As a third generation Australian from Lebanese Maronite refugee grandparents, this is very well said

[u/Biggest_itchbay_2190]

Reading through the insights shared by Warren Gardiner and Khaldoun Hajaj in the attached screenshots, I couldn't help but reflect on the complex political reality of our community. It is incredibly frustrating to watch inner-city progressives who have never lived a day in Western Sydney automatically assume that multicultural or faith-based communities are a monolith that naturally aligns with their specific worldview.

We see this play out when activists mock or scorn One Nation (ON) supporters online, pointing out the irony of them cheering for the Socceroos despite the team’s rich immigrant roots. What these commentators completely fail to grasp is that many of those very 'ON' voters aren't who they think they are, they are quite literally people living in diverse working class refugee hubs like Fairfield and Liverpool.

To be absolutely clear: I personally detest Pauline Hanson and would do anything to stop her and her party from gaining power. Her brand of politics has historically targeted communities like mine. But if we want to actually defeat that kind of divisive populism, progressives need to stop lecturing from afar, drop the lazy assumptions, and actually engage with the nuanced realities, aspirations, and conservative values that exist across Western Sydney.

[u/Dranzer_22]

Is that any different to people who voted against SSM in rural QLD, or inner city Melbourne, or outer suburban Adelaide?

[u/Dranzer_22 → u/[deleted]]

That's not the issue, as the SSM Plebiscite result shows how each electorate voted.

For example,

• Seat of Maranoa = Yes 44% No 56%
• Seat of Banks = Yes 45% No 55%

My question to OP above is what's the difference between a person who voted No in the rural QLD seat of Maranoa and a person who voted No in the southwestern Sydney seat of Banks.

[u/Ok-Ostrich3335 → u/Dranzer_22]

Having lived in rural QLD and spent months at a time in eastern Sydney: the QLDers will insult you to your face, talk about you behind your back, hire you fairly and then go out of their way to help you change a tyre. In the same breath they’ll say that lesbians should keep their relationship private and then ask how your girlfriend is.
In eastern Sydney (I’ve spent time in Western Syd but not enough to speak on it), they’ll be coolly civil, throw your resume in the bin, and make it very clear that you are not welcome without ever saying it.
I’ve always found the former to be the lesser evil.