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The Forum > Article Comments > Are Australians racist? > Comments

Are Australians racist? : Comments

By Peter West, published 6/12/2011

How the media framed the 'Cronulla Riots'.

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Thank you, Peter. This is the most accurate and objective description of the events that I can recall.
Posted by KenH, Tuesday, 6 December 2011 5:58:03 AM
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Seems like a mostly fair coverage although from the stuff I'd seem perhaps a downplaying of the role of some of the youth of middle eastern origins. I don't have the material to back it up but I recall a lot of references over a sustained period prior to the Cronulla riot a lot of reports of severe intimidation by those gangs. Likewise claims of police playing spin rather than dealing with it.

Mention could also be made of the role that some muslim leaders played in fermenting extreme attitudes. Those who promoted the uncovered meat attitudes to women who don't dress to muslim standards of modesty. The shock jocks trade off this stuff but so to do religious leaders who want to encourage a sense of isolation.

There are also those christian fundy's who object to competition and work in parallel with some muslim leaders to create the sense of seperation from the community for muslims that lead to the Cronulla riot.

I agree with the thrust of Peters article. I don't think that we are particularly racist, most probably have some elements of it in us but almost all of the tension seems to be around cultural differences rather than skin tone or racial origins. There are exceptions.

R0bert
Posted by R0bert, Tuesday, 6 December 2011 6:56:04 AM
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It seems to me that most of the racist attitudes in Oz come from the migrant groups or aboriginals themselves. I remember a forum on the ABC a few years back when an eighteen year old Greek boy told the audience that his parents were the most racist people that he knew.

David
Posted by VK3AUU, Tuesday, 6 December 2011 7:18:32 AM
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Did the police patrol the car parks where these youths would hang out and try to grab girls when they walked up from the beach?

No.

That is why the surfers began to patrol the car parks to keep these youths out, which then became "racist".
Posted by vanna, Tuesday, 6 December 2011 7:39:24 AM
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I love Australia too and I happen to agree with the thrust of this piece. But it doesn't actually add much of substance by way of answering the question it posed: Are Australians racist? To do that, one would first need to ask questions like: how would one find out?, and, presumably, who would one ask?. I suppose social scientists could soon come up with all kinds of questionnaires and surveys, but the article itself points to a specific starting point; ask the participants in the Cronulla conflict, the fair haired blue eyed surfies and the youths of apparently distinctive 'middle-eastern appearance'. Of course their answers will depend on the questions asked, but my guess is that the young people will include some expression of dislike for their counterparts in the other group, even hurl some invective. Is that racism? Of course not. As per the examples of real racism cited in the article, such a survey would need to reveal an easily identifiable minority group that genuinely suffers due to discrimination at the hands of a majority. Would the 'middle eastern' youths claim to feel that way? Ask them. I reckon not.
Posted by Tombee, Tuesday, 6 December 2011 7:54:59 AM
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The targeting of white women by the Lebanese Australians was racist. Their failure to accept different ideas about the role of women was also racist. The targeting of all Lebanese youths by the white Australians was also racist.
There is plenty of racism here. Most other nations have more racism, but that doesn't make it ok.
Posted by benk, Tuesday, 6 December 2011 7:55:37 AM
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