Racism does exist in Australia

I found this article overall a good read. Racism occurs in all countries and not just Australia. I believe though it is wrong to deny such things do not exist in our country. I believe we really should be addressing this issue and how we may be able to deter it from escalating any further.

Can we honestly say that racism does not exist in Australia? You only need to spend an afternoon listening to talk back radio to understand what I'm getting at.

Not everyone holds intolerant views of people from other cultural backgrounds or race, and out of those who do, very few would act on it. But nonetheless, some people are just bigots. It's true. Narrow-mindedness and racism do exist in Australia, and it's wrong.

We know this racist sentiment is unfounded and stems from an irrational fear of the unknown. But we can't address this, if we pretend it doesn't exist.

Some people are racists and politicians are kidding themselves if they think that by denying this, these people will somehow go away, or no one else will notice them. Every country has its fair share of morons; people who commit acts of violence against others simply because of the colour of their skin, their gender or their sexuality. Sadly, Australia is no exception.

Only by exposing and repudiating racism wherever it exists, are we truly able to move forward as a harmonious and unified community. Ignorant views fester, when we turn a blind eye. Racist ideas only flourish in the shadows, when they are not held up to the light of public scrutiny.

We need leaders to be honest enough to address the issue directly rather than sweep it under carpet, doing so under the guise of the 'new political correctness' that says we can't mention racism because it will whip up a Pauline Hanson style backlash. Yes, racism does exist in Australia and it is wrong. Australia is not immune from morons.

Unfortunately, if you identify racist attitudes in Australia you are all too often accused of being unpatriotic. I love my country and it is for this reason I know we can and must do better. Isn't the quest to be the best country we can be, at the heart of patriotism?

Surely, our political leaders should be mature enough to call a spade a spade and start challenging the views that should hold no place in a modern and tolerant democracy like ours. Only if we do this, can we rightfully market Australia as a prime destination for international students and visitors.

Link

reply to post by nahsik


Sure racism exists in Australia... but it's a small minority just like every other country in the world. You won't find one rational person on this forum that will suggest otherwise. In fact just about every Aussie on this board has admitted as much, yet the anti Australian sentiment just keeps on rolling in.

What do you want from us. what do you wish us to say above and beyond everything we have already said? What's your motivation for this thread? What do you hope to achieve?

Do you wish to suggest that all attacks on Indians were white people? Be clear on your real motivations for this thread.


IRM

[edit on 18/1/10 by InfaRedMan]

To label the problem of Islamic immigration to Australia as a point of racism is not a good approach.
Muslims in countries other than the OIC are causing all kinds of problems and it needs to be addressed honestly and openly. Paris car burning. Terrorism attacks all over the world. Demand for Sharia Law over the laws of the democracies like the minarets in Switzerland. The steady supply of opium from the poppy fields.

As for white Australians considering the aboriginese lesser and treating them like shiit, that's been going on for years and is well known.

What a laugh.
Racism exists everywhere.
Or do you, (OP,) come from some magical country where it does not?

So if you are going to throw your support behind the Indian government's attempts into forcing Australia into supplying an irresponsible regime with uranium to make even more nukes, you're going to have to do better than this.

What's it going to be next?
"Australians really do have facial hair?"

Sure there is racism in Australia, as in every other country in the world.
All the Aussies I have spoken to about this have admitted that they have encountered various degrees of racism, regardless of their ethnicity.

I think that it is the degree that is confusing the issue and causing people ot react so strongly. Most Australians do not practice, nor tolerate overt racism of any kind, toward any person.
But they do participate in subconscious forms of racism, and this is what makes them so blissfully unaware of their prejudices.
It's not so much that we think less of people who are different, so much as we feel more comfortable with people who are the same.

Labelling small acts of intolerance as racist automatically puts people on the defensive, especially if they weren't aware that their subconscious feelings were being exposed by their actions.

This subconscious racism is not only practiced by anglos but also by a large number of immigrant groups. Whole suburbs in Australian cities are considered to be Asian or Greek or Lebanese. Each of these areas will likewise have it's own cultural differences, not necessarily anything to do with their country of origin, but slang, musical preferences and modes of dress set each group as belonging within their own micro-culture.

My point might not be very lucid - suffice to say that for us to truly embrace various cultures we need to be exposed to them in such a way that allows integration and understanding. The seperatist attitude that is so prevalent in Australia only serves to further re-inforce the differences.
To further clarify, I am an Aussie, but am trying to view the problem from a more remote position in order to gain a better perspective on the problem.

Originally posted by Kailassa
What a laugh.
Racism exists everywhere.
Or do you, (OP,) come from some magical country where it does not?

So if you are going to throw your support behind the Indian government's attempts into forcing Australia into supplying an irresponsible regime with uranium to make even more nukes, you're going to have to do better than this.

What's it going to be next?
"Australians really do have facial hair?"

Did you even read the start of my post?
I specifically said that racism exists in all countries and Australia is not alone on this one.

I even commented on your stupid remark that you made over in the other thread. i've got no idea what point your trying to prove. Or if your even trying to prove a point at all and just wanting to troll.

I'm sick of people like you who keep continuing to play this childish blame game where nothing is resolved.


And as for infraredman - I want us as Australians to come out on top of this issue. I want the government to address this issue and not just ignore it or sweep it under the rug. I want the government to say that these attacks have been racially motivated. I want the government to able to campaign against this arising problem.. Not in a race related way but in way of showing camaraderie between different multicultural groups. Personally a good P.R run would really help our country a lot at this moment in time.

I honestly don't believe that these attacks were all by white australians. But I'm trying to show you an example as to how it would feel if the tables were turned and we had australians who were subsequently getting murdered for living in another country.

Can you please tell me what races you are referring to. Are white Australians attacking some other race? I'm on the other side of the planet and have no idea what you are talking about.

For those reading this thread with little context as to the motivations of the Op. This thread was created after the Op posted in this thread.

Indian TV's unsound fury

IMHO, this thread wreaks of agenda, given that nearly every Aussie on this forum has agreed that racism occurs in all countries, including Australia. You won't find a bone of contention there at all.

So what's the point of this thread? To re-establish something we have already established ad nauseam?

IRM

[edit on 18/1/10 by InfaRedMan]

reply to post by JJay55


No I have not mentioned or labelled this problem to being from the white australian community. I don't even like using this separatist vocabulary.

Originally posted by nahsik


AI want the government to say that these attacks have been racially motivated.

Given all the specifics of many of these crimes are unknown.. and the ethnicity of the perpetrators is equally unclear, why would they do that? That's illogical!

I'd prefer all the facts first instead of manufacturing an answer to please the Indian government.

IRM

As a result Australia sympathizes with Pakistan and Indonesia, it's closest neighbors and falls quickly into the land of the Caliphate. Ahhh, makes sense now. Thanks.

As they're saying in Yahoo,

YES, we're very very racist in Australia

Stay away

And tell your friends

reply to post by InfaRedMan


This thread was not created on behalf of the thread that you mentioned. This thread tries to address the issue at large instead of playing the blame game that the thread that you mentioned does.

Why can't we try to resolve the issue instead playing the 'one up game' where we look at nitpicking certain parts of the problem and criticise it in a disapproving way. Has your conclusion solved anything yet? Has any of the threads before done that?

The issue is not about what the facts uphold and its not just about it being racially motivated. I can bet you a percentage of the crimes is right on the mark and that's all you need for it to escalate to what it is now.

Originally posted by JJay55
As a result Australia sympathizes with Pakistan and Indonesia, it's closest neighbors and falls quickly into the land of the Caliphate. Ahhh, makes sense now. Thanks.

Emphasis Mine.


Could you make you intent for those comments clearer please?

Firstly, Pakistan is not one of our closest neighbors!

The term caliphate (from the Arabic خلافة or khilāfa) refers to the first system of governance established in Islam, and represented the political authority and unity of the Muslim Ummah. It was initially led by Muhammad's disciples as a continuation of the political authority the prophet established, known as the 'rashidun caliphates'. It represented the political unity of the Muslim Ummah, not the theological unity as this was a personal matter, and was the world's first major welfare state.[1] A "caliphate" is also a state which implements such a government.

Sunni Islam dictates that the head of state, the caliph, should be selected by Shura - elected by Muslims or their representatives.[2] Followers of Shia Islam believe the caliph should be an imam descended in a line from the Ahl al-Bayt. After the Rashidun period until 1924, caliphates, sometimes two at a single time, real and illusory, were ruled by dynasties. The first dynasty was the Umayyad. This was followed by the Abbasid, the Fatimid, and finally the Ottoman Dynasty.

The caliphate was "the core political concept of Sunni Islam, by the consensus of the Muslim majority in the early centuries.".[3]

Source: Wikipedia

Are you suggesting that Australia is turning into an Islamic State? I don't really understand what it is you're trying to say... but at face value it appears to be either sarcastic or naive.

IRM

reply to post by nahsik


I would like to see what you have to say on the matter nahsik, what would you like to see done to improve race relations here in Australia.
I am particularly interested in a response ot my suggestions that micro-cultures are perpetuating the problem.

Originally posted by nahsik
reply to post by InfaRedMan

 

This thread was not created on behalf of the thread that you mentioned.

Yes it was! You created this thread directly afterward. Coincidence perhaps?

Why can't we try to resolve the issue instead playing the 'one up game' where we look at nitpicking certain parts of the problem and criticise it in a disapproving way.

The issue will be resolved once the facts are present. Everyone want's these criminals charged and incarcerated for a long time!

The issue is not about what the facts uphold

Say what? Nothing could be further from the truth. It's all about facts. Crimes are about facts. Convictions are all about facts! Otherwise it's all BS! Are you suggesting that the truth is not important?

I can bet you a percentage of the crimes is right on the mark

What percentage? Would you care to give us a figure? And what does 'right on the mark' mean? Can you elaborate?

Look... you appear to know more than anyone else in regards to the identities of these perpetrators. I strongly suggest you contact the police immediately so these criminals can be put under lock & key!

IRM

[edit on 18/1/10 by InfaRedMan]

As noted in the thread linked by InfaRedMan, the media plays a large role in how we perceive ourselves as well as how we are perceived globally.
The supposed problems with racial attacks against Indian students didn't seem to hit headlines here until after the Indian media reported on it and it has now turned into some bizarre sensationalist game where accusations are flying in all directions.
The whole Hey, Hey blackface skit was a non-issue to most of us until American media made a huge deal about it as well. Though that one seemed somewhat more moderate, it was quickly followed with further accusations of racism over the stupid KFC cricket ad.

Are we that insensitive to the cultural differences to people we have welcomed here?
Or are people seeing racism where none was intended? This type of reaction is somewhat xenophobic in and of itself in my opinion.
Is our media somehow blase about it until it becomes a headline elsewhere on the globe?
Or is this swept under the carpet as being un-newsworthy until it becomes a larger issue not of racism, but of Australia being accused of racism.
And does the Australian government sanction racism by denying that it exists rather than attempting to address the problem?

Regardless of the OPs intentions, I do find these questions interesting.

[edit on 18-1-2010 by ilandrah]

Here's what's happened in the States. We have an open and diverse population. It's called pluralism, we accept all races, colors, religions, and you are free to practice whatever and it's not that big of a deal in general.

In the past 5 years there has been an instigation of racial tension. At universities there have been anonymous appearances of the "N" word and slurs against Jews. This has forced universities to form "Diversity" committees and hire employees to deal with race relation where it hasn't been necessary in the past because everyone gets along in a plural society for the most part.

What I'm suggesting is that societies that aren't plural (Islam) is using the same methods of forcing government to make "acceptance" laws because it makes it easier to slide in Sharia Law when the time comes.

I have personally witnessed the race tension instigated by muslims in discrete manners and followed by demands of equality while crying the victim. Beware, it happens before you can open your eyes. So I would think that in Australia that this method would be used with Indian (democracy and Hindu) to deflect the real culprit... which is Islam. Deflect, divert attention, blame someone else, cry victim, change laws for the benefit of Islam in the long run. Something to be aware of while there is still time!

What most of these guys are talking about is the recent assaults in major capital cities on people (mostly students in Melbourne) of the Indian race. This seems to me to be some kind of localised issue, and there is a small political minority in India that is suggesting some backlash against Australia.

This is a common theme - the overpopulated, south-east Asian country ganging up on Australia and demanding that we be more "tolerant". It happens with Indonesia regarding illegal aliens and refugees, the same with Malaysia, the Phillipines and more recently China.

Most of these countries are actually quite racist towards Australians - even though they depend on our tourism - just pick up an Indonesian newspaper.

In regional areas of Australia there are much bigger issues that occur in indigenous communities regarding alcohol and drug abuse, child abuse, cultural degeneration and this continuous cycle leading to repeating poverty conditions.

Maybe it's better to focus on those issues rather than a bunch of thugs beating on each other.

Take care of Aussies first! Let the rest sort themselves out.

reply to post by nicm01


Hindu Indians or Muslim Indians?