Firstly lets consider how a fear develops.
For a fear to develop it generally needs to be an idea similar to myth with the only stimuli being word of mouth etc.. or something that we are exposed to and are familiar/too familiar with.
If we remember that the media has been playing footage of boat people, and doing at least a few shock tactic stories on the issue every week we obviously have enough stimuli and exposure to the issue for a fear to develop.
But already we have spotted the first sure sign of fear which is a bad perception and/or understanding of the issue we are said to be afraid of; although through no fault of our own we believe the boat people to be a much bigger problem then it actually is.
Compare this to the person afraid of a harmless daddy long legs spider, where of cause the risk is little but the persons fear is unfounded.
Another thing that adds to fear is shocking or dramatic events which can lead to stress and even PDST. Revolving the boat people issue there have been many events which stand out from the boring everyday complaining such as children overboard and the capsizing at Christmas Island.
These events added combined with other factors certainly help the chance of fear developing.
Of course we need to look at the amount of people who are scared, and as with most fears we find that only a minority find fear in it. This isolation of opinion can also be a contributing factor to fear.
Lets have a look at this poll by Nielsen..
Quote:Boats arriving in Australia:
First, respondents were asked if they thought that asylum seekers arriving in Australia by boat
should be “allowed to land in Australia to be assessed”, “sent to another country to be assessed”
or “sent back out to sea”.
A majority of respondents (53%) preferred that asylum seekers arriving in Australia by boat be
allowed to land to be assessed. Just over one in four (28%) felt that asylum seekers arriving in
Australia by boat should be sent to another country to be assessed. 15% said the boats should be
sent back out to sea. 4% did not know or offered another option.
http://au.nielsen.com/site/documents/NielsenAsylumseekersarrivingbyboatAugust201...Now it is probably around that 15% where fear occurs more, of course there would be some in the 28% category as well.
Still only a minority, but still enough people for fear to develop and spread throughout the community.
Society also has a big part to play in the development of said fear. Some people are perhaps unwilling to talk about the issue, or unwilling/unable to share their honest opinions on the issue, people feeling they will be outcast or treated differently if they support asylum seekers. The patriotic 'Australian attitude' of a person would certainly come into question for some people if someone was to support asylum seekers.
While it is often easy to pass things like this off, you have to understand that it is different when it is actually happening and combined with other factors can be a lot more powerful an affect.
Quote:Physical Side Effects:
Fear may cause headaches, diarrhea, sweating, rapid heartbeat and shortness of breath. You may experience one or more of these symptoms, as the experience is different for each person.
The physical side effects seem a bit dramatic in this case. BUT consider that a small fear of boat people may add on to other fears/anxieties and cause these problems to develop in people. Or they could form a basis for these problems to develop as separate things happen in your life.
Certainly we are to see the full effects of this as younger generations get older.
Particularly since 2001 children have been growing up in a very different world, and if there is one fear you cannot deny it is the fear of terrorists etc.
I think that if a kid is scared of spiders and he sees his parents killing spiders that would probably cause him to do when older. What will grown up children do to asylum seekers or pow's when they have seen their parents put them in prison and mentally abusing/torturing them?
Regardless of what side of the debate you are on it doesn't seem like something worth taking a risk over.
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In summary.
This could have gone on forever and there could be a thousand other contributing factors I could list but already there is enough evidence to show that fear could and therefore has developed in the community.
Given our population it is certain that some people are scared, now we must determine how far this has spread.
Certainly when the issue is raised in public media fear seems to be a central underlying feature; does this reflect how society feels?
Fear is dangerous.
Fear should not be underestimated and is not something we should take risks with, even the potential should be enough to prompt action.
Education would be the cliche first step, and I think that is right.
When one truly understands an issue we find it harder to fear, and it is obvious the media is not a legitimate place to find that understanding.
The issue isn't really about fear. I haven't heard the term "fear" used by anyone outside those who support boat people. As soon as someone questions the validity of boat people the term" fear" is thrown about; kind of like the term "racist" or "sexist" is used when someone says something that some else finds "offensive."
The issue has more to do with tax payers money being spent on people who frankly don't deserve it, and the use of illegal channels to settle here. I don't see what "fear" has to do with it.
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