Post by Flash on Aug 2, 2007 21:25:20 GMT -5
Australia’s bad reputation
It seems that people around the world don’t like Australia anymore. It just makes you want to weep, doesn’t it? We are cruel, heartless, unjust, ‘draconian’, and we we imprison illegal refugees (isn’t that terrible?)
The question of whether the Haneef case has damaged Australia’s reputation overseas is purely academic. Of course it has. Not only in Britain and India, but all over the world media have reported this story under bold headlines.
The story has been featured in overseas newspapers because Islamic terrorism is a global threat. But only Urs Walterlin and his ilk at the Age and the Grauniad think it has damaged Australia’s reputation. The possibility that Australia might earn admiration because it takes Islamic terrorism seriously, and doesn’t kow-tow to the terrorists with apologies and hand-wringing, is not even mentioned in the Age article.
…or even from Australian travellers who prefer to display a Kiwi-flag on their backpack so as not to be identified as Australians.
Garbage. 99 per cent of overseas people can’t even tell the difference between a New Zealand flag and an Australian flag, so similar are they. And acquaintances who travelled to Europe and America last spring tell me they were warmly welcomed everywhere. Australians are very popular overseas travellers – FACT, not left-wing, guilt-riddled horseshit.
The vast majority of tourists to Australia come from five countries: Britain, the United States, New Zealand, Japan and Germany. I very much doubt that in any of these cases people will be put off visiting by the dreadful news that Australia has detained a person who may have had knowledge or complicity in what would have been a horrific bombing attack of Islamic terrorism. They would be much more likely to admire us or, in the case of the Japanese, be completely indifferent.
If we get fewer Swiss tourists, who gives a toss? Let them go to a nice, environmentally friendly place where human rights are respected, like the Republic of Congo or Venezuela. We certainly won’t miss them.
Since the Age, and this article, sees things purely in terms of leftist political correctness there is no allowance for the undoubted fact – which has been confirmed to me by many American acquaintances – that many tourists come out here precisely BECAUSE we have the guts to do what other countries should do but for the fact that those countries have been strangled into weakness and submission by PC. To many conservatives overseas Australia is perceived as the last, flickering beacon of ‘freedom through strength’.
Moreover, if there is one thing that no civilised country should take the slightest notice of it is ‘world opinion’. World opinion is well-reflected in the statements of the United Nations. I don’t think there is any need to say more than that.
The Age really is a trashy newspaper. It will publish anything, no matter how false, as long as it is politically correct in the most self-flagellating fashion.
POSTSCRIPT: Since Urs Walterlin is so fond of Switzerland, it might be worthwhile to say say something about that country. Britain and Germany have large numbers of Muslim citizens because Muslims were encouraged to go to those countries because of labour shortages. In Britain’s case it was primarily because of a need for labour in the textile industries in the 1960s.
However Switzerland doesn’t seem to have a significant Muslim population. The reason is that Switzerland does import labour when required, but once the labour is no longer needed the workers are thrown out of the country very quickly. None of this staying and becoming citizens nonsense. As one Swiss said to me with a smug smile, “Ve Sviss export unemployment.”
So I suppose Switzerland doesn’t have much of a refugee problem.
In the days of the Tampa incident, a radio station in Switzerland was overwhelmed by angry callers stating they would never travel to a country so “racist”, “mean” and “inhumane”.
Unlike Switzerland, eh? Personally I’m happy that a civilised country like Australia will see fewer Swiss tourists. They can all stay at home and read about Swiss financial collusion with the Nazis during World War II.
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One Response to “Australia’s bad reputation”
1. HRT Says:
August 3rd, 2007 at 10:37 am
Over a period of 14 years I lived in the USA, Vietnam, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Papua New Guinea and Singapore. Since retiring in 1999 my wife and I have visited about 30 other countries.
It seems to me those who are overheated about our reputation are fools. Which does not surprise, as no-one has ever said to either of us anything like: “Australians have a reputation (choose from one or more of the following) integrity, justice, compassion, fairness, decency, humanity, honesty.” Our conversations were always at a more pedestrian level - as one would expect.
On just three occasions can I remember comment on Australia’s policies - a Canadian supported our government’s attitude towards “refugees”, while two Americans congratulated us on our involvement in Iraq.
We believe people from other lands aren’t particularly concerned about what we do - assuming they know. They have enough to worry about in their own backyards without worrying about ours.
Moreover, I suspect our “mistreatment” of a suspected Muslim terrorist would not move their indignation meter one iota. Instead, I believe close to 100% would support our actions.
As for Australians disguising themselves as Kiwis - only a 24 carat tosser would claim that. It’s as likely as Kiwis disguising themselves as Australians.