Trouble Down Under

Reports from Australia suggest there are problems there with certain segments of the population. Based on articles in The Daily Telegraph and The Australian, one might conclude that gangs of drunken Aussies are descending upon hapless minorites of "middle eastern descent" without provocation. And that's partly true. The whole truth is even uglier.

The truth is that for years, Muslims of middle eastern descent have been imposing their Islamic "sensibilities" on beach-goers at Cronulla beach and elsewhere by harassing women who dare to wear bikinis, men who choose to drink alcohol, and in some cases, even raping women who have the audacity to swim without a burka.

The tensions reached their peak last week when some men "of middle eastern descent" attacked a couple of life guards who'd asked them to quit playing soccer in the middle of people who were trying to relax on the beach. It's important to know that lifeguards on Australian beaches are all volunteers, and are as highly regarded as our volunteer firefighters here in the US. Their job is very important there, given the surf conditions and the prevalance of sharks (the kind that swim), and the public is very fond of them.

So it was no surprise when the weekend following the attack on the lifeguards, some 5000 Aussies showed up at Cronulla to "take back the beach". Unlike the French, they'd had enough and decided to stand up and say so. Unfortunately, there was also a less desirable element among the throng who were drunk, spoiling for a fight, and determined to take out some "wogs".

The root of the problem, that is, Muslim immigrants and their descendants who not only refuse to adopt the customs and social mores of their host country, is exacerbated by the press who pass the whole series of unfortunate events off as "racial tensions". The implied message is that it's a bunch of drunken bigots picking on innocent minorities, when in fact the problem is more profound than that. Muslims taking up residence in non-Muslim countries can either assimilate themselves with their adoptive country, or they can simply stay where they are. Forcing their customs on the citizens of their new homeland is not an acceptable option.