LEGO,

You said - "Racism is a bit like sex. It may be naughty
but everybody does it?"

People have sex in different ways. One size does not fit all,
so to speak. Some don't have sex at all. So not everybody
does it in the same way. And not everybody thinks it's
"naughty". Some actually think its normal and pleasurable.
And it's usually done between consenting adults so that
nobody is hurt. No harm is done.

Racism on the other hand hurts people and does harm.
So racism is not at all like sex.

You also said that racist jokes are a cultural universal.

Not to most people. We're learning about what these jokes
can do to people on the receiving end. People like Adam
Goodes for example. I would hate to be responsible for
someone suffering and having mental issues because of
my unthinking behaviour.

I'm sure that you're a decent person and would agree.
It's one thing to be a "key board warrior"on an
anonymous discussion forum. But in your own community
you would behave differently when face-to-face with
people. At least I hope you would behave differently.

Hi Foxy, like me did you have a revelation when LEGO posted his list of racists barbs in other languages! I'll be damned, glad the lad spent hours of cutting and pasting his list. Wow!

These hard right fanatics always want to tell you about their "Damascus moment"...I was off protesting, "I went from being a dumb anti aparteid (you would think he could get the spelling right) demonstrator.... to an intelligent person who realises that racism is just another form of intergroup hostility, and nobody is ever going to stop that.", so I joined the racists, with my 40 year message. Not sure if the "Damascus moment" took place before or after he was off happily killing commies in Vietnam. Did you know there are no swear words in Maori, they don't use the letter "F", but they sure know all the English ones.

LEGO, a bit of news, blackfellas can lop the heads off whitefellas, just as easily as the other way around. If you want to lookup some real nasty folks, check out 'Black Power' and the 'Mongrel Mob' in Aotearoa, no gangs are worse.

Paul,

Don't worry about all those titoi !

Joe

Dear Paul,

I've experienced racism. All migrants have.
Physically however, I was able to "blend in".
But heaven help you if you looked and dressed
differently and didn't blend in. It becomes
more difficult.

Today, I like to think that
as there are more of us folk whose ancestries
are mixed - that things are beginning to
change. Attitudes are changing, especially
amongst younger people.

I remember asking one of my sons about Benjamin
a Chinese friend." "Does Ben ever tell you about
China?" The reply came back with -
"Why should he?" I foolishly said - "'cause he's
Chinese". To which my son said - "No he's an Aussie
like me. He's my friend!"

Out of the mouths of children.

Foxy,

One thing iI really like about "Who Do You Think You Are ?" is, so often, how mixed people find themselves to be. They think they're plain English and they find French or Bulgarian or Indian ancestors, certainly Irish and Welsh and Cornish, perhaps Scandinavian, as I did. Perhaps a bit of West Indian (i.e. African) thrown in for enrichment.

We're pretty much all mixed, and we have been for hundreds of years, maybe forever, since our Neanderthal ancestors met those strange-looking, wimpy people from Africa. I hope the troglodytes on OLO can get used to it.

[Paul, sorry, that's who I meant by 'titoi' :) ]

Joe

Thanks Joe, I wouldn't want anyone to be blinded because they are a titoi. Not a word you will find in the dictionary.

BTW, something you may be able to answer. With Maori children, girls seem far more interested in education than boys. I believe that is also the case with aboriginal children. I would say the same applies to Islander children, and I suspect with indigenous children the world over. Not so pronounced with European Australians, but there is some bias there with girls over boys. A well educated niece in NZ once said to me "Us Maori girls, leave school and go to collage, the boys leave school and go to jail." Not all, but some, she didn't really know why. As the good professor would say; "Why is it so?"