so when you say 'we' i presume you mean Brits?
I just meant whoever traditionally wears a poppy. I don't usually, but I used to in school and do occasionally, so I suppose I included myself. I wasn't really thinking of it as a nationality though, and I'd rarely categorise myself as a Brit anyway.
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by Deep Sea Isopod » Fri Nov 26, 2010 7:15 am
BrettA wrote:About a month ago I recall a few Brits here strongly suggesting that the British mind-set was that you couldn't care less about flag burning - there'd be no impact at all. But people get all up in arms about burning flowers? That seems more than incongruous to me, unless the people up in arms about the poppies aren't representative of the Brits mind-set (and I'm not talking about the racism/fucktartery aspect, just the poppy-burning part).
.
It's not just about the burning of a flower. They were doing this and chanting messages of hate towards dead soldiers during a 2 minute silence. Any other time, they prolly would have been ignored.
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by lordpasternack » Mon Nov 29, 2010 12:33 am
Pappa wrote:Animavore wrote:What is Poppy Day anyway? It's one of those things I see every year and keep meaning to look up and then forget. Does it celebrate the end of WW2 or something?
It commemorates the deaths of the soldiers who died in WWI, and later soldiers who've died in all conflicts. It's to remember the sacrifice they gave so we could have the lives we have now.
And yes, it is held on the anniversary of the official end of WWI - on the 11th day of the 11th month, at 11am - but not, oddly enough, at 11 minutes
past 11.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armistice_Day
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