Today it seems like there is an overload of opinions on what is moral, what is ethical, what is right and what is wrong. To me, trying to take a particular stance on a lot of issues is overwhelming to the point where I can’t be bothered. Generally, I believe each person should be allowed to freely present whatever views they may have as I have no authority to deny them that right, and as I assume all the views expressed in the world balance each other out.
The world we live in is screwed up; always has been and always will be. However, when it comes to Extremism, Terrorism, and other beliefs which aim to cause harm to the lives of humans, a line has to be drawn specifically in relation to the use of the internet to present and further these beliefs.
I consider myself a well educated person that has been exposed to a lot of what the world has to offer, but after visiting eExtremism sites such as that of the Ayereon Nation and even the Australia First party, I felt completely shocked that these irrational opinions can still be taken seriously today. I acknowledge that some people in this world will always have extreme views and opinions, but I also think that they should still be considerate and unselfish enough not to force them on as many people as possible.
In the particular case of the Australia First party, I personally consider them to be a full-fledged extremist group, as their views are undoubtedly extreme compared with the views of the majority of Australians. www.thefreedictionary.com lists the definition of an extremist as ‘One who advocates or resorts to measures beyond the norm, especially in politics’, and the Australia First Party fits this description perfectly as they are a political party, their views are definitely not the norm and they openly stand for these extreme views.
The fact that the NSW Australia First Party chairman, Dr Jim Saleam, has previously been imprisoned for a shotgun attack on an African congress is enough for one to question the party. And on that note, I can’t believe that one of Australia’s most well known race supremacist/neo Nazis (Dr Saleam) is of Turkish decent. For a party who claims to be against violence and will not admit to racism, they come across a tad inconsistent.
Anyway, I think that in Australia for a group to be an extremist group, they’d have to be quite subtle about it right? Our relaxed and care free society does not accept groups that are openly extreme, and as a political party, Australia First is looking for acceptance and most importantly, new followers/members. The way they make it work is by covertly provoking extremism and associated opinions and beliefs, and viciously threatening anyone who dares to question them. Therefore, even though their website isn’t obviously declaring extremism, it has plenty of information and symbolism that makes an unsuspecting visitor feel quite uneasy.
I’ll leave you with these statements based on the policies of the Australia First party, found on the webpage Ausfirst.alphalink.com.au. Form whatever opinions you will...
‘Australia First Party recognises the right for all Australians, of sound character, to own and possess firearms for self defence in their own home, and for occupational and recreational pursuits.’
‘Australia First Party will end the enormously expensive and divisive policy of Government funded and institutionalised multi-culturalism. Our first step will be to cut entirely the funding for the Office of Multi-Cultural Affairs.’
‘Our policy on immigration is "zero net" which means the number of immigrants we will allow in each year will equal the number of people permanently leaving Australia per year.’
No comments:
Post a Comment