Dresdener: "Of course, only people of European ancestry can be racist."

Your words, not mine. While racism isn't confined to Westerners, its effects are far more negatively experienced in Australia by those who are of Aboriginal, Asian or African descent. This is because the old white supremacist ideology of our forebears never really died out.

"I wonder, has CJ Morgan ever lived in a non-Western country?"

Sure have, old chap. Lived, worked, and conducted research in several countries in the Asia-Pacific region. Have you?

I've noticed that much of the most obviously racist commentary in this forum tend to be posted by those who also are most voluble in their defence of Christianity. Is this a coincidence?

Dresdener: "While racism isn't confined to Westerners, its effects are far more negatively experienced in Australia by those who are of Aboriginal, Asian or African descent. This is because the old white supremacist ideology of our forebears never really died out."

Why is it that those who see racism behind every corner are so obsessed with categorizing people as 'white' or not? For example, you don't refer to Asians as 'yellow', or Aboriginals and Africans as 'black', but yet you have no compunction about using racial terms to describe people of European descent. Why the double standard? Is this some sort of attempt to de-culturalize people of European descent and reduce them to nothing more than a skin colour?

I consider myself to be European in a cultural and civilizational sense - just because I have pale skin and a big nose is really quite incidental and irrelevant.

"Sure have, old chap. Lived, worked, and conducted research in several countries in the Asia-Pacific region. Have you?"

In that case you'd know how racist many Asian societies are.

Speaking of research, are you affliated with this group by any chance?

http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/disrupting_white_lives

"I've noticed that much of the most obviously racist commentary in this forum tend to be posted by those who also are most voluble in their defence of Christianity."

Ah, so it's racists under the bed, and Christian fundamentalists behind the curtains?

Poor Dresdener seems to be making a habit of attributing ideas to me that I haven't expressed.

In this thread I've referred to Westerners, to whom I've said that racism is not confined. I've also referred to the "old white supremacist ideology of our forebears", which is hardly a controversial statement to anybody who has more than a cursory knowledge of Australian history.

This can hardly be described as being "obsessed with categorizing people as 'white' or not". That is not my concern at all, but it seems to weigh heavily on the somewhat limited minds of those who comprise the audience of "cettain talkback radio announcers".

Dresdener: "In that case you'd know how racist many Asian societies are."

Indeed. However, that's always been one of the better aspects of Australian society, in my view - besides a small minority of disaffected morons, we're generally not like that - at least consciously. How does the fact that other societies are overtly racist justify racism in Australia? I'd like to think we're better than that.

Dresdener: " are you affliated with this group by any chance?"

No. Never heard of them.

Dresdener, if you want to engage in debate with me, please try and restrict yourself to ideas and comments that I've actually expressed, as opposed to what you think I might have said or thought.

CJ Morgan said: "In this thread I've referred to Westerners, to whom I've said that racism is not confined. I've also referred to the "old white supremacist ideology of our forebears", which is hardly a controversial statement to anybody who has more than a cursory knowledge of Australian history."

Being a child of the 80s, I was taught the black armband view of Australian history. I am patently aware of the crimes committed against this continent's original inhabitants. In hindsight, the thing that most ticked me off about the way in which Australian history was taught was not the monomaniacal focus on the mistreatment of Aboriginal people, but the way in which the British settlers were referred to in racial terms - 'white'.

I don't define myself in terms of discredited pseudo-scientific racial categories, so why should this be acceptable in school curriculum? Who are 'white' people anyway? Arabs? Armenians? Persians?

The so-called 'White Australia Policy', which you are indubitably referring to, was laced with racist elements to be sure, but also reflected a desire by Australian policymakers to preserve the country's European character. Prior to the introduction of multiculturalism, Australia was still an ‘ethnocultural’ nation, where migrants were expected to assimilate into the dominant Anglo-Celtic culture. As John Curtin proclaimed: "We shall hold this country, and keep it as a citadel for the British-speaking race, and as a place where civilisation will persist."

Most nations are still based on ethnicity. For example, consider the world's newest nation, Montenegro. Do you consider ethnic nationalism to be 'racist'? I'm not being invidious when I ask this question. Rather, I'm trying to ascertain what you define as a nation and how you view the relationship between the nation-state and ethnicity.

Dresdener; "Most nations are still based on ethnicity. For example, consider the world's newest nation, Montenegro. Do you consider ethnic nationalism to be 'racist'? I'm not being invidious when I ask this question. Rather, I'm trying to ascertain what you define as a nation and how you view the relationship between the nation-state and ethnicity."

Since in tbis post you are being uncharacteristically reasonable, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt.

I've been deeply engaged in notions of race, ethnicity, nationhood and sovereignty for a long time - both personally and professionally. I'm now pretty well retired from my professional engagement with these issues, but I retain an active interest in how they manifest and influence the world that my chikdren and grandchildren will inherit.

If you're serious about understanding distinctions and linkages between nation, state and ethnicity, you could do worse than by reading Benedict Anderson's 'Imagined Communities'. As an anthropologist, I like Bruce Kapferer's 'Legends of People, Myths of State' as a good analysis of Australian national identity - but of course there's stacks more if you're serious.

I hope this helps.