Zoe the redneck homophobe...or not?

[Marty Smarty Boy]

no worries

Uh, I asked an open question. There was no implied bigotry on my part, indeed I was questioning my memory concerning Zoe's views and whether in fact she was a bigot. There's a difference. A rather big difference in fact. Nor am I stereotyping Zoe. If you read my post properly you'll see that I think she has comes across as a sweetie. However I do disagree wholeheartedly with her views about what many Australians and indeed what the Aussie media calls "boat people", and what I call refugees.

Yes, sorry, I was more annoyed about the original post and question which loads a lot of baggage on to Zoe. The term "redneck" is probably as offensive as "cracker" (of the whip) or "nigger" in some parts of the world. More care should be taken with slurs that can only be applied to White people, including "bogan".

 

[Hellzbellz]

Really? What parts of the world? I'd be very interested to know. This is an Australian site and the word redneck is generally a colloquial term for racist/bigot etc in oz. I'm sorry if you took my usage of the term redneck in any other way but I assumed as aussies, it was implied.

I do however take offence at your charge that I have had a go at Zoe as a person. I was in fact just trying to ask about her views. I'd prefer to discuss and debate people's views rather than attack PEOPLE.

Yes, sorry, I was more annoyed about the original post and question which loads a lot of baggage on to Zoe. The term "redneck" is probably as offensive as "cracker" (of the whip) or "nigger" in some parts of the world. More care should be taken with slurs that can only be applied to White people, including "bogan".

 

[Tim]

It seems like anything political / intelligent / contentious was quickly scrubbed away in the first week - possibly by Channel Nine or it was equally possible that Southern Star just slipped back into their old lazy habits and went down the teenage couple route.

Remember how they made a big deal about "everyday Australians" and the audition process included interviewing people on their thoughts towards gay marriage, refugees, moral issues etc. etc.

Well what was the point of that when they just cast vacuous "pretty people" who want to launch their entertainment careers?

 

[alien-she]

More care should be taken with slurs that can only be applied to White people, including "bogan".

Nope. As a white person I see no harm in white-specific slurs. To compare the word 'cracker' to 'ni**er' is embarrassingly uninformed, idiotic and offensive. Most of the supposed white specific slurs you have mentioned refer to social class, not race. Both bogans and rednecks are categorised based on education, speech, dress, financial status and behaviour.

Whether or not Australia has a social class system is not up for debate.

 

[Marty Smarty Boy]

cracker of the whip

Really? What parts of the world? I'd be very interested to know. This is an Australian site and the word redneck is generally a colloquial term for racist/bigot etc in oz. I'm sorry if you took my usage of the term redneck in any other way but I assumed as aussies, it was implied.

I do however take offence at your charge that I have had a go at Zoe as a person. I was in fact just trying to ask about her views. I'd prefer to discuss and debate people's views rather than attack PEOPLE.

The first time you hear the term "cracker" in a US setting, you might think they are talking about biscuits, as in crackers with peanut butter and jelly, but this is not the meaning.

Cracker is a reference to slavery, as in "cracker of the whip", and might be a response or a random slur from a Black person to a White person. "Niggers" and "crackers" are the two opposed sides in this reference, and cracker is used more frequently than "redneck".

A lot of White people have been told that they have no culture compared to others, and are careless in slurring their own peoples.

 

[Someone]

If Afghan refugees are devout Muslims, and are likely to be extremely intolerant of gays and women, why would you invite that intolerance to live next door?

The fact that a lot of refugees come from conservative cultural backgrounds where bigotry and ignorance reign supreme should not be used as an excuse to deny asylum seekers entry to our country. These must be viewed as two distinct issues and failure to do so will only result in an inhumane outcome. If we were going to police our borders in the way you appear to be advocating then we would also need to ban people from half the US states from migrating to Australia.

I don't have all the answers on how we ought to respond to the repugnant elements within Islamic cultures. I am well aware of the fact that second generation Muslims in Europe are more likely to condone terrorism than their parents, and I will never forget the results of a poll of 500 British Muslims which found that not one of them thought that homosexual acts were morally acceptable.

This is obviously a problem which needs to be addressed, and it's unfortunate that most social progressives are too hamstrung by their devotion to the intellectual dead-end of cultural relativism to offer any reasonable contributions to this debate. This has in turn left the door open for nationalists like Geert Wilders to inflame the situation by agonizing Muslims, which will only alienate Muslims further and push them towards religious extremism.

It is vital to remember that the repugnant bigotry which still exists within most Islamic cultures was until very recently dominant within our own Christian culture, thus proving that dramatic change can occur in a very short space of time.

But they are NOT. Islam is not just a religion, it in an ideology that controls every single aspect of a Muslims life.

Whenever people trot out this tired old "Islam is an ideology , not a religion" line, I can't help but conclude they don't know the meaning of either of those words.

People like to point out that the Koran is more militaristic and direct than the Bible. I haven't got a clue whether this is true and I don't give a shit either way. If we can create the right circumstances to allow increasing secularization to occur among western Muslims in the same way it did among western Christians then they won't be reading the damned book anyway.

 

[up_all_night]

If Afghan refugees are devout Muslims, and are likely to be extremely intolerant of gays and women, why would you invite that intolerance to live next door?

It's better than what our troops are doing over their killing innocent men woman and children.

 

[hughesy17]

She offered up the material with which to type her.



According to UNHCR figures for 2011, Australia is about 70th in the world for refugee intake per capita.


Australia is the highest per capita receiver of refugees in the Western world. Just ask Immigration minister Chris Bowen. He told us that before he decided to spend an extra billion or two per year to double our intake. Our national debt is over 200 billion dollars now, that is a lot per each and every Australian (a big fat extra credit card that you're carrying around). The mining boom isn't going to last forever.

 

[Hellzbellz]

I didn't use the term cracker, indeed I'd never heard the term before. But many thanks for educating me as to its origins.

The first time you hear the term "cracker" in a US setting, you might think they are talking about biscuits, as in crackers with peanut butter and jelly, but this is not the meaning.

Cracker is a reference to slavery, as in "cracker of the whip", and might be a response or a random slur from a Black person to a White person. "Niggers" and "crackers" are the two opposed sides in this reference, and cracker is used more frequently than "redneck".

A lot of White people have been told that they have no culture compared to others, and are careless in slurring their own peoples.

 

[Hellzbellz]

Again I'm with you alien-she, you seem to be the most level headed person contributing to this site so far. It never ceases to amaze me how audacious and vitriolic people can get sat safely behind their computer screens. I'd prefer a civilized debate about views rather than the vicious attacks that are going on in this forum.
Hallelujah for you lovely ; )

Nope. As a white person I see no harm in white-specific slurs. To compare the word 'cracker' to 'ni**er' is embarrassingly uninformed, idiotic and offensive. Most of the supposed white specific slurs you have mentioned refer to social class, not race. Both bogans and rednecks are categorised based on education, speech, dress, financial status and behaviour.

Whether or not Australia has a social class system is not up for debate.

 

[Hellzbellz]

I agree for the most part.
When I used the word 'redneck' I was referring to white Australians who are bigoted, ie those who are homophobic, racist etc. It should be obvious that I was using this term to describe homophobes considering the rest of my question and post. If not, may I say here and now, that that is what I meant!

Nope. As a white person I see no harm in white-specific slurs. To compare the word 'cracker' to 'ni**er' is embarrassingly uninformed, idiotic and offensive. Most of the supposed white specific slurs you have mentioned refer to social class, not race. Both bogans and rednecks are categorised based on education, speech, dress, financial status and behaviour.

Whether or not Australia has a social class system is not up for debate.

 

[Hellzbellz]

What bothers me is a debate about semantics. Let's drop the semantics and give ourselves more credit as Australians. We know what we are talking about. We know what a fellow aussie means by the word redneck, presumably. I don't mind an honest question regarding my use of that word but I really do find it a waste of time and space when people are just arguing for argument's sake. Cracker? Never heard the term and it's got nought to do with my question. Please people, lets just talk, debate and be civil in the process.

 

[supermonster]

Australia is the highest per capita receiver of refugees in the Western world. Just ask Immigration minister Chris Bowen. He told us that

I'd be curious to know how Bowen has managed to spin the figures to come to that conclusion. I've found a quote where he says that after the proposed increase "It will mean Australia becomes the second largest source of resettlement in the world, after only the United States." I've found another article that claims, "Australia is the UNHCR’s largest resettlement country on a per capita basis."

Whatever the case, there's a specific definition of refugee intake being used that doesn't take into account the total comparative figures for refugees by country. If you read the chart provided my previous link, you'll see that the number of refugees in Australia as of 2011 is .98 per 1000 people. Jordan is the highest with 72.88. There are quite a few countries in between.

 

[Marty Smarty Boy]

dleted

Again I'm with you alien-she, you seem to be the most level headed person contributing to this site so far. It never ceases to amaze me how audacious and vitriolic people can get sat safely behind their computer screens. I'd prefer a civilized debate about views rather than the vicious attacks that are going on in this forum.
Hallelujah for you lovely ; )

She was so embarased by that rubish, she thought better of it and deleted it.

 

[Tee]

Please people, lets just talk, debate and be civil in the process.

Maybe you need to take a leaf out of your own book of Self Proclaimed Self Righteousness.

He really is so fucking backward and idiotic.

Honestly, get your argument straight before you start waffling on and back-tracking and spouting all sorts of bullshit.

And you are a presumptuous bitch who cannot follow the conversation properly.

Otherwise you just look silly.

 

[Tee]

She was so embarased by that rubish, she thought better of it and deleted it.

I am starting to think she is not actually playing with a full deck.

 

[Hellzbellz]

Trust Trala to be stalking me and making idiotic comments as per usual!

 

[Hellzbellz]

Trust Trala to be stalking me and making idiotic comments as per usual!

Plus Trala, quoting parts of comments made is akin to dodgy journos printing half the conversation. Please be real.

 

[Hellzbellz]

Indeed you do seem to be rather obsessed in taking me down as opposed to having an adult discussion about anything. It's sad. I pity you.

 

[Hellzbellz]

Marty smarty, I've deleted nothing, nor been embarrassed about any of my view points. I've edited certain things, generally spelling errors and occasionally to add to my point of view. Again, you try to argue semantics and arbitrary bullshit. It's a damn shame that you can't talk about the heart of the issues that I and others have brought up.