[lbo-talk] Contradictions of conservativism

Wojtek Sokolowski swsokolowski at yahoo.com
Wed Jan 2 09:19:53 PST 2008


--- Mike Ballard <swillsqueal at yahoo.com.au> wrote:


>
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22996613
>
> -5013871,00.html
>
> Bennelong's Vietnamese refugees still back former PM
>
> REFUGEES who made new lives for themselves in the
> Sydney seat of
> Bennelong after fleeing Vietnam have voiced support
> for John Howard,
> despite claims he argued they should not be allowed
> into the country.

[WS:] That does not surprise me. Immigrants often embrace extremenly conservative views in thier host countries. There are several different factors behind that, such as:

1. A desire to be accepted in the new countries, which often takes the form of "being more catholic than the Pope" attitudes;

2. A desire of established immigrants to distingush themselves from FOB (freshly off the boat) immigrants, who may appear the same as old immigrants to an outsider, but who have genarlly much lower social status in immigrant communities;

3. Anti-communism and fighting the battles carried over from the old countries; since conservatives in host countries often espouse rabidly anti-communist and jingoistic views, they appear attractive to immigrants who still fight those battles from their old countries.

4. Negative reaction to the host country's culture, typically much more liberal than that of the old country; since conservatives are often vocal critics of "moral decay" caused by these liberal vales and culture, they appear attractice to immigrants who find these liberal values threatening to thier own identities, often built on patriarchy, status hierarchies, obediwence of customs and conventions, etc.

Wojtek

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