Stupidity Rules Part 3

I was reading today that in 2000 there were over a million and a half people from South America who had the temerity to attempt to get into North America across an imaginary line that separates one part of a landmass from the other in order to live more fulfilling and satisfying lives with an income, greater opportunities for their kids, some safety and human rights, not to mention the chance to send a few dollars back home to their needy relatives etc.

Here in Australia, of course we face loads more people attempting to cross the border. Well, no, actually, of course we don’t. Even though there were still over 300,000 people turned back in the States last year, we’ve managed to create something of an outcry over just a few thousand people who risk their lives on little ships to try and find better lives for themselves and their families Downunder. Despite the polemic from the hysterical right, it’s actually not illegal to do this. The United Nations says so. So does the Australian government. And when all the processing is done and the numbers are added up, very few asylum seekers are actually sent back. While there’s a whole lot of media hoohah and vested interest outcry over the ‘boat people invading our shores’, something like 95% of people currently in Australia without visas have arrived here by plane. In addition, Australia’s population rises between 200,000 and 300,000 people every year through planned migration from all the nations of the world – a number that rose to this level during John Howard’s Prime Ministership. Hang on, didn’t he have everyone thinking he didn't like immigration, especially if it led to the whole de-Anglicisation of Australia thing? He was sneaky, wasn’t he?

Personally, I think it’s time to stop blaming the victims. Of course Australia is a nice place to live, that’s why we’re here. Of course, other people are going to want to live here, too. The ‘boat’ people are not bad people, they just want a better life for themselves and their kids. Who can blame them? Yeah, we need to check no crims get in, but beyond that, do we have to pay out on them so much?

There was a thing on Facebook a while back: ‘What do Moses, Oscar Schindler, the French Resistance and Elliot from ET have in common? They were all people smugglers.’ (OK, yes, technically, Elliot wasn’t a people smuggler.)

The point is, people will always want to move where things are better, like where they’re not being persecuted, where there’s some food, where there’s a chance their kids will live long enough to pass the HSC and maybe even get into uni and have a career. Where there's no war happening down the block...

If we’re not helping to make things better in their own countries, we have to accept that some folk are going to want to move somewhere else. Somewhere better. Like here. That’s the salient point. Let’s hear Julia and Tony and the rest mention that. You never will...