the word 'racist' is in itself racist - it identifies races of people to be racist about...

the term 'racist' is misleading.

if i were to say a man was stabbed by a Middle Eastern man, then some say the statement is 'racist'.

but if i say a woman was raped by a man, then it IS NOT sexist.

the 'descriptive' terms are just that, descriptive terms - people need to calm down - I am a man, and that is not sexist to say so, and I am a white Australian, and that is not racist to say so - it is just a fact that I am a white Australian man, does anyone have a problem with me sayhing that, if anyone does, then it is those people who have the problem with what I am, so it is they that are the racist ones.

“A bit off topic, I'm afraid, but odsoc should be told.... Shirley Bassey's father, Henry Bassey, was a Nigerian sailor.”

Pericles. Now you’ve really confused osdoc. He thought that babies were found under cabbages. Red cabbages for the dark ones, and green for the pale ones.

TEAM !
apologies in advance, because this post is entirely off topic.. pls bear with me.

I heard something today on the news, which in terms of irony and self indictment for the USA was without parallel :)

HISTORY, the USA and JAPAN.

In 1854ish, a US Gunboat stood of Tokyo harbour, commanded by one Commodore Perry. He had instructions to lay down the law to Japan, so it would '
a) End piracy (the capture and murder of sea farers of other nations along its coast)
b) Open its markets and trade with the West

Today, we had a similar repeat re China: according to the news.....

The US will persue China very agressivly, so it ends the practice of PIRACY and OPENS its markets to the US.

Of course, today they are speaking about 'intellectual property' being 'pirated'.. but the rest is the same.

As King Solomon said "There is nothing new under the sun" Ecclesiasties.

best wishes to all contributors, I continue to be amazed at the depth and quality of various posts, and the breadth of valuable opinion, including those opposed to my own.

I believe we share here in the shaping of ideas, and drawing the attention of government to issues of national significance. Dare I say, the defining of a national identify ?

I know one thing, no one but NO one in Malaysia would EVER say the kinds of things we have said here, for fear of the Special Branch, which I for one have encountered. (not pleasant)

Keep it up, perhaps one day many of us will meet and enjoy social company and the further exhange of ideas.

MAROONDAH FESTIVAL is on this sunday in Croydon, Victoria east of Melbourne. I'll be there on Sunday morning around 9-11am at a stall called 'spiritual journey' and would welcome the opportunity to meet any Vic posters. Scout ? Col Rouge ?

Dear Pericles and Leigh,
Thanks for grabbing the straw. Surely Tom was a better argument for your case as he only gets dark after exposure to the sun!

Pericles, the so what test doesn't quite make it. We all know the "been there done that, didn't work" test does.

What you and Leigh demonstrate is that, while scientifically empty, these term (race, racist, racism, national identity, etc) are not semantically empty - they have real and important meaning, at least for you.

The question is whether the meaning is universal and/or useful for some purpose. Now univesality of meaning requires no exceptions in any language - a big hurdle, try if you can but nobody except, probably, Anna Wierzbicka gets a guernsey here. Utility for some purpose is, maybe, easier, but perhaps less palatable.

Mr. Crabbe is advocating that semantic surgery is desirable in pursuit of peace and harmony in Australian society. Do you deny the desirability of the goal, or that the suggested means are efficacious?

I suspect the latter is the better path. However, you will need facts and facts, unfortunately for me (as demonstrated), often don't fit theories based on prjudice and ignorance.

But, I await your facts and arguments.

Odsoc

Thanks to all posters so far. I was unable to respond earlier than this, so now I’ll try to cover as many of your main points as I can without writing another article. Leigh advises me to spend more time reading “opposing views”. I had to chuckle. It was reading such views in many OLO threads that prompted me to write the article!

FrankGol and AMSDL: I did consider left/right as more grist for the mill, and “elite” and “academic” may also be worth a few incisions, but wordage limits mean they will have to wait for another time.

Pericles: The “if-so-what-then” test. I’m not suggesting any replacements for the terms examined in the article. That’s my very point: these particular words have been crutches for lazy thinking, and when you take the crutches away you have to really think honestly about what you and others mean. That’s the test. To grab hold of some new shorthand term to replace “race” will just help us to continue avoiding confrontation with what you call the “fear and suspicion of one human being for another”. Stereotypes and clichés do not simplify a complex world; they simplify our concept of it, which therefore corresponds all the more poorly to reality. To this extent they are excuses for lazy thinking and communicating.

BOAZ_David: “National identity” is not used to refer to national borders. It refers to espousal of particular beliefs, tastes, customs and behaviour patterns – a dogma. When one calls another “un-Australian”, it has nothing to do with territory and borders. It is completely to do with the desire for power over the other, even though both are probably perfectly legal citizens of Australia. It is anti-democratic.

Individual differences are real and innumerable, but collective terms like “race”, “white”, “black” do not help us to recognise such differences. They’re used to assign masses of unknown individuals to a group in which all are seen as homogeneous. Thus the terms prevent us from seeing people as they really are.

Craig Blanch: Regretfully, I used “world citizen” too hastily. It does not convey my meaning.

Well, I must be on another planet. I describe myself as having Irish and Polynesian heritage (not race). That is where I started. I was born in Aussie. I have strawberry blond hair, very white skin, heaps of freckles, and facial features very similar to Indigenous Australians. Is that my race?

I have often been asked if I have Aboriginal heritage.

So what politically correct terms will now replace race, racism etc?
Cheers
Kay