Watch out UK, Pauline Hanson's on the way!

[Ben]

You may have heard about our Pauline Hanson. For reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pauline_Hanson" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

We heard today of her plans to leave oz and take up residence in the UK (via NZ).

Is Pauline really ready for today's multicultural Britain?

We're not sure whether Britain is quite ready for Pauline Hanson…but then, we're not entirely sure whether Ms Hanson is quite ready for today's Britain, either.

Consider her first day as an immigrant, out for a spot of shopping in London. She ventures from her pied a terre to discover, Great Gods! She is the only pale face in the street.

“Where am I?” we can hear her wail. “Qantas has played a dirty trick on me!”

It is possible – likely indeed - these days to discover yourself on a London street that bears no relationship at all to the old city depicted as so…ummm…British in movies set only a few decades ago. Since then, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, the Caribbean and the sub-continent have moved in. Old Britain's colonies have turned the tables and colonised England's big cities.

Should Ms Hanson panic and flee, say, to the pleasant streets of Bloomsbury, she will find white faces, sure enough – but they'll probably be conversing in Russian.

And when poor frantic Pauline actually comes across a native born Anglo, she'd best keep her whimpering to a low shriek lest she be dubbed instantly “one of them whingeing Orstrayians”. Or worse, her red hair sets her out as Irish.

It's perfectly delicious to learn that Ms Hanson, who made her political bones with a speech quivering with indignation over her belief that Australia was in danger of being overrun by Asian immigrants, is about to become an immigrant herself.

Yes, she's selling up, bound for the Mother Country. “It's pretty much goodbye forever,” she says. Do we hear an echo of that video she once made, which began with the immortal words “If you are watching this it means I'm dead”?

“Sadly,” she opines, “The land of opportunity is no longer applicable.” Australia, of course, has been a considerable land of opportunity for Ms Hanson, whose recent attempts to return to parliament have been distinctly half-hearted affairs delivering her a handy several hundred thousands of dollars in taxpayer funds for failure.

Perhaps, though, she'll find herself in sympathy with a plan by Britain's Immigration Minister to insert a new section into the citizenship test that immigrants to Britain must pass. It involves the protocol for the great British pastime of queuing for everything from fish and chips to buses. The Immigration Minister, Phil Woolas, is concerned that new arrivals can be a bit pushy, don't understand the level of patience required in queues and can frighten long-time residents who are content, by long experience, to stand in line.

Ms Hanson may be a bit pushy, but she was always down on queue jumpers.

Tony Wright, The Age's national affairs editor, is The Goanna

http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/politi ... -o0t6.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;[/quote]

kind regards

Ben

[salmon]

I don't "loike" it.

[Ben]

Poor old Pauline with her 'White Australia Policy' ideas, straight from the 1920s, was rich pickings for satirists since she made her famous maiden speech in Parliament in 1996.
Here are the Chaser's with a tribute song to the misunderstood Mrs Hanson:

phpBB .

kind regards

Ben

[PeterB]

Unfortunately Ben there are parts of the UK where she will fit right in..
She wont be able to find areas in the cities where there are no people with more melanin than she has, but she will find lots of far right BNP supporters. And if she moves to the west of England or to Ulster she will find whole areas with no people of ethnic minority origin, and white people who have moved there for that reason...In Cornwall in the far west there is a small town called Padstow where they celebrate an annual " Darkie Day", which consists of blacking up like Al Jolson and parodying Afro Americans. I'm sure they will welcome Pauline with open arms...

[Ben]

Hi Peter

Yes, the same thought occured to me, that there would be plenty of people in Britain who share her ultra-right thinly disguised racism. But as Tony Wright said in the article I posted, some of us are amused by Hanson leaving Australia to become an immigrant to another country.
Having said that, I do have some sympathy for the woman. No doubt about it she was a crack-pot and a complete ingenue politically, but her fall from political prominance in the late 1990s was tragic and complete. Almost Shakespearean. She was betrayed and deceived by those closest to her and ended up in prison for fraud. She made a failed comeback to politics and she's considered by most people as damaged goods, or racist or a political freak-show. And I want to make that while I sympathise with the woman's plight, I am not sympathetic at all with regards to her ultra-right views.
metta

Ben

[Dan74]

Your post echoed my thoughts, Ben. Still we should remember that she did do damage. With her speech she inaugurated an era where people become less tolerant and more fearful of "the outsiders", but of course it was John Howard who stole all her tricks and should be given the credit.

_/|\_

[Ben]

Hi Dan

Still we should remember that she did do damage.

Of course. I don't mean to downplay the profound negative influence she had on Australian politics and society.
kind regards

Ben

[salmon]

I hope this is not an "off topic" (if it is, I apologise)...

I'm interested to know how open and tolerant the British people are towards people of other races and religions? Coming from a hodge-podge of religions, I don't take religious harmony for granted. We tend to be very sensitive about another person's religion before launching into any conversation that might go anywhere near a faith debate.

I mean, would churches allow Buddhists into their compound? Would Christians/Jews hold an open discussion about religion readily with A Buddhist or Hindu?

[PeterB]

There are a number of questions there Salmon. Briefly, as you would expect there are a whole spectrum of attitudes and views within the UK concerning race and religion. They range from the extreme rascist views of the British National Party who would simply ship everyone of colour back to their ancestral home, to more liberal people to people who actually welcome ethnic and cutural diversity . Similarly members of more conservative churches, Evangelicals, some Catholics, Orthodox etc do not readily enter discussion even with each other, and certainly not with other faiths. There are within the Anglican church and Quakers people who are far more open to other religions and to the followers of those religions. The UK though is pretty much a secular state with the majority holding Christians and Buddhists in equal contempt..And as for Islam, we wont even go there.

[zavk]

Re: religious debates in the UK.... Conservative/fundamentalist groups aside, I imagine the UK--like Australia and other similar democracies--has a rather healthy public sphere in which different and maybe conflicting points of views can be debated without the fear of recrimination and/or conflict?

In any case re: Pauline Hanson... is there a smiley for a snicker? But on a more serious note, Tony Abbott, the opposition leader (of John Howard's Liberal Party) was quoted in the news saying, 'Pauline Hanson was a figure who captured the rage of a segment of the Australian public at a particular point of time. That time has now passed.'

Hmmmm... I'm not too sure if that time has now passed or if the sentiments Hanson captured have actually dissipated. I think it is telling how in 2007 what was formerly known as the Department of Immigration and and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs was reshuffled and renamed the Department of Immigration and Citizenship. The fact the 'multiculturalism' and 'indigenous affairs' have been removed in favour of this not-unproblematic notion of 'citizenship' raises some interesting questions.

[retrofuturist]

Greetings zavk,

Hmmmm... I'm not too sure if that time has now passed or if the sentiments Hanson captured have actually dissipated.

Actually, I think that's precisely what Abbott is doing at the moment... or in his case, tapping into the philosophical rejection of a Nanny State, and fear/confusion about the cost of an Emissions Trading Scheme far too complex for most to bother to understand. Thankfully though, race doesn't seem to be a strong part of this current "sentiment" being tapped into by the right. The far-right aren't averse to using race as a political device but I think it would be frowned upon at the moment given the controversy surrounding recent attacks on Indian students.

Metta,
Retro.

[zavk]

Unfortunately Ben there are parts of the UK where she will fit right in..
She wont be able to find areas in the cities where there are no people with more melanin than she has, but she will find lots of far right BNP supporters. And if she moves to the west of England or to Ulster she will find whole areas with no people of ethnic minority origin, and white people who have moved there for that reason...In Cornwall in the far west there is a small town called Padstow where they celebrate an annual " Darkie Day", which consists of blacking up like Al Jolson and parodying Afro Americans. I'm sure they will welcome Pauline with open arms...

GASP. Peter, have got the powers of clairvoyance? Oh has this journalist plagiarised your post?

http://www.theage.com.au/national/briti ... -o911.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Perry]

Nick Griffin proved how irrelevant and clueless he is a few months ago on Question Time, when he was politically decimated by Bonnie Greer of all people.

Sadly, the people of this country are becoming too lazy to think for themselves and are just latching onto whatever victim tag they can. The most popular one is the "IMMIGRANTS ARE GETTING MORE RIGHTS THAN US!", something I believed as a kid seeing as it was so widespread.

Of course I grew a brain, eventually.

[salmon]

Isn't it odd now how Ms Hanson is on the other end of the line? She may have the same skin colour as the Brits, but she is still an immigrant. Would there be people holding placards with "Hanson Go Home"? Ok ok...I'm being nasty now, so I'll stop.

Thanks PeterB for your insight on the religious tolerance there.