A poll would not have been run for any reason other than to demonstrate a rich vein of feeling against refugees. The organisers would have been in no doubt as to how the results would fall. It is not a scientific sample, far from it, but is a useful figure for campaigners against immigration.
The letters page, likewise, demonstrates opinion not necessarily reflective of Australians as a whole, but reflective of the feelings in one particular campaign.
The editorial speaks for itself, as does the fact that Andrew Bolt has such a prominent position for his bi-weekly columns.
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The Herald Sun is cheerleading for a reinvented past: a safe, mono-colour Australia. It turns its face from any social understanding or justice in a changing world, and its campaigning is hostile to broad social inclusion. In the same week as its refugee campaign, it launched a polemic in the news section - not the commentary section- that “PC police [are] to move in to re-educate our impressionable children”. This refers to a benign program for very young children which touches on issues of social inclusion and life in Australia prior to European settlement.
A very real problem caused by such leadership in the media is its influence of the health of the nation and in Australia. Social inclusion is an essential part of a healthy society. The relationship between social exclusion and mental illness is complex, being both a cause of and a consequence of mental ill health. When a prominent and far reaching voice preaches a divisive culture, where it encourages dehumanisation of other people, and where changes in education to foster inclusiveness are attacked with the ferocity of a pit bull terrier, mental health in Australia cannot benefit.
The fact that a newspaper with the highest circulation in Australia is such an unapologetic campaigner for a particularly noxious form of social conservatism and exclusion is reason for concern. Australia is a changing, complex and fascinating country, without a settled identity. The fact that the contribution of such an important cultural player as the Herald Sun is so divisive and dismissive of change and diversity holds back a truly creative, expressive and psychologically healthy Australia.
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About the Author
David Silkoff is an occasional writer, and a full time mental health clinician in Melbourne. He has worked in the frontline of mental health and social exclusion for nearly 15 years, in London, Melbourne, and for a short period, which was limited due to the difficulties of working with limited language abilities, in Israel. He writes opinion pieces only occasionally, and spends the bulk of his writing time constructive short stories. He describes his politics as an unfashionable Social Democratic kind.