Strangers in a strange land

[seeingred]

The letters page of one of the local newspapers is hosting a largely predictable series of letters complaining about immigrants. Most of it's just comparatively harmless whinging - "loud, animated conversations in foreign languages" in the food court, OH NOES - which don't really clamour for a response

Comments

[hnpcc]

Recently I was in Clayton waiting to cross the lights and the (Anglo) woman next to me said to her (also Anglo) companion "you see what I mean? There's no Australians around here any more!"

(That was the point I (Anglo, vaguely olive) looked at my (Anglo, and fluorescent white) husband and went "WTF does she think we are then, French? We're right here love

[seeingred]

That's a fantastic point about TV.

I ended up turning my posting into a lengthy letter to the editor, so fingers crossed there. :)

[seeingred]

Further to your comment about TV, I came across two reports on the whiteness of Australian judges and models. So many contradictions - we're surrounded and outnumbered and you never see us any more...?

[mrteufel]

I like Campsie, because it is multi-racially multicultural. So we're all different together.

[seeingred]

I looked up the census stats for Ryde:

"The most common ancestries in Ryde (State Suburbs) were Australian 17.0%, English 16.5%, Chinese 11.1%, Italian 7.9% and Irish 6.2%."

Now if you'd asked me, off the top of my head, I'd have put Korean in that list, which goes to show how our perceptions are skewed. Because of my Kpop obsession I'm very aware of Korean signs (which I keep trying to read :) and conversations (sometimes I can tell spoken Korean from other Asian languages), so I simply notice the local Korean-Australians more. It's no different to hnpcc's whingers, to whom the one-fifth and more of white residents in Clayton have apparently become invisible!

[mrteufel]

Also, they may work there, but live elsewhere.

"The most common ancestries in Campsie (State Suburbs) were Chinese 30.4%, Lebanese 7.5%, Korean 5.6%, English 5.5% and Australian 5.5%"

That's my home! :D

Neighbouring suburbs that probably shop in Campsie:
"The most common ancestries in Belmore (State Suburbs) were Greek 14.0%, Lebanese 9.7%, Chinese 8.7%, Australian 7.8% and English 7.8%."
"The most common ancestries in Canterbury (NSW) (State Suburbs) were Chinese 11.2%, Australian 10.8%, English 10.2%, Greek 10.0% and Lebanese 5.5%."