Having watched TV footage of the Cronulla beach violence, I am convinced that the answer to thugs in boardshorts is not to send in thugs in uniform.

Of course we are a deeply racist country.  In today’s Melbourne Age, someone even blamed the riots on Al Grassby.

How silly of me not to realise it was John Howard’s fault that thousands of kids in Cronulla got pissed and tried to throttle anyone with a swarthy complexion. I must work harder to pin the blame on the PM.

By the way, is there a country on earth where ethnicity and race is not a basis for discrimination by the majority of the population.

The Lefty Tasmanian Times readership would until recently have claimed France as the their favourite template for an enlightened, multicultural country and society (conveniently forgetting that country’s role in the Rainbow Warrior sinking and the French colonist’s disgraceful role in the clan war that killed hundreds of thousands Rwanda). If only we could be more French!

After Paris burned in 2005, perhaps they will move on and claim another favourite. Any tips?

Whatever the rights and wrongs of the unruly Sunday disturbances on and near Sydney’s Cronulla Beach, a number of things should be understood when trying to put these matters in perspective.
Before rushing to judgement we, the majority who live in a different milieu far from a beach, have to try to appreciate surf culture and its role in the upbringing of these young men; we need to accept that, while we don’t condone their actions, we should try to put ourselves in their cultural shoes when they were challenged by seemingly threatening outsiders.
After all, that’s only fair, isn’t it ?  It’s what dozens of letter-writers and commentators urge on us when other ethno-cultural minorities take matters into their own hands, isn’t it ?
Leonard Colquhoun 7248

The constant accusations of Australia being a racist country, as if this is something unique to Australia, always mystifies me.  Australians are no different to any other country or race when it comes to believing that majority rule should decide laws and practices within a country.  And “when in Rome, do as the Romans do”.  Australians particularly are an informal people and don’t appreciate divisions in society. They are very accepting of difference, but not division.
Australians are largely non-religious, and we have been striving for many decades to ensure equality of the sexes, therefore for our governments to approve the migration of people with fundamentalist religious beliefs into such a non-religious society was incredibly stupid and short-sighted. Sexism is a foundation stone of most religions in the world, including those practised in the West, hence the movement away from old religions in Australia.
Within a short time of this migration, often from countries where it is accepted that religious wars have been carried on for centuries, we have separate schools being set up for these new arrivals; half their number, females only, are hidden from view behind swathes of cloth and they are not allowed to attend the same church services as their men.  Taken together, these practices send a clear signal that “we don’t intend to assimilate into this country”.
When these signals become obvious in public life, why are we surprised that brash, drunken young men, from both sides, are engaging in gang warfare? 
The cultural differences will be assimilated within a generation, but when gangs of young fundamentalist religion followers meet drunken young non-believers, stirred up by a “white supremacist” minority infiltrating the mix, I fear that the clash will mean many sad years ahead for all Australians, both old and new.  And it is happening all over the world, not just in Australia.  How many wars will be caused by religion before we wake up to its divisive nature?

Dear Letters Editor

In layman’s terms Cronulla was a boil that needed lancing. Sure we can blame John Howard because he said “we will decide who comes to this country” but more importantly, we can disregard the PM and his thugs at the ballot box next time around and try and re-establish a tolerant and caring Australia – a country I was proud of when I was a kid. Tasmanians remember 40 percent. Never forget Howard’s divide and conquer approach.

Sincerely etc.