"We do not see the world as it is, we see the world as we are" What we see with our eyes is entirely neutral until WE give it meaning. All perception is an interpretation. This second level of 'seeing' is with perception's 'I' and we 'see' at this level is WHAT WE WISH TO SEE! And what we wish to 'see' is a reflection of the unconscious judgement we make of ourselves. If I say "I thank you God, that I am not as other people" I will be deluded! And the 'snake' of the ego will bite me very badly. However, if I 'look at the snake' without self-righteous denial and admit "I am just as other people are - for we are ALL bitten by the egoic 'snake'" and then forgive ALL - the egoic 'snake' will have no power over my life and I will not 'see' racism everywhere. To really 'forgive' and realise the 'truth' of that what Einstein stated ""Everyone has two choices. We're either full of love...or full of fear" - and the rest is just 'fate of birth' - then we will be truly FREE.

I have just read Anthony's [an Indigenous who does not 'see' racism everywhere] article after reading the article by Bruce Haigh [who gives no indication of Indigenous identification] http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=9017 - it was an interesting comparison!

The judgement we make of others is the judgement we make of ourselves - even if we deny it. All are bitten and dying of the 'egoic snake' but few acknowledge this universal condition, for it they did they would forgive and become free - and free of racism.

Wrong,wrong,wrong.
We're not all the same, Race is real and it matters, I can never walk in a mile in the shoes of someone from Yuendemu or Hermansburg, how could I?
This reliance on the crutch of universalism is a uniquely WASP trait, those of us who are outside that ethnic group can only look on and shake our heads.
This "Anti Racism" is very much in group/out group behaviour by a segment of the WASP's, they love everyone but hate anyone who doesn't love everyone, they love the brown skinned victim of the system but hate the White skinned victim of the system.
I'll give you a recent example, last month in Sacramento a small group of pro White activists including women and children held a rally at the state capitol to draw attention to the attempted Genocide of White South Africans, they were met by a group of about 100 "Anti Racists" (mostly Whites) who stood and screamed "Kill Whitey", then attacked the demonstrators with rocks and bottles, the Police intervened and were themselves attacked, last I heard four of the Anti Racists were still in jail on felony assault charges.
This happens all the time.
Peter Sutton is right when he calls the White "do gooders" the second generation of idealists, they're carrying on the work of the original missionaries and by all accounts failing miserably.
I regard "Anti Racism" as a moral failing in some WASP's, xenophilia, just like xenophobia is a character flaw, not an asset.

Jay,

I don't think anybody is saying that all humans have the same experiences, or histories, or relationships with others - just that 'race' may have little or nothing to do with it, except of course, the effects of what people may perceive as 'race'. In other words, there is bound to be an alternative explanation to a superficial attribution of 'race' to any situation.

So 'race' is the smoke-screen behind which other forces work.

You're on the right track, though, when you point out the futility of much of what 'white do-gooders' have been doing: what is always missing from almost any policy suggestion is 'What are the people doing about it ? What are the people doing for themselves ? Are they incapable of actually determining their own lives ?'

As Anthony writes, one great danger in focussing on racism is that it can disarm people. It can provide excuses that nothing can be done.

But nobody has to be a victim. You pick yourself up and get on with life as best you can. And let's face it, given that the 1967 Referendum is now forty five years in the past, one has to be middle-aged at least to remember first-hand about living conditions that Indigenous people had to tolerate up to then.

Yes, the grandparents and great-grandparents of young Indigenous people of today endured great hardships and privations - but they would also be pretty appalled that many people today refuse to take up the opportunities - the multitude of opportunities - that are available nowadays, and prefer to wallow in lifelong welfare, as act if all the negative stereotypes were true.

Since 1980 or so, around eighty thousand Indigenous people have, at some time or other, studied at universities around Australia. Nearly thirty thousand have graduated, and another thirteen thousand or so are currently studying. So let's not lie about opportunities and disarm Indigenous people by pretending the situation is worse than it actually is. Nobody has to be chained to the past, or to their 'destiny'. Or to their 'culture', Aka :)

Cheers,

Joe

Jay of Melbourne
You have exactly demonstrated what I was saying – even though you entirely missed what I was saying. Of course we are not “all the same” in terms of ‘form’ – i.e., in terms of difference in genetics, socialisation, background, circumstances, etc. But we are “all the same” in terms of the ONE CHOICE that Einstein was talking about - i.e., the ‘choice’ we all make at the core of our very being, and through which we ‘interpret’ and give ‘meaning’ to all that we ‘see with our physical eyes’ – ‘FEAR’ [the motive and interpretive ‘filter’ that arises in our psyche that drives all our attempts to ‘protect our separated vulnerable identity’ (even if that identity is based on ‘race’ which we never chose in the first place!)] VS ‘LOVE’ [the opposite motive and interpretive ‘filter’ that arises in our psyche when we get beyond ‘separated identities’ and ‘separated interests’ and therefore feel no need to protect a vulnerable ‘bounded identity’]. Everyone, without exception, will be motivated to protect their ‘I’dentity. If that ‘I’dentity is separated from others (whether that boundary is individual, family, tribe, nationality, gender, etc) it will result in negative conflict – interpersonal, inter-tribal, inter-national etc – FEAR drives ALL negative conflict.

If all you are is a physical body you think that ears hear, eyes see, bodies feel, and brains can actually think and choose their own independent path in life – this idea is the grand egoic delusion that gives rise to all the racism and every other form of defensive attacking behaviour we see in our world. Karl Gustav Jung understood that there was another ‘mind’ that was ‘observing’ but was never ‘observing itself’ – he called it the Collective Unconscious. This is the deeper Mind that we share – whether we are aware of it or not – and this is the Mind that can ‘choose’ to accept a ‘shared common Life’ and life in harmony; or reject it in order to cling to the separated egoic vulnerable, and potential ‘racist’, self with all associated intractable conflicts.

For Aka

"as you are a man who identifies as Aboriginal, you would know the literature and research on how racism, overt, covert and structural, combine to negatively affect Indigenous Australian health outcomes."

Well actually, most of the literature I have come across offers very little evidence in terms of racism being a problem. Much of it relies on people claiming that they have been the 'victim' of racism - a badge to be worn. Now if you have a source that shows convincingly that this racism you refer to causes health outcomes, then please share it.

"When educational outcomes are the same or better, and still sidelined in employment it is pretty obvious that education is not the panacea." How often does this happen? For some people it may be a conveneint excuse "Oh the did not hire me because I am Indigenous."

"I find it interesting that you deny the cultural and spiritual differences between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians when there is considerable evidence to the contrary."
Well please give some evidence to support your claim. I have often sat in meetings with Aboriginal people saying "Yeah Aunty, deadly cuz, mother earth, etc." and telling you how spiritual they are. Leave the meeting with them, sit and have a meal with them and it is a different story. I do not see this spiritual or cultural difference in the vast majority of Aboriginal peopel I deal with. When they truly embrace their spirituality, they will see that there are more commonalities than differences.

For Aka
Congrats on your PhD. But a PhD is of little value in these sorts of discussions. Anything I discuss, I certainly don't do so on the basis of having PhD.

"Indigenous Australians generally do have a different worldview from mainstream Australians. Our spirituality is a significant aspect of this worldview and if Anthony is not very conscious of this he has a problem - disconnect from the spirituality can lead to the problems."
Well please give some examples of this different worldview. Many claim to have it, but again, I rarely see it. It would seem that many of the Aboriginal people (particularly those boasting about their spirituality) are disconnected from their spirituality , which has 'lead to the problems.'