David Hobby wrote: > The Fool wrote about a survey:
Yes No (Not sure) >> 23. Buy a gun? 77% 18 5 >> 24. Become a parent? 37% 54 9 >> 25. Register to vote? 47% 48 5 > > Sure, why not? In general, the "tests" tend to be pretty > silly since they have to be structured so that everyone can > eventually pass them. But properly done they would insure at > least a minimal amount of knowledge, and give people time to > think things over. > That said, only the buying a gun test would fly. One > has a right to have children and to vote, and it would be too > easy for the tests to become a way to deny certain people those > rights. (Tests were used to deny Blacks the right to vote. > Whites were exempt, the original source of the phrase > "grandfather clause".) So it was not only Australia that used this method! To be able to enter the country, a short dictation test *could* be applied in *any* European language. I don't believe *this* test was structured so that everyone could eventually pass. :-) or should that be :-( One of many references: http://www.angelfire.com/in/roachworld/Aus1.html <quote> A fifty word dictation test in a "prescribed" (i.e., European) language was introduced to block immigration of non-Europeans. Europeans were usually not required to take the test, while those who appeared non-European were tested in a language with which they were unfamiliar. Even shipwrecked sailors were prevented from entering Australia, and black American soldiers arriving in 1942 were initially not allowed to land. The intention was not just to stop new arrivals, but also to exclude those already living in Australia. The dictation test was applied retrospectively and used to deport non-whites, especially the Chinese. <end quote> A slogan I remember from when I was a kid: "Two Wongs don't make a white" (Arthur Calwell IRC) Regards, Ray.
