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The Forum > Article Comments > Treatment a reflection of sad reality > Comments

Treatment a reflection of sad reality : Comments

By Megan Davis, published 25/3/2008

There is an insidious and simmering underlying racism in the treatment of Indigenous Australians.

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I too was shocked when an indigenous colleague of mine was stopped by undercover policemen recently on the way to work and questioned in a very accusing manner. She was so upset that she did not have the will to ask to see their badges. They questioned her about where she was going, what she was doing and where she had been the week before. All this happened in George Street, Sydney. It has happened before and many of her indigenous friends have experienced the same treatment. I only wish I had been with her as I would have taken their names and lodged a formal complaint. But then again I am not indigenous so they probably would not have stopped us if we were walking together.
Posted by Irene, Tuesday, 25 March 2008 10:27:18 AM
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On the face of it, the Alice Springs incident concerning a small group of aboriginal women connected with life saving training was totally unacceptable and shameful.

I say 'on the face of it' because those of us not directly in the know will not be aware of the full story until and unless there is a public enquiry into the matter.

However, this incident is hardly a reason for the author to bring up her own personal problems with 'racisim', real or imagined.

Isolated incidents do not mean there is inbuilt racism in white or black Australians.
Posted by Mr. Right, Tuesday, 25 March 2008 10:35:14 AM
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And, rather than jumping on the bandwagon, Irene should ask herself – unless she was present when her “indigenous colleague” was questioned by people who might have or might not have been police – whether white people were also stopped and why they were stopped, and whether the colleague really was stopped.

“Many of her indigenous friends have experienced the same treatment”, says Irene. Have they, really? Did they think to ask for ID? Seems to me they would know to do this if they were being hassled by police!

Second hand anecdotes can be very misleading and dangerous, Irene
Posted by Mr. Right, Tuesday, 25 March 2008 10:43:33 AM
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I don't doubt it's awful to experience such ethnic stereotyping but it's extremely naive to suggest that we shouldn't behave towards people based on our experience of their race or culture.

We have to face facts. Aborigines are staggeringly overrepresented in the ranks of the criminal, the alcoholic, the violent and the panhandling.

This should not be, but it is, and it is understandable that people will shy away from Aborigines as a group., to varying degrees. Making judgements about people based on their race is ingrained in our DNA. Evolution has favoured it because it helped us make quick decisions about who was friend or foe in times when such decisions were life and death ones (and still are in some cases).

Most of the solution lies in improving the lot of Aborigines not misguided attempts to stamp out a survival mechanism developed over millenia.
Posted by grn, Tuesday, 25 March 2008 11:46:37 AM
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Yeah, well Mr Right - guess what, I think on the basis of your automatic distrust of an Indigenous person's account of discriminatory behaviour by police - and your scepticism about the well-reported incident at Alice Springs - you're a prime example of the "insidious underlying racism" against Indigenous people that is still all too prevalent in our society.

Years ago I had a job which entailed encouraging young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people into work and assisting them with finding accommodation in North Queensland. It was virtually impossible to find employers who would give them a start, and my experience with real estate agents was pretty much as Megan Davis describes.

It seems that things haven't changed all that much in Australia's racist underbelly.
Posted by CJ Morgan, Tuesday, 25 March 2008 11:53:49 AM
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What people like our 'Mr Right' do not get is that the perception of Australia as a racist country is growing. It is time white Australians were educated or educated themselves out of ignorance. I have met people who have been put off travelling to the country because "I've met so many racist Australians" so the racism is surely affecting tourism.

Australia still holds muster as a country great at sports but its growing international reputation (in spite of the apology)is firmly promoted by so many travelling Australians: Advance Australia Fair...the perfect haven for white trash red necks.
Posted by dinkum, Tuesday, 25 March 2008 1:08:17 PM
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