Leigh wrote: "And, it is said, attacked by people described as ‘islanders’: not your typical white, Anglo-Australians, who, despite the blather about multiculturalism, are still held up to the world as the chief ‘racists’ in the country."

Indeed. As this article shows, the attackers in at least one of these cases were of non-European origin:

http://ozconservative.blogspot.com/2009/05/just-who-attacked-indian-student.html

Foxy wrote: "Or even if the student would have been an Aussie?"

Australians of European descent are constanly assaulted by non-Europeans. But it just isn't deemed newsworthy.

"I guess this just proves that
some Australians still believe that 'a unique
Australian society and identity emerged with Federation...
and this identity should be the basis of immigrant
assimilation...'"

And what, exactly, is wrong with that?

No assimilation, no nation.

Most violent thugs have never had a spanking in their life hence they turn out violent. They laugh at the judges knowing that rarely is justice served in this nation. This is more fruit from our secular engineers.

"I didn't know too much about Indian Student bashings
until I began to scrawl the subject on the web, and read
the newspaper editorials online. They're actually
quite horrific, especially the case of that student
returning home to Werribee - where 16 year olds bashed
him senseless on the train - and no-one, I repeat -
no-one, came to his aid."

Foxy,

I grew up in the northern suburbs of Melbourne and I don't know anyone who would come to the aid of anyone - of any skin colour or racial type - who was getting bashed. Most people just cower away behind their newspapers and pretend it's not happening. I honestly don't think racism's the problem here - just apathy.

Did you see the Lateline episode a week or so ago where a Melbourne writer won an award for writing a book about spanking kids? He related an incident on the train where a group of louts in a packed train were generally mouthing obscenities and an older ethnic woman was feeling very uncomfortable. When he went up to them and asked them to tone it down, the abuse just escalated. He said that in hindsight it was the worst thing he could have done. I had similar experiences at school and I'm white. Therein lies the problem. By trying to intervene the problem just gets worse because thugs and louts just love to be thugs and louts. Hence, no one wants to get involved until it becomes sheer apathy

Dear Rob,

What kind of an answer is apathy?

Are we supposed to do nothing then?

I can't remember who said it but it goes
something like this, "Bad things happen when
good people do nothing," or words to that effect.
But you get the message.

And, as Solzhenitsyn said, "Atrocities will exist
for as long as we allow them!"

I'd frankly rather get bashed - yet have a clear
conscience, than at least I tried to do something!

I remember being on a train going to the city
to work - with some very disgustingly behaved
aggressive, loud-mouthed -school aged boys
(from a priavte school) that
began asserting themselves on an elderly pensioner.
When the train stopped at the next station - I kicked
the leader's (of the group) school bags from the train
onto the station platform. The kid had to jump off
the train and go pick his bags up.

One of his friends asked me, "Why did you do that?"
I told him to shut up and sit down or he'd be next.
There wasn't a sound out of them for the rest of
the remaining trip. The pensioner thanked me on her
way out.

I'd do it again!

Foxy,

I'm not sure if its apathy or fear that keeps people from intervening.

You were brave doing what you did but if the insulters were a group of burly thugs you may not have acted so decisively.

Incidentally I am against immigration - at least too much of it - but I am not against immigrants no matter from whence they hale. I suggest this is the case for the majority of people who are concerned about population growth in this country. They like most Australians, I would think are not racists.

Dear Kulu,

Then what's the answer?

Are we to let thugs take over?

Or do we carry baseball bats with us wherever we go?

It would seem that we should do something to
get our message across that this sort of
behaviour won't be tolerated in this country -
from anyone. Other wise we deserve the labels
we're given. What would you like this country
to be called - a nation of 'racists,' or a
nation of 'cowards?'

I'd prefer neither myself. But then I can't just
sit back and do nothing.