Dear Keith,

When you've grown up being told to "speak English" (despite the fact that you spoke several languages, including English). When your teachers did not attempt to pronounce your name correctly, and instead called you "unpronounceable" in front of the class (amid gales of laughter). When you were(and still are) continually being asked and "Where do you come from?" (despite the fact that you were born here). And when it is hinted at that you would get the university scholarship if you were to "anglo-size" your surname - then
yes, it is rather difficult to move on ... you'd like to - but you're constantly not being allowed to.

No matter how hard you try - you are reminded that you are "non-Anglo." Australians - were racists - and from my experience - many still are. Moving on would be a pleasure - and perhaps I shall be allowed in another lifetime ...

PART I Foxxy,

When you've grown up in LIverpool, Fairfield, Cabramatta in the l990s (a major ethnic hub) where Anglos have been no more that 20% since the 1990s and is now even less, and your experience is that ALL other cultures looked down their noses at the Abroginal Australians and the Anglos, because in those areas traditionally the poorer Anglos can be found there. They looked down their noses at the lowest class of Anglos, and in my experience they enjoyed imagining that ALL Anglos were like this.

On numerous occassions I was told that my country is rubbish, that all Anglos were dumb, that we had no food. Whilst 80% of my friends were either Vietnamese, Lebanese or Yugoslavian, there was always the distance they kept from you by randomly speaking in their own language, even though they had been here since kindergarten and could speak fluent English,as thought you were not important enough to hear certain things. If I ever went to one of my ethnic friends houses I was never allowed inside, their parents never even looked me in the eye. However, I did have a Croatian friend whose family was very kind to me.

I remember a particular Greek teacher constantly making remarks about how Anglos are lazy, they have no culture, they are racist, when that was what he was being himself - racist.

I remember feeling extremely unsafe most of the time because it was common knowledge that if there was ever a fight with any non-Anglos, the ethnics would immdeiatley muster up a hundred people if they wanted, so you imagine that whenever an Anglo had a fight with a group of non-Anglos (mostly Asians, Middle Easterner and sometimes Serbs and Croats), whether the guy caused it or not was not important to the ten or twenty people who could unhesitantly kick his head in. And, being an Anglo, he couldn't just muster up a hundred fellow tribesmen at will. Being from a culture of individuals ther is concern that they may be helping a person that may have caused the fight.

PART II FOXXY,

However, just because my experiences were negative regarding many ethnic groups, I wouldn't dare judge whole cultures on that. I only did this when later in life I realized that most other people from these same cultures don't acknowledge this type of racism from their youth. Whilst they are quite cognizant about someone calling them a "wog" or a "nip" but they have no concern for these youth of "wogs" or "nips" forming racist "KKK" type gangs of thugs and letting of their juvenile steam in an extremely tribal and violent way, ususally on young Anglo males, who, due to their culture of individualism and the current nihilism Anglos are sufferring, the Anglo male is the easiest of targets out in South-Western Sydney since he can't just bash or defend someone on racial grounds as easily as many other cultures can.

And again, Mr Foxxy, the racism comes out. Why on earth would you attack a people by making fun of the types of food they ate during a great depression? How can you hint that Anglos live in a small closed world when they are the only culture in the world's history to undegoe such massive changes, in every way (including demogarphically).

You are the racist Foxxy, and so are most people from non-Anglo cultures. Until you all confront the hate and racism and bigotry in your own cultures, the way the Anglos have, then you will continue to try your hardest to find fault with Anglos, you will continue to feel immense hatred at the kind of food we eat (god knows how this is possible), and you will continue to believe that you are on a higher platform when in fact you are in a cesspit of cultural and moral filth, the way that the old Christian churches were like.

Dear White Warlock,

I am not "Mr Foxy" - I am female.

I too grew up in the Western suburbs of Sydney. My parents were part of the first wave of immigrants known as "Displaced Persons" following WW2.

They lost everything as a result of the war - their country, their family, their social position. Both were highly educated people, (Academics). The experiences of which I spoke in my earlier post - are ones that we lived through. And you can rant and rave as much as you want. Call me "filth" (knowing nothing about me - my friends - my profession - or the great contributions that my family and our national group - have made to this country). But that will not change the experiences that we all had.

And you Sir, if you are not a racist - take control of your temper - and your spleen - everyone was made to feel welcome in our home - because that was the way we were brought up. It was "good manners" to be polite. My father did not scare the living daylights out of any child in our neighbourhood. Yet the "Anglo" neighbour across the street chased my terrified brother with an axe for daring to come into his yard to retrieve a ball he'd lost. So, I repeat - I speak from my experience...

cont'd

I want to add just this - we both seem to have had rather unfortunate experiences... You with "Migrants" and I with "Anglos." I do not want to tar all "Anglos" with the same brush. And I definitely don't wish to give you the impression that I find all of them racist, ignorant, narrow-minded, et cetera. Only some.

And its the "some" that continue to prevent me from moving on - much as I would like to

It is fascinating to read all the comments about racism in the Australian society. Racism does not seem to be restricted to White/Brown/Black colours alone. White of various shades also matter -- British White, Welsh White, Scottish White, NSW White, Victoria White, Tasman White, Balkan White, Serb White, Croat White, Swiss White, Swedish White, and on and on and on. Just a few years ago I happened to see a TV programme in the American Public Broadcast System about how the various segments of society see themselves as fitting into it. Leave alone the Indians, Pakistanis, Chinese, Vietnamese etc. Even the whites who had migrated from Italy or Germany or Ireland or elsewhere did not feel that they were part of a homogenous society but were only second class citizens in an Anglo-Saxon dominated society.

My My, aren't all whites racist? And they call Indians racists!!

mani