Dear Col,

Most human groups tend to display ethnocentrism,
the tendency to judge other cultures by the
standards of one's own. Some measure of ethnocentrism
is almost unavaoidable in any racial or ethnic group.
To most people, it is self evident that their own
norms, religion,
attitudes, values, and cultural practices are right and
proper, while those of other groups may seem inappropriate,
peculiar, bizarre, or even immoral.

Within limits, such ethnocentrism
can be functional for the group's survival, for these
attitudes ensure its members' solidarity and cohesion.
People who believe that their group and its way of life
are 'best' will have faith and confidence in their own
cultural tradition, will discourage penetration by outsiders,
and will unite to work for their common goals.

The difficulty is of course,
that under certain conditions,
ethnocentric attitudes can lead to the
exploitation and
oppression of other groups.

Looking at it from the same source as any other form of
social stratification - racial and ethnic inequality stems
from competition among different groups for the same scarce
resources - wealth, power, prestige.
The victorious group in this conflict
becomes the dominant group, while any
other contenders become minority groups.
The more the groups
compete, the more negatively they view one another.

As I state in my previous post -
if the subordinate group
is able to gain greater equality with the
dominant group - hostilities may subside. The history of
American race relations supports this view.
As the various immigrant groups
(Japanese, Irish, Italian) have gained
entry to the broad American middle class, where they are
seen as equals rather than as rivals - Antipathy now is
greatest against black or Chicanos, who remain relatively
impoverished - and this sentiment is strongest among
low-status whites (in the US) who feel most threatened by the
economic progress and competition of the minorities.

The evidence from other countries also shows a consistent
pattern of racial intolerance among low-status members of
the dominant group.

I question the assertion (sorry foxy) that it is mostly lower class people that are racist. The actual concrete racism, the type that really effects peoples lives and not just their self esteem, the type that I mentioned before is practiced by the management and ruling classes. It is not the poor who discriminate jobs wise and when renting a house. It wasnt the poor who sent the army to the NT. By their deeds shall ye know them.

The poor and uneducated may be more willing to be honest about their feelings when polled but at least they are being honest and not hypocrites like the wealthy and powerful who deny their racism and pretend they dont do it.

The right has dog whistling racism down to a fine art and what better way to divert anger than onto a scapegoat. Anger about bad housing, no housing, boring work, no work, bad wages and conditions, job insecurity, no future, and so on. Instead of attacking the real causes of these (and other) problems, people are encouraged to direct their anger against people who face the same problems just because they have a different skin color or come from a different part of the world! Politicians and their rich backers like to play the racist card because it diverts attention away from them and the system they run (i.e. the real causes of our problems).

bad housing, no housing, boring work, no work, bad wages and conditions, job insecurity, no future, and so on.
Mikk,
You ask why don't we address the real problem. Well, you just stated some of the causes of these problem so what are your solutions fore the above.
My solution is if people want a house then get a loan like most people & build a house. If they want a job then go to work. If they want job security then don't vote Labor, if they want a future then don't vote Labor. Remember that under the democratic system people get the Government they voted for. So who is to blame ?

what beats me that if we are so racist which some obviously want to believe so badly, how dumb must the multi cultural policy makers (social engineers) be?

Yes Runner, & how much more dumb must all the so-called refugees be, who are so desperate to come here, rather than somewhere else.

Yes dumb like a fox.

If you lot could bottle it, you'd make a fortune, selling it as fertiliser.

runner i dont WANT to believe Australia is racist but the evidence is overwhelming that it is. I WANT to believe Australia is a fair and even handed, non xenophobic place but its not.

Individual you say that we get the government we voted for but that is BS isnt it. I and about 12% of my fellow Australians voted for the greens last election but I dont see the greens with 12% of the power do you? Indeed only a fraction of a percent voted for Senator Fielding yet he holds almost complete 100% power in some situations. We only get to choose between labour and the coalition in reality. Hardly a good choice imho. Bit like the mugger saying give me your wallet or ill shoot you. He still gave you a choice.

I dont have the answers to all the worlds problems. People need to solve problems for themselves. I dont remember job security rising under serfchoices. I dont remember buying a house(with a loan or otherwise) getting anything but further out of reach for most.

As for the real problem that is the racism of the both upper and lower classes driven by the ruling elites desire to distract and divide their opponents. That is my beef in this thread and you ignored it completely. So I take it you found it too difficult to debunk my argument? Was it too complicated to understand? Or was it too close to the bone so you decided to obfuscate and talk about something else?