Dear Bosco, In my experience there is a marked difference between being liberal(that great European value) and being tolerant.
While Holland and France are very liberal countries in terms of their attitudes towards sex and drugs, they have never been tolerant of other cultures or races. Paris is the largest tourist destination in the world but try asking a Parisian for directions in any language other than perfect French and see the response you will get, whatever your race. I have however been amazed with the official(government) support for multi-culturalism here in the UK. Notices from the town council in the borough where I live are translated into Bengali, Turkish, Punjabi, Hindi and Urdu( besides English of course). You can phone for translations into almost any major world language. I don't believe I have heard of such pratices anywhere else in the world! It is worthwhile to consider the whole tolerance debate as a two way street before we denounce other cultures for their intolerance. For instance can you imagine the hue and cry it would create in Goa if a government notice was also translated in Kannada, even though Kannadigas(who by some estimates form 20% of the Goan population) are part of the same country? Why all the hue and cry about a small percentage of foreigners buying land in Goa when every Goan has atleast one friend or relative working/setttled abroad? Recently on Goanet many people expressed outrage over the "Indian" mass in Toronto, we are talking about intolerance in the same community here. In India we havent fully accepted orthodox Muslims after nearly 500 years. Witness how all the successful and famous Muslims back home( Shahrukh Khan, Azim Premji, Shabana Azmi, etc...) are so "Indianised"(for wan't of a better term) or mainstream. Bombay is still very divided into Muslim and Hindu strongholds as is the rest of the country. I do not think any society in the world would willingly accept immigrants who do not want to completely integrate and assimilate into the local culture. Its is against human nature itself. Its high time we admit that, without fear of being politically incorrect in todays religiously charged atmosphere. It is not for nothing that Edward Said's brilliantly written book is considered one of the most important books of our age. Best Regards Sunith D Velho [EMAIL PROTECTED] Bosco wrote: RESPONSE: A few years ago, the French banned all religious symbols in state-run schools. There were several protests of all kinds. In the ensuing melee that is French debate, a few Sikh students were ordered to remove their turbans in order to attend school. They refused. The hungama resulted in them being banned from the school and subsequently deported. I don't know where they went to. I did see an interview of them on television. They spoke in 'pur fran?ais'. I'm reminded of the Ivy League-educated Edward Said's book, Orientalism. So little has changed in the world in subsequent generations. Some prejudices and biases just cannot be trumped. Best - Bosco Toronto, CA ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Goanet supports BMX, the alumni network of Britto's, St Mary's and Xavier's -- three prominent institutions in Mapusa, Goa. Events scheduled from Dec 16 to 21, 2006 For more details visit http://www.bmxgoa.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------
