"Why is violence and bigotry in Australia so impossible to curtail?"

One reason may be that so many want to make the issue about white men rather than about attitudes which contribute to violence and bigotry across a range of groups. Chris seems to be trying to do that.

As others have pointed out there is some reason to believe that much of the violence against Indian students has been carried out by members of other ethnic groups yet Chris uses it to get attention without that caveat.

I can see why the skit bothered some but I fail that the performers were clearly in the wrong when compared to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vtOt5mNEZE which was apparently acceptable.

R0bert

"Where do Australians get their crass racial attitudes and their legitimisation of violence towards people of difference?"

Stereotyping right here, perhaps you can answer why!

Is Chris James just another stupid white (racism? OMG should I maybe say pale complexioned?) woman (sexism? gasp - political incorrectness. I mean 'person' ) who needs to get a grip?

Puleez - save the BS for the vege garden.

Violence and bigotry is inbuilt into the human condition. It is CONTROL of these baser instincts through social conditioning that needs major overhauling.

Violence is as often instigated by those who are 'different' as those who are 'typical' Australian (whatever that is but assume Chris James means caucasian). Often violence and other crime against members of ethnic or minority groups is perpetrated by their own people. Quite often we see clashes between minority groups. Why? Could it be they have come from societies more violence oriented and bigoted than Australia?

I suggest that much of the intolerence and bigotry Chris writes about has been IMPORTED in the past 2 decades.

Regards schoolyard bullying and drunken louts engaging in anti-social activities - it's a case of reaping what has been sown. It's always been around, just seems so much more of it. What's worse, it's not being effectively curbed. We've made it almost a crime for parents to effectively discipline their kids (because of people like Chris James?)and taken authority away from Schools and Police.

Our young people have been made well aware of their rights but much less emphasis has been placed on responsibility. Match that with a watered down judicial system that fails to deter criminal behaviour and is it any surprise that a growing section of the community feels they can do what they please and the rest be damned? The worst of the ME generation ...

I don't care what the do-gooders say - the threat of 'violence' eg a spanking if you disobeyed your parents, the cane if you misbehaved at school or local copper giving a young lout a clip under the ear for a misdemeanour with more to come if caught again - kept most of us "Boomers" in line. Let's have a revival please. Sooner rather than later ....

"violence in Australian society is inherent in our culture beginning with settlement and the genocide of the first Australians"

Hello! We have the lowest level of violence in any society, ever. Modern western democracies are the most passive, peacefull societies ever.

You forget that there were three waves of Aboriginal invasions... the first wave of migration into an empty continent created a massive wave of extinctions of the big, dumb animals who lived here before humans, and due to the introduction of dingos and frequent bushfires which denuded the bush and created grasslands (better for hunting). Read the book by Australian of the Year, Tim Flannery's "The Future Eaters" if you don't know this.

This the most primative aboriginal group were in-turn wiped out by the second wave, and again by a third wave of aboriginals. So when westerners arrived the original Australians were extinct from the mainland and only survived in Tasmania (the Tasmanian Aboriginies). the southern Aboriginies (the Murumbidgee Aboriginies) only survived, spread across southern Australia, while the newest invaders had conquered across the north.

This is why place names of aboriginal origin in NSW and victoria sound totally different to Queensland... Compare Wooloomooloo and Wahlarahra, Warahonga, Wagga Wagga, Wadonga (all Murrinbidgee Aboriginal words) to Toowoomba and Maroochydore.

'This in turn impacts on the loss of productivity and the nation’s economy. '

I love it how nothing is a legitimate problem unless it affects 'the economy'.

'We might liken this to the bad behaviour of footballers that can end in glassing a girlfriend,'

Or the bad behaviour of the girlfriend as has been found to be the truth of the case.

The links to the Herald Sun are 'apposite';-) to the whole article.

Like Ho Hum, I'm still waiting for the evidence this is a uniquely Australian problem, or a larger problem in Australia than in most countries.

'More than half of Australia’s women will face some form of sexual or physical violence in their lifetime'
How many men will? Why is gender relevant? How does this compare to other countries? What is uniquely Australian about this violence? Where is the proof of the link between jokes and violence?

Sorry the whole article is flaky man. What is she trying to even say and what has she proved? It's nothing more than a rant.

Actually, I would think 100% of men would 'at some stage in their lifetime' experience violence. I cant imagine someone in 80 years not ever facing any violence in their life. At all. I cant believe there would be any women not experiencing any violence at all either. Where do these people live and how do they manage to avoid any form of violence for their whole life? Not even birthday punches? Not ever smacked as a child? Not 'face' violence. Maybe it even means not even see any violence. Now that's quite incredible! To live your whole life and not see any violence.

Leigh,

'Perhaps Chris James might like to take up the issue of ignorant foreigners (and some ignorant Australians) making snide remarks about Australia’s ‘convict past’ if she is so thin-skinned about what people do and say.'

Yes indeed, perhaps she doesn't understand the 'Power of the Narrative'.

I believe that one facet of this problem lies with kinds of entertainment offered to youn people today. In times gone by,we could come together as families and spend evenings watching and enjoying television.Our television now presents us with one violent program after another.Interestingly, we are seldom shown the murderer paying for the crime, just the heroic detective who solves the crime and we all live happily ever after. A quick look at "What's on at the Movies"shows the same trend. As a frequent movie goer, I continue to be amazed at the number of violent movies which have become "entertainment" for our young folk.