Spacehamster’s Blog

I noticed that opinion polls indicate an even split between those who support and oppose Nguyen’s execution. I remember several years ago, when Hansonism was at the height of its popularity, a phone poll was performed by A Current Affair. The question was “Would you prefer less Asian Immigration?”. The result was 85% Yes and 15% No. I took that rather personally and thought that families like ours weren’t very welcome in Australia. That sentiment, no matter how unfounded, has been with me ever since.

At that time, my father had some words of advice that I’ll never forget -

“Just because a majority of people agree doesn’t make them right”.

If you were to believe the polls, 85% of Australians hate Asians and don’t want them here. But if you look at what’s happening on the ground the truth is very different. I think people are starting to learn that cultural differences are more important than skin colour.

I hated Hansonism, and I hated having to endure the wave of racial prejudice that swept over the country in its wake. But I think that the Australian community has learned a lot from this experience - let’s hope we can pass those lessons on.