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Post by quinkgirl on Nov 12, 2013 19:54:37 GMT
rawr! who let the dogs out  Coyote did, to see what would happen  |
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Post by SpitefulFox on Nov 13, 2013 0:21:54 GMT
Geez, it's depressing to see so many angry priveledged het people screaming "But... but... but... the GAYS" in the comments. -_- Tom, if you see this, I want you to know your comic is awesome and amazingly well written. Don't let narrow-minded and hate-filled people get you down.  |
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Post by snipertom on Nov 13, 2013 0:30:23 GMT
Geez, it's depressing to see so many angry priveledged het people screaming "But... but... but... the GAYS" in the comments. -_- Tom, if you see this, I want you to know your comic is awesome and amazingly well written. Don't let narrow-minded and hate-filled people get you down. People who can't deal with their own sexual insecurities and need to project onto others. Amazing how it's not even a religious or cultural objection, it's an honest to god homophobia. |
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Post by Daedalus on Nov 13, 2013 0:34:47 GMT
Geez, it's depressing to see so many angry priveledged het people screaming "But... but... but... the GAYS" in the comments. -_- Tom, if you see this, I want you to know your comic is awesome and amazingly well written. Don't let narrow-minded and hate-filled people get you down. People who can't deal with their own sexual insecurities and need to project onto others. Amazing how it's not even a religious or cultural objection, it's an honest to god homophobia. As the 60s were to racism, the 2010s will be to homophobia. Hopefully ending in acceptance, or as much acceptance as can be hoped for. |
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Post by snipertom on Nov 13, 2013 0:41:33 GMT
People who can't deal with their own sexual insecurities and need to project onto others. Amazing how it's not even a religious or cultural objection, it's an honest to god homophobia. As the 60s were to racism, the 2010s will be to homophobia. Hopefully ending in acceptance, or as much acceptance as can be hoped for. In Australia all forms of bigotry are alive and well, sadly. |
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Post by Daedalus on Nov 13, 2013 0:45:39 GMT
As the 60s were to racism, the 2010s will be to homophobia. Hopefully ending in acceptance, or as much acceptance as can be hoped for. In Australia all forms of bigotry are alive and well, sadly. Ah, you're from Australia? How is it living down there? (Yeah, I was speaking in an Americentric way, sorry.) And to what degree do you mean? |
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Post by quinkgirl on Nov 13, 2013 1:20:52 GMT
In Australia all forms of bigotry are alive and well, sadly. Ah, you're from Australia? How is it living down there? (Yeah, I was speaking in an Americentric way, sorry.) And to what degree do you mean? I had to look that one up in the dictionary D: Isn't that alive everywhere? |
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Post by GK Sierra on Nov 13, 2013 2:58:12 GMT
The subject has been well-handled in this comic.
What could have been a hundred pound anvil made of pure moral statement to the face was instead... just a peck. Harmless.
It wasn't asking or inviting controversy, because there wasn't any, or at least there shouldn't be.
As for people who cry fan-service, there is a simple solution: stop being a fan.
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Post by snipertom on Nov 13, 2013 3:27:29 GMT
Ah, you're from Australia? How is it living down there? (Yeah, I was speaking in an Americentric way, sorry.) And to what degree do you mean? I had to look that one up in the dictionary D: Isn't that alive everywhere? In Australia, gay marriage is banned (not just not allowed, but actually banned). There is institutionalised racism against indigenous people that is equivalent to systemic cultural genocide and the stolen generation never really ended. Refugees are no longer accepted by boat and other refugees are only on temporary visas. The rape rate is the 2nd highestin the OECD. the sexism is astounding. The government and police are corrupt. I've been yelled at walking down the street on a semi regular basis in Melbourne cbd (once told that I was a whore who should suck Sachin Tendulkar's dick - while dressed in tshirt and jeans). "I'm not racist but... " is a common turn of phrase here. |
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Post by snipertom on Nov 13, 2013 3:32:38 GMT
The subject has been well-handled in this comic. What could have been a hundred pound anvil made of pure moral statement to the face was instead... just a peck. Harmless. It wasn't asking or inviting controversy, because there wasn't any, or at least there shouldn't be. As for people who cry fan-service, there is a simple solution: stop being a fan. Gotta love the fact that the people crying fan service are the same ones who complain if two guys hook up as "pandering to minorities" and complain about strong female characters or realistic relationships in general. I guess they want everything to be kind of like megatokyo where an unattractive short white guy gets mobbed by underage Japanese girls while angsting constantly and robots and magic and shit. Because that's not self absorbed pandering at all. |
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Post by Daedalus on Nov 13, 2013 3:36:52 GMT
Well, everyone loves robots and magic |
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Post by quinkgirl on Nov 13, 2013 3:49:15 GMT
I had to look that one up in the dictionary D: Isn't that alive everywhere? In Australia, gay marriage is banned (not just not allowed, but actually banned). There is institutionalised racism against indigenous people that is equivalent to systemic cultural genocide and the stolen generation never really ended. Refugees are no longer accepted by boat and other refugees are only on temporary visas. The rape rate is the 2nd highestin the OECD. the sexism is astounding. The government and police are corrupt. I've been yelled at walking down the street on a semi regular basis in Melbourne cbd (once told that I was a whore who should suck Sachin Tendulkar's dick - while dressed in tshirt and jeans). "I'm not racist but... " is a common turn of phrase here. Whoa... that's a bit... yeesh. D: ...Well, at least Sniper isn't like that. |
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Post by Daedalus on Nov 13, 2013 4:02:08 GMT
I had to look that one up in the dictionary D: Isn't that alive everywhere? In Australia, gay marriage is banned (not just not allowed, but actually banned). There is institutionalised racism against indigenous people that is equivalent to systemic cultural genocide and the stolen generation never really ended. Refugees are no longer accepted by boat and other refugees are only on temporary visas. The rape rate is the 2nd highestin the OECD. the sexism is astounding. The government and police are corrupt. I've been yelled at walking down the street on a semi regular basis in Melbourne cbd (once told that I was a whore who should suck Sachin Tendulkar's dick - while dressed in tshirt and jeans). "I'm not racist but... " is a common turn of phrase here. I had missed this post. That is horrifying. Beyond horrifying. Everyone I have ever met who has come from Australia (and I mean everyone - not something I say lightly) has been extraordinarily polite and kind. Am I just lucky, or do all the good people leave, or what? Well, you ( snipertom) are still there as a counterexample to this (everything)-ism. |
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Post by thedoctor on Nov 13, 2013 7:57:51 GMT
What other retroactive mistakes are there? I've honestly never seen any, though I haven't looked too closely; Tom seems to run a pretty tight story, and I've always been impressed by that |
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Post by philman on Nov 13, 2013 9:11:54 GMT
What other retroactive mistakes are there? I've honestly never seen any, though I haven't looked too closely; Tom seems to run a pretty tight story, and I've always been impressed by that There aren't many, he is usually pretty good. Although as others have said things can be interpreted differently. There are a few storyline foreshadowings that he has later admitted he abandoned (the footsteps in the paintings), but they aren't mistakes as much as little things that never led anywhere. And racism is still alive and well in a lot of places, I think Australia though is just more open about it. Just look at those pictures that seem to come out relatively regularly of Australians in black-face, and then not seeing why the rest of the world thinks it is offensive. When I was living in Melbourne with my then-girlfriend, who is English, but grandparents are Indian, I don't remember us encountering much, but then we lived in studentville (Carlton) so maybe we were just lucky. Not all Australians are like that, definitely. There is plenty of racism everywhere though, in the UK, US, France, Canada, everywhere. Actually combining with the origional homophobia point, there were massive protests in France a few months ago over the introduction of gay marriage. One of the main ministers involved in pushing the law forward happens to be black, and there were videos published by one of the big papers showing protesters (children with their parents) waving banana skins and shouting "hey gorilla, eat your banana". And then the right-wing anti-gay-marriage politicians trying to defend them... |
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Post by zimmyzims on Nov 13, 2013 9:18:00 GMT
In Australia, gay marriage is banned (not just not allowed, but actually banned). There is institutionalised racism against indigenous people that is equivalent to systemic cultural genocide and the stolen generation never really ended. Refugees are no longer accepted by boat and other refugees are only on temporary visas. The rape rate is the 2nd highestin the OECD. the sexism is astounding. The government and police are corrupt. I've been yelled at walking down the street on a semi regular basis in Melbourne cbd (once told that I was a whore who should suck Sachin Tendulkar's dick - while dressed in tshirt and jeans). "I'm not racist but... " is a common turn of phrase here. I had missed this post. That is horrifying. Beyond horrifying. Everyone I have ever met who has come from Australia (and I mean everyone - not something I say lightly) has been extraordinarily polite and kind. Am I just lucky, or do all the good people leave, or what? Well, you ( snipertom) are still there as a counterexample to this (everything)-ism. Maybe it's because the nice people leave that you meet so many jerks there? No, seriously, there can be big differences between the behaviour of single individuals in separated context and the behaviour of a collective of individuals together in a set context (e.g. in homeland, as a nation). Edit: I also lack any bad experience of Australians. However, have to admit, that when I've been discussing with traveling Australians, many of them have appeared as immensely racists towards aboriginals and Asians, in a "I'm not a racist, but..." way. |
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Post by Gulby on Nov 13, 2013 9:26:01 GMT
[...] There is plenty of racism everywhere though, in the UK, US, France, Canada, everywhere. Actually combining with the origional homophobia point, there were massive protests in France a few months ago over the introduction of gay marriage. One of the main ministers involved in pushing the law forward happens to be black, and there were videos published by one of the big papers showing protesters (children with their parents) waving banana skins and shouting "hey gorilla, eat your banana". And then the right-wing anti-gay-marriage politicians trying to defend them... I am so ashamed of that. T_T Sincerely, I couldn't figure, a few months ago, that we had such hatred buried and waiting to surface someday. I don't understand those people. I sure love my country for its landscapes and great side of history, but now... -__-' I didn't know that the banana thing went overseas. I would like the kid's parents to be punished and the little girl to be educated on why it is a shame to act like she acted. But I fear they'll only end up with some "it is baaad, don't do it again" sort of thing. |
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Post by snipertom on Nov 13, 2013 11:09:02 GMT
I had missed this post. That is horrifying. Beyond horrifying. Everyone I have ever met who has come from Australia (and I mean everyone - not something I say lightly) has been extraordinarily polite and kind. Am I just lucky, or do all the good people leave, or what? Well, you ( snipertom) are still there as a counterexample to this (everything)-ism. Maybe it's because the nice people leave that you meet so many jerks there? No, seriously, there can be big differences between the behaviour of single individuals in separated context and the behaviour of a collective of individuals together in a set context (e.g. in homeland, as a nation). Edit: I also lack any bad experience of Australians. However, have to admit, that when I've been discussing with traveling Australians, many of them have appeared as immensely racists towards aboriginals and Asians, in a "I'm not a racist, but..." way. Let me also say that I know some really awesome Australians too, my Australian friends are some of the best people I know, etc. But I guess... there's an anti-intellectualism and bigotry that is encouraged actively by the government. Really scary. And large pockets of society made up of superficially 'nice' people who are actually quite nasty and selfish. That said there are also people who are otherwise pleasant but don't think for themselves and just repeat what the media tells them- and the media here is very conservative and backwards- and a lot of people who are good people but ignorant and not educated or exposed to the rest of the world. |
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Post by snipertom on Nov 13, 2013 11:11:14 GMT
(And yeah I guess many people will also treat you differently if you are white and/or speak with an Australian accent)
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Post by Per on Nov 13, 2013 11:19:14 GMT
E.g. calling you Bruce regardless of gender.
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Post by snipertom on Nov 13, 2013 11:20:15 GMT
There is plenty of racism everywhere though, in the UK, US, France, Canada, everywhere. Actually combining with the origional homophobia point, there were massive protests in France a few months ago over the introduction of gay marriage. One of the main ministers involved in pushing the law forward happens to be black, and there were videos published by one of the big papers showing protesters (children with their parents) waving banana skins and shouting "hey gorilla, eat your banana". And then the right-wing anti-gay-marriage politicians trying to defend them... Having lived in and travelled to a lot of countries, the bigotry I feel here is pretty nasty compared to most other OECD/developed countries. The things people were saying about Julia Gillard (first female PM) for example were truly truly atrocious. To be fair, while NZ (where I lived prior to Aus and where I identify with the most) has issues (like everywhere else) with all of the above, really it's SO amazingly progressive compared to Australia. So maybe I've been spoilt a little in that way. TBH Sri Lanka is very messed up especially at the moment. It's circling the drain of fascism and many of the otherwise intelligent people we know are just trumpeting in favour the Sinhala Buddhist (!) nationalist anti-democratic bullshit that the government is doing. When it comes to dickhead Buddhist monks burning down mosques, they just defend these corrupt monks' behaviour. It is not a very sexist country but it is definitely homophobic (homosexuality is illegal) and has no shortage of racists and institutional racism. |
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Post by snipertom on Nov 13, 2013 11:23:14 GMT
[...] There is plenty of racism everywhere though, in the UK, US, France, Canada, everywhere. Actually combining with the origional homophobia point, there were massive protests in France a few months ago over the introduction of gay marriage. One of the main ministers involved in pushing the law forward happens to be black, and there were videos published by one of the big papers showing protesters (children with their parents) waving banana skins and shouting "hey gorilla, eat your banana". And then the right-wing anti-gay-marriage politicians trying to defend them... I am so ashamed of that. T_T Sincerely, I couldn't figure, a few months ago, that we had such hatred buried and waiting to surface someday. I don't understand those people. I sure love my country for its landscapes and great side of history, but now... -__-' I didn't know that the banana thing went overseas. I would like the kid's parents to be punished and the little girl to be educated on why it is a shame to act like she acted. But I fear they'll only end up with some "it is baaad, don't do it again" sort of thing. See one thing that I want to know more about but never feel comfortable asking about is this: we hear a lot in the English speaking media about when people in non-Anglophone countries are racist. France, Japan, Germany, etc etc. But what is the culture actually like? Is it like when the Western world is in uproar about the (completely horrific) rapes in India but doesn't examine its own rape culture? Or is it that France actually does have a lot of racism and xenophobia? I just don't know, and I'm not sure whether I can ask without sounding like a bigot! |
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Post by zimmyzims on Nov 13, 2013 11:43:21 GMT
Actually combining with the origional homophobia point, there were massive protests in France a few months ago over the introduction of gay marriage. One of the main ministers involved in pushing the law forward happens to be black, and there were videos published by one of the big papers showing protesters (children with their parents) waving banana skins and shouting "hey gorilla, eat your banana". And then the right-wing anti-gay-marriage politicians trying to defend them... But that's just a marginal minority becoming noisy on occasion. Without trying to play the French right wing populist problem down, I got that sniper was talking about a quite different phenomenon. The way I got it was that in her view, in Australia regular people express racism, homophobia misogyny and general bigotry, and are encouraged by the government. At least you can say that in French gay marriage affair the government, the parliament, and the large majority of journals and people support the new legislation and rather consider the right-wing protesters as an unpleasant anomaly. It is a bit different from government passing anti-gay laws. |
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Post by GK Sierra on Nov 13, 2013 11:51:19 GMT
Maybe it's because the nice people leave that you meet so many jerks there? No, seriously, there can be big differences between the behaviour of single individuals in separated context and the behaviour of a collective of individuals together in a set context (e.g. in homeland, as a nation). Edit: I also lack any bad experience of Australians. However, have to admit, that when I've been discussing with traveling Australians, many of them have appeared as immensely racists towards aboriginals and Asians, in a "I'm not a racist, but..." way. ...there's an anti-intellectualism and bigotry that is encouraged actively by the government. Really scary. And large pockets of society made up of superficially 'nice' people who are actually quite nasty and selfish. That said there are also people who are otherwise pleasant but don't think for themselves and just repeat what the media tells them- and the media here is very conservative and backwards- and a lot of people who are good people but ignorant and not educated or exposed to the rest of the world. I wonder what that is like... OH WAIT  I am so ashamed of that. T_T Sincerely, I couldn't figure, a few months ago, that we had such hatred buried and waiting to surface someday. I don't understand those people. I sure love my country for its landscapes and great side of history, but now... -__-' I didn't know that the banana thing went overseas. I would like the kid's parents to be punished and the little girl to be educated on why it is a shame to act like she acted. But I fear they'll only end up with some "it is baaad, don't do it again" sort of thing. See one thing that I want to know more about but never feel comfortable asking about is this: we hear a lot in the English speaking media about when people in non-Anglophone countries are racist. France, Japan, Germany, etc etc. But what is the culture actually like? Is it like when the Western world is in uproar about the (completely horrific) rapes in India but doesn't examine its own rape culture? Or is it that France actually does have a lot of racism and xenophobia? I just don't know, and I'm not sure whether I can ask without sounding like a bigot! People like pointing out each others problems and don't like to examine their own. Some cultures are definitely more racist than others. Some cultures seem to get a free pass, and in others it is harped on endlessly. The Japanese, for example, are unabashedly xenophobic, and nobody seems to say anything to them about it. They're Japan, that's just what they do. Japan for Japanese people. They make no bones about it. Now if you had the same kind of attitude toward bloodlines in another country, say America, suddenly you would be a big-time racist. In the aftermath of several centuries of colonialism, certain people get to claim victim-hood, and the perceived aggressors are required to make concessions in what they can say and think. France for their part is determined to preserve their own culture in the face of Islamic and other migrants, both through keeping their language pure and ensuring that secular government is paramount (not a bad move IMHO). I feel like this kind of official state policy is not racism. Immigrants keep a nation's economic vitality up, but they also change prevailing tradition and social mores, for good and for ill. Included in the rights of sovereignty of a nation is the right to police one's borders and decide who will enter and according to what standards. Being culturally enriched is fine, but assimilation into the national character is the other end of that bargain. What is being called "multiculturalism" is a phenomenon that seems to only be happening to western countries, and I can certainly understand the apprehension of people on the front line of major human migrations. Having the customs that defined your national character for generations changed or erased to fit a newcomer is not an easy thing. It should rightfully inspire controversy and debate, and naturally it can also be used to stoke racial tension and unthinking hatred. |
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Rymdljus
Full Member
Beautiful songbird
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Post by Rymdljus on Nov 13, 2013 11:57:41 GMT
Wow, Snipergirl...  I feel like such an ignorant fool now. Maybe I do live in a socialist paradise after all. In comparison, in Sweden discrimination based on sexual orientation is banned. Homosexual people are allowed to get married, adopt, and get assisted insemination in public hospitals. Transgender people have the right to legally correct their gender without it affecting their marital status. Sweden is allegedly the most gay-friendly country in Europe. I really shouldn't take all this for granted. |
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Post by snipertom on Nov 13, 2013 12:20:29 GMT
...there's an anti-intellectualism and bigotry that is encouraged actively by the government. Really scary. And large pockets of society made up of superficially 'nice' people who are actually quite nasty and selfish. That said there are also people who are otherwise pleasant but don't think for themselves and just repeat what the media tells them- and the media here is very conservative and backwards- and a lot of people who are good people but ignorant and not educated or exposed to the rest of the world. I wonder what that is like... OH WAIT See one thing that I want to know more about but never feel comfortable asking about is this: we hear a lot in the English speaking media about when people in non-Anglophone countries are racist. France, Japan, Germany, etc etc. But what is the culture actually like? Is it like when the Western world is in uproar about the (completely horrific) rapes in India but doesn't examine its own rape culture? Or is it that France actually does have a lot of racism and xenophobia? I just don't know, and I'm not sure whether I can ask without sounding like a bigot! People like pointing out each others problems and don't like to examine their own. Some cultures are definitely more racist than others. Some cultures seem to get a free pass, and in others it is harped on endlessly. The Japanese, for example, are unabashedly xenophobic, and nobody seems to say anything to them about it. They're Japan, that's just what they do. Japan for Japanese people. They make no bones about it. Now if you had the same kind of attitude toward bloodlines in another country, say America, suddenly you would be a big-time racist. In the aftermath of several centuries of colonialism, certain people get to claim victim-hood, and the perceived aggressors are required to make concessions in what they can say and think. France for their part is determined to preserve their own culture in the face of Islamic and other migrants, both through keeping their language pure and ensuring that secular government is paramount (not a bad move IMHO). I feel like this kind of official state policy is not racism. Immigrants keep a nation's economic vitality up, but they also change prevailing tradition and social mores, for good and for ill. Included in the rights of sovereignty of a nation is the right to police one's borders and decide who will enter and according to what standards. Being culturally enriched is fine, but assimilation into the national character is the other end of that bargain. What is being called "multiculturalism" is a phenomenon that seems to only be happening to western countries, and I can certainly understand the apprehension of people on the front line of major human migrations. Having the customs that defined your national character for generations changed or erased to fit a newcomer is not an easy thing. It should rightfully inspire controversy and debate, and naturally it can also be used to stoke racial tension and unthinking hatred. Actually if you look on a global scale multiculturalism is the rule (and has been so for centuries or millennia) rather than the exception within countries- just look at India, China, Russia, most of European countries, most of Asian countries (including Sri Lanka which has had multiculturalism since the Sinhala invasion in 700BC) etc etc. It's colonies with a large degree of transplants from just one part of the world- like Australia which had a whites-only immigration policy that are the oddity. Nationalism itself is a turn of the 20th century phenomenon- Slavic nationalism in what is now Serbia in the early 1900s was the trigger for WWI for example. Before that, while the concept of 'race' did exist, the idea that you should only have one 'race' in each country was not prevalent. Japan I will agree is racially homogenous due to its history and location. However I disagree that it gets any sort of 'free pass'. There is SO MUCH press in the English speaking world at least about how xenophobic or racist that Japan is- which I find quite ironic in Australia given the 'white Australia policy' that only ended in 1976 or so. I mean, I just don't know. I haven't spent a great deal of time in Japan. My Japanese friends are definitely not racist and are quite worldly and aware of their history but then again they are the people who left Japan. Haruki Murakami (probably my favourite author- I don't know Japanese so I've read his books in English) discusses some of these issues in some of his books, subtly, but he is a fairly 'western' author in the Japanese literary canon. In the former UK colonies where there was a large local population (eg most of the Asian ones), the impression is that the English felt they were too racially superior to marry with the locals and always looked down on them. Certainly history backs up that that was the view a long time ago. However if you go to England now, that is not at all what the culture is like any more. There has been a lot of soul searching. So I guess, what is the story like in the countries that we assume are "racist" because of the press now? And are we pointing the finger of blame at other cultures because we know our own culture is bigoted? I guess another example is how people just assume that Sri Lanka for example is very sexist. It isn't. My great grandmother was a high school principal, which is something you'd be hard pressed to say in most western countries! And Iran (a Muslim country) has many more female academics and professors than male, and it is a prestigious position to be in. For all I know, Japan, Germany, France, etc are seething cesspits of racism where people will see a brown person like myself as an inferior race like some people do in Australia but I just have no trustworthy evidence, just feelpinions from untrustworthy sources. |
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Post by snipertom on Nov 13, 2013 12:21:18 GMT
Actually combining with the origional homophobia point, there were massive protests in France a few months ago over the introduction of gay marriage. One of the main ministers involved in pushing the law forward happens to be black, and there were videos published by one of the big papers showing protesters (children with their parents) waving banana skins and shouting "hey gorilla, eat your banana". And then the right-wing anti-gay-marriage politicians trying to defend them... But that's just a marginal minority becoming noisy on occasion. Without trying to play the French right wing populist problem down, I got that sniper was talking about a quite different phenomenon. The way I got it was that in her view, in Australia regular people express racism, homophobia misogyny and general bigotry, and are encouraged by the government. At least you can say that in French gay marriage affair the government, the parliament, and the large majority of journals and people support the new legislation and rather consider the right-wing protesters as an unpleasant anomaly. It is a bit different from government passing anti-gay laws. Yes exactly, very well put. |
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Post by snipertom on Nov 13, 2013 12:34:20 GMT
Wow, Snipergirl... I feel like such an ignorant fool now. Maybe I do live in a socialist paradise after all. In comparison, in Sweden discrimination based on sexual orientation is banned. Homosexual people are allowed to get married, adopt, and get assisted insemination in public hospitals. Transgender people have the right to legally correct their gender without it affecting their marital status. Sweden is allegedly the most gay-friendly country in Europe. I really shouldn't take all this for granted. Sweden is SO progressive! It's amazing!! The new scary PM in Australia wants to make it legal again to racially vilify people in public  There are protections in place regarding racial, sexual, sexual orientation, religious based discrimination but religious organisations are exempt! In fact in most of Australia, if there is a public hospital which is partially run by the Catholic Church, they are allowed to deny abortion and contraception if requested (most doctors find ways around this and/or refer people to the appropriate service). |
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Post by philman on Nov 13, 2013 13:02:16 GMT
The french example I brought up was hardly publicised much, outside France as far asI was aware, I only knew about it as my girlfriend is french and so showed it to me when she was reading the news from home. So I don't think it's always a case of 'foreigners are racist but we're fine' and all the irony that phrase brings...
Sweden is progressive, but it still has it's own problems, remarkably it is apparently one of the european countries with the highest immigration rate at around 14% of people born outside the country.
I agree with Snipergirl that multiculturalism has been around for a long time, but it is the speed and more obviousness of it now that is causing tensions between people who like things to stay the same. In France's case, I like the idea of purely secular socioty, but they way they seem to be going about it recently has been a little rankling.
And for a more Europe-wide example of casual racism, look at all the furore around those blond Roma girls taken from their families in Greece and Ireland. And the papers basically calling all Roma child abductors. Both girls turned out to be Roma, the Greek one turned out to be from a different family who had given the child to be looked after, and the Irish one was taken from her own parents for the sole reason of "She is blond, and her parents look brown".
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Post by Toloc on Nov 13, 2013 13:25:11 GMT
Wow, Snipergirl... I feel like such an ignorant fool now. Maybe I do live in a socialist paradise after all. In comparison, in Sweden discrimination based on sexual orientation is banned. Homosexual people are allowed to get married, adopt, and get assisted insemination in public hospitals. Transgender people have the right to legally correct their gender without it affecting their marital status. Sweden is allegedly the most gay-friendly country in Europe. I really shouldn't take all this for granted. Sweden is SO progressive! It's amazing!! The new scary PM in Australia wants to make it legal again to racially vilify people in public There are protections in place regarding racial, sexual, sexual orientation, religious based discrimination but religious organisations are exempt! In fact in most of Australia, if there is a public hospital which is partially run by the Catholic Church, they are allowed to deny abortion and contraception if requested (most doctors find ways around this and/or refer people to the appropriate service). Meanwhile the parties of the future German government are making a fuss about complete marriage equality and adoption rights in their current negotiations about the coalition for the next term... On a slightly brighter note they're taking these to Russia next year. Make of that what you will A few months back there a case around here where multiple hospitals refused to examine or treat a rape victim because they would have had to advice her about possible abortion. (link) Of course that was a "misunderstanding"... The french example I brought up was hardly publicised much, outside France as far asI was aware, I only knew about it as my girlfriend is french and so showed it to me when she was reading the news from home. So I don't think it's always a case of 'foreigners are racist but we're fine' and all the irony that phrase brings... It definitely did go through the news here. To be fair I'm in a neighboring country. |
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I feel like such an ignorant fool now. Maybe I do live in a socialist paradise after all.
