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  • IMPORTANT // Please look after your loved ones, yourself and be kind to others. If you are feeling that the world is too hard to handle there is always help - I implore you not to hesitate in contacting one of these wonderful organisations Lifeline and Beyond Blue ... and I'm sure reaching out to our PRE community we will find a way to help. T.

Education for those that need it.

shamekha

Tiger Superstar
Mar 7, 2008
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Racism in Australia facts

.Racism takes many different forms. It can range from abusive language or discriminatory treatment to genocide, simply on the basis of someone's 'race' or colour.

Every day, science proves more clearly that humanity, although diverse, is one family and one people. Sadly our common experience also shows that racism, hatred or dislike of others simply because of their origin or culture is a common human failing.

The definition of racial discrimination is contained in Article 1 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination to which Australia is a party:

"The term "racial discrimination" shall mean any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life".


Myths and stereotypes are a key component of racism:

they reduce a range of differences in people to simplistic categorisations
transform assumptions about particular groups of people into 'realities'
are used to justify status quo or persisting injustices
reinforce social prejudice and inequality
Three out of four Indigenous Australians experience racism in their everyday lives.

At an individual and interpersonal level racism often amounts to:

an instant or fixed picture of a group of people, usually based on negative and ill-informed stereotypes
a preconceived negative opinion
limiting the opportunities (intentionally or not) of certain individuals or groups because of personal characteristics such as race or colour
Labelling of Indigenous Australians including stereotypes such as dark skin, despair, levels of alcohol consumption, laziness, levels of intelligence, ability to work and care for children, and levels of criminality are all part of the myths and stereotypes that perpetuate racism in Australia.

Eradicating racism is a task we all share.

Sadly racism is common in Australia. Here, we have put together some stories about the shape that racism takes in Australia of today.

A story from Alice Springs
A group of young leaders from Yuendumu, a remote central Australian Aboriginal community were ejected from an Alice Springs backpacker hostel in March 2008 because some tourists staying there complained they were 'afraid of Aborigines'.

The 16 people in the group which included women and small children, had driven the 300 kilometres to Alice Springs for lifesaving training run by the Royal Lifesaving Society. Most were young leaders, chosen specially for their standing in the Yuendumu community.

As they were moving into their rooms the resort manager told them they'd have to pack up and go because some tourists in the hostel had complained of being 'afraid of Aborigines' and these tourists 'bring in a lot of money'.

The organisers of the trip are stunned. Angry about the incident, the CEO of the Royal Lifesaving Society is describing it as 'pure racism'.

5½ hours – a story from Brisbane
Delmae Barton aged 62, a prominent Indigenous Elder and an opera singer, lay for more than five hours on a bus stop seat near Griffith University's Nathan Campus in July 2006, unable to reach out for help after vomiting from a suspected stroke or diabetes attack.

For five and a half hours, commuters, students and bus drivers ignored her plight until two young Japanese men asked if she needed water and help.

Her friend and the director of the Gumurri Centre at the university Boni Robertson, says it is a disgrace that Auntie Delmae's plight was ignored by hundreds of commuters as buses came and went.

She said 'nobody would stop to help me. Is this all I'm worth?' She believes people thought she was a drunk or a drug addict, and that the colour of skin encouraged them to walk on by.

The then Premier Peter Beattie told parliament he was 'really disappointed' by the incident and apologised on behalf of Queenslanders.

A story from Townsville
Aborigines can no longer receive a fair trial in Townsville according to survey results to be released in July that show a majority of residents would be unable to expel racist attitudes in court. The survey was conducted to demonstrate the need for the Lex Wotton Palm Island Riots case to be moved from a scheduled hearing in Townsville to Brisbane to ensure a fair and just trial.

In the survey, commissioned by Sydney-based law firm, Levitt Robinson, over half of Townsville residents claimed they could not disregard negative beliefs held about Aborigines, even if instructed by a judge in a courtroom setting.

These results bring to light a segregated city rife with racist views with only one in ten Townsville residents having a positive attitude towards Aboriginal people in the community.

Ignorance seemed to be a major factor with only one in four people correctly attributing the cause of the Palm Island Riots to a death in custody.

A story from Sydney
In April 2008, a world-renowned Aboriginal composer, buzzing after a standing ovation at the Sydney Opera House, was turned away from half-empty Kings Cross haunt Hugo's. He and his friend were told, "You can't expect us to just let anyone in."

William Barton, a son of Delmae Barton, who has been to some of the world's top bars over his acclaimed career, was told the venue was "at capacity" as he tried to get it at 9.30pm on a Sunday to celebrate a friend's birthday. His friend immediately fronted Hugo's door staff - and was rudely told: "You can't expect us to just let anyone in."

Racial discrimination is against the law
The Racial Discrimination Act (1975) makes it illegal to discriminate against people on the basis of their race, colour, descent or ethnic or national origin. It is unlawful to discriminate against someone when it prevents them from enjoying their human rights, such as employment, land/housing/accommodation, education, access to public places and facilities, access to goods and services (e.g. doctors, lawyers, applying for credit, entry to pubs, etc.).

For more information and for a Plain English guide to the Racial Discrimination Act (1975) see the HREOC website. While you're there, you might also like to read Voices of Australia magazine.

http://www.antar.org.au/node/221
 
"We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools."
- Martin Luther King Jr.
 
KittKatt said:
"We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools."
- Martin Luther King Jr.

:clap :clap :clap
 
Interesting article thanks Shameka, although I find it very biased in concentrating on racism against one race and giving no balance.

A personal anecdote from the other side of the fence.

Our local football club used to play against Rumbalara club from Shepparton. Rumba is largely an aboriginal club with superb ground and facilities, often acknowledged as the best outside the AFL/VFL. There have been massive problems within the club and community and visiting teams are often subject to racist abuse from certain people in the crowd. Aboriginal women abusing our kids as white trash, throwing things at them and pushing them. The kids who were playing happily probably not thinking of race or skin colour until the parents started the abuse, then they joined in too. An aboriginal family who played for our local team were horrified. It was a problem commonly acknowledged by other clubs in the league too. Great efforts have been made by the committee to clean up such attitudes and behaviour and have been quite successful but it certainly showed how the same shoe can fit different feet.

Another personal experience from a different perspective. An aboriginal Elder (Born in Cunnamulla, lived in Ivanhoe and Hay) we know tells some of the troubled and unemployed youth that they are not aboriginal they are white-darkies and a disgrace. She tries very hard to improve their lives, not by denying problems or wallowing in self-pity, but by actively addressing them.

An example of racial abuse by Aboriginals below. Full article can be read here

Another racist murder - father of five bashed to death on Christmas day while playing beach cricket with his family

Elizabeth Krantz - 3 January 2008

In a situation reminiscent of the racist murder of Andrew Farrugia, and the racist murder of Leon Robinson, a 49-year-old father of five was enjoying a game of beach cricket with his family at the coastal town of Geraldton 425 km north of Perth in Western Australia when he was attacked by a large group of Aboriginals and bashed to death with his own cricket bat.

My point with those articles is that examples can selectively be picked out to suit an agenda. It needn't necessarily involve Indigenous Australians either.

I have some concerns from the article.

The "Five and a half hour" story from Brisbane doesn't give evidence it was a racial incident other than the woman believing it was because of the colour of her skin. I've read and heard of similar incidents in Melbourne with very ill people being left struggling on the ground because others assumed they were drunk or drugged. Personal safety and litigation, sadly, are genuine concerns for people in that kind of situation.

There is also no evidence given, although they article certainly wants to imply it imo, that the Aboriginal composer was refused entry because of his race. That kind of thing happens regularly in Melbourne. My son and his mates know they have little chance of getting into a night club unless they are some girls in their company.

I abhor racism in all it's guises but I don't think painting a one-sided picture, or assuming incidents are race related because Aboriginal people are involved, helps.

I too applaud KittKatt for posting that quote.
 
Very well expressed Rosy, I have similar anecdotes and feelings re this issue but you have expressed the point for me.
 
Pathetic is all i can say Rosy. The place you got that article from is extreme right wing, a group of people that profess to expose the wrongs of the left wing but in reality try to take the way we live back into the dark ages.

This same group supports people like Pauline Hansen!

This same group supports the NT Intervention which is illegal against the Declaration of Human Rights.

It is easy to find articles of whatever we want on the internet, but the fact remains to ask a question that singles out a race of people is racist. If the question was Should Richmond recruit people with a criminal past? Thats different but the fact that it chooses a race, well there you have your racism.

Look it is a serious issue that most people find very hard to understand but when you consider that our national day, Australia Day is a day when a country was invaded its hard to escape the fact that Indigenous people have been irrelevant and descriminated against for a very long time. White Australia policy ring any bells, Stolen Generation. NT Intervention. When will it end? Only by stopping people and exposing the racism in their veiws and outlook can this be done.

And yes there are other nationalities that are racist as well as in all groups but what has been done to a proud people here on this land is reprehensible and we DO owe them. It is only one generation ago 1967 that Indigenous People were actually counted on the referendum. To think of all the famous aboriginal people prior to this weren't even counted in our historical figures as part of Australia

FYI
In 1900 a delegation of flve, plus an observer from Western Australia, took the draft constitution to London. In May, the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900 was passed by the British Parliament, and was signed by Queen Victoria on 9th July 1900, and so became law. The Act declared that on 1st January 1901, the colonies of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Queensland, and Tasmania would be united and known as the 'Commonwealth of Australia'.

The 1st Commonwealth Parliament was opened on 9 May 1901, at 12 p.m. in the Exhibition Building in Melbourne, followed by the first sitting of the Senate in the Legislative Council chamber of the Victorian Parliament House at 1.10 p.m. At 2.30 p.m. the House of Representatives met in the Legislative Assembly chamber.

plenty of other dates there more relevent for when Australia was founded
 
shamekha said:
Pathetic is all i can say Rosy.

Is there any need for that kind of comment?

shamekha said:
The place you got that article from is extreme right wing, a group of people that profess to expose the wrongs of the left wing but in reality try to take the way we live back into the dark ages.

This same group supports people like Pauline Hansen!

This same group supports the NT Intervention which is illegal against the Declaration of Human Rights.

The incident was widely reported in the media in Victoria at the time too. Here is a link from a Perth newspaper. I wouldn't have a clue if they support Pauline Hansen or not. It was the incident I was using as an example, not anyone's beliefs. It was just the first reference that came up.

shamekha said:
It is easy to find articles of whatever we want on the internet, but the fact remains to ask a question that singles out a race of people is racist.

Indeed and that was my point in regard to my opinion about the article you posted. It was biased and didn't discuss racism in general which I thought an article posted with the intention of educating people, and titled "Racism in Australia Facts", should imo.

shamekha said:
If the question was Should Richmond recruit people with a criminal past? Thats different but the fact that it chooses a race, well there you have your racism.

I wasn't aware this article was in relation to that thread. If it was then why start a new thread for it without identifying the purpose?

shamekha said:
Look it is a serious issue that most people find very hard to understand but when you consider that our national day, Australia Day is a day when a country was invaded its hard to escape the fact that Indigenous people have been irrelevant and descriminated against for a very long time. White Australia policy ring any bells, Stolen Generation. NT Intervention. When will it end? Only by stopping people and exposing the racism in their veiws and outlook can this be done.

I wasn't questioning our history and how it should be dealt with. I was questioning the article you posted. It gives no evidence whatsoever that the incidents quoted were racially motivated. It also gives no balance by accepting the reverse can be true in regard to racism.

shamekha said:
Look it is a serious issue that most people find very hard to understand but when you consider that our national day, Australia Day is a day when a country was invaded its hard to escape the fact that Indigenous people have been irrelevant and descriminated against for a very long time. White Australia policy ring any bells, Stolen Generation. NT Intervention. When will it end? Only by stopping people and exposing the racism in their veiws and outlook can this be done.

"Ring any bells" sounds very condescending to me Shameka. Not sure if that's your intention, but yes I am well aware of those issues.

It's a serious concern and needs addressing properly and I certainly didn't indicate otherwise in discussing the actual article you posted. An article I found made assumptions and didn't give any balance. That doesn't in any way mean I was denying, or unconcerned about, racism. As I said I abhor racism, but that's from and against anyone, not just those with a troubled past....albeit one that really saddens me.
 
i said pathetic because of the website you got it from. i thought that it was a forum you regularly read and quote. Apologies for that.

Yes it was posted in relation the the idiotically worded question and i still find it idiotic.

i posted the article so people may click onto the website and learn a bit about our indigenous culture not to be codescending in any way but i really do get sick to death of people that can't see that asking a question like the one posted isn't racist.

Generalising a race and culture, as the question does, is most definately racist and still should be taken off the forum.

whoever posted it should be made to read australian history, the real history before being allowed to post again. :p

anyway enough i only logged on by accident and read the messages but then fealt i should respond to questions.
My self imposed ban still stands.

Contact via email is welcome
 
shamekha said:
anyway enough i only logged on by accident and read the messages but then fealt i should respond to questions.
My self imposed ban still stands.

Not sure how you log on by accident and wasn't aware of the self-imposed ban. I hope it's not a long term sentence. :)
 
shamekha said:
i said pathetic because of the website you got it from. i thought that it was a forum you regularly read and quote. Apologies for that.

Apologies accepted but considering there was no evidence whatsoever for you to think I regularly read and quoted that forum, when in fact I'd never even seen it before, it shows how easily it is to misjudge and misunderstand others thoughts and intentions. Food for thought.
 
If I'm denied entry to a night club it's probably because I'm old bald and fat.
However if my old bald and fat Sri Lankan mate is denied entry then it must be racism.
 
poppa x said:
If I'm denied entry to a night club it's probably because I'm old bald and fat.
However if my old bald and fat Sri Lankan mate is denied entry then it must be racism.

Grow up.

You'd be kicked out because you'd be considered a pervert and told to return to the corner of the dodgy bar you crawled out of and you can't get in wearing thongs and a wife beater singlet.
 
rosy23 said:
Apologies accepted but considering there was no evidence whatsoever for you to think I regularly read and quoted that forum, when in fact I'd never even seen it before, it shows how easily it is to misjudge and misunderstand others thoughts and intentions. Food for thought.

i never pre-judge people but that website was a suprise, thats for sure. You always have to check your references when posting. We live and learn.

Although the general population of Australia, individually, isn't racist, we have to start realising that Australia has an extremely racist history and has formed inherent preconceived ideas. Most people aren't even aware of their racist undertones.

Allow me.

Just to clarify i'm a caucasion born in Australia with a British history

In the last decade under John Howard their has been this massive movement for patriotism. This i noticed because i lived overseas from 2000-2007. Before i left it was very rare to see people with Australian flags and the such but upon my return their has been an explosion of this type of thing. Now these same people claim that Australia is theirs and everyone must live as they do. (wear thongs and drink beer :hihi). Now i'm not sure what it was but something happened during Howard's years that created this. Why do people now feel the need to get a Southern Cross tattooed across their chest to prove they're love of this country. ???


This leads me to believe that all the racism that has been in Australia's past seems to be just simmering below the surface in some people. So when they get the opportunity to express their racist convictions they do. i'm not sure i understand the nature of even some people who profess not to be racist yet still ask a question that relates to race. Whether someone is Greek, Italian, Chinese or English it is not the race that is in question.

I'm always wary of the person that starts a question with "i'm not racist but" What will then inevitably come will be a racist remark.

The question that was asked is like asking "Are their to many risks associated with allowing englishman to watch Melbourne Victory" Ask yourself, would this question ever be contemplated?

This job that John Howard did to patriotise Australia has made us more like the USA and to the detriment of this nation we are now classified in a global sense as very much in the mould of the USA.

It has seen us ignore the plight of our own indigenous people and put them under state control (dictatorship) that as a country we profess to be against.

This is just a fraction of the problems i see that lead to some of the problems highlighted on the forum
 
shamekha said:
Grow up.

You'd be kicked out because you'd be considered a pervert and told to return to the corner of the dodgy bar you crawled out of and you can't get in wearing thongs and a wife beater singlet.

And you ask him to grow up? Are all old and fat guys who want to go to a club perverts?

I agree with many of your points but your approach lacks a fair bit

Also, not really sure about this massive movement in patriotism, not too many aussie flags flying around my suburbs, nor noticed a big increase in southern cross tatts. Maybe you became more aware of your surroundings in those 7 ywears away? Also, for an extremely racist country we seem to have a pretty multicultural population. Surely that would not have been allowed to happen if we were as racist as you indicate?

Also, a bit hysterical saying indigenous people are under state control - do you mean now? If you are talking the intervention, Noel Pearson, IMO the most respected voice on aboriginal affairs, supported it. As he did attaching obligations to welfare payments in certain instances. Sometimes governments need to protect people from themselves.
 
shamekha said:
i never pre-judge people but that website was a suprise, thats for sure. You always have to check your references when posting. We live and learn.

Not sure what you mean by not pre-judging people but who are you to tell me to check my references and replying to poppa that way?

I posted an article for what it was. After you had a very ordinary response to it I posted a different link to the same story. It doesn't mean I was endorsing the Perth newspaper it was from either. It wouldn't surprise me if you were the only person on this site who chose to take it that way.

Your behaviour on this matter is very boorish and some of your comments way out of line. What poppa said was just a play on the way things are and your response telling him to grow up was very ordinary.

People get refused entry to clubs all the time for various reasons and there was NOTHING in the article you posted to indicate the composer was refused entry based on race.

There is also NOTHING in the article to indicate the lady left lying on the ground sick was ignored because of her race.

You appear happy it to be assumed that racism was the cause behind both incidents but similar things happen to people from all races. It's just a bit easy to play the race card sometimes. Every instance should be judged and dealt with on it's merits rather than assumed to be racism. That kind of attitude won't help anyone.

I have an aboriginal in laws. My sister in law runs one of the large co-ops. I can tell you that they don't want race used as an excuse every time an Indigenous person is involved in some kind of incident. There would be nothing worse then developing a woe is me I'm black, or brown, or brindle kind of mind-set.

People will never be equal if it's assumed all the incidents they experience along life's journey are because of their race, size, eye colour or whatever.

Banning yourself from PRE is fair enough. Urging other to boycott this site, demanding threads be removed, suggesting people not be allowed to post and telling others' what websites they should or shouldn't read, pre-judging people as racist etc are all very selfish, bossy and out of line.


In the last decade under John Howard their has been this massive movement for patriotism. This i noticed because i lived overseas from 2000-2007. Before i left it was very rare to see people with Australian flags and the such but upon my return their has been an explosion of this type of thing. Now these same people claim that Australia is theirs and everyone must live as they do. (wear thongs and drink beer hihi). Now i'm not sure what it was but something happened during Howard's years that created this. Why do people now feel the need to get a Southern Cross tattooed across their chest to prove they're love of this country.

Careful with those assumptions, stereotypig and generalisations or you might just come across as racist yourself. I strongly suspect you'd go off your rocker if similar claims and questions were made about Indigenous Australians. ;)
 
shamekha said:
Grow up.

You'd be kicked out because you'd be considered a pervert and told to return to the corner of the dodgy bar you crawled out of and you can't get in wearing thongs and a wife beater singlet.
Your message loses a lot of its impact when you engage in the very stereotyping you seek to stamp out.
 
evo said:
Your message loses a lot of its impact when you engage in the very stereotyping you seek to stamp out.

:clap When radical minorities get their teeth into an issue, they certainly polarize the community. Doesnt do their cause any good, probably the opposite.
 
shamekha said:
In the last decade under John Howard their has been this massive movement for patriotism. This i noticed because i lived overseas from 2000-2007. Before i left it was very rare to see people with Australian flags and the such but upon my return their has been an explosion of this type of thing. Now these same people claim that Australia is theirs and everyone must live as they do. (wear thongs and drink beer :hihi).

I travelled between Flowerdale and Whittlesea after reading those comments yesterday. An area that was devastated, with many lives and houses lost, by the black Saturday fires. Houses are slowly starting to be re-built. 2 things stand out going through there now. One is the massive re-generation of the bush. The second is the number of Australian Flags flying along signs thanking Australia, the emergency services and volunteers for their support. I doubt that has anything to do with John Howard.
 
evo said:
Your message loses a lot of its impact when you engage in the very stereotyping you seek to stamp out.
It sure does, in fact I'd say it loses all of its impact.

On a side note, how about the recent pulling of the KFC ad where an aussie fan silences the west indian fans with fried chicken. It was pulled off air because people found it racist for the reasons Shamekha talks about; stereotyping african american people eat fried chicken. Now why is that theme racist, yet lumping all black people as african americans not racist?
 
In response to Rosy's initial post on p1 of this thread, 2 things I note in the quote from the WA media regarding the beach bashing.

The first is that indigenous people are Aborigines, with the connective qualifier being Aboriginal, so it was not a group of Aboriginals that attacked the cricket player, it was a group of Aborigines. Although this is semantic, it indicates to me that the author writes from a position of ignorance and bias.

Secondly, if a group of white people bash someone, does the media report it as as such? Of course not, its merely a group of people who are not defined by their skin colour. The media promotes racism by continuously referring to non-white Australians or non-white immigrants by their skin colour or origin but this is not applied to the white population. It would be interesting to see a media article reporting that a group of white Australians bashed another white person, or a person of colour, or an indigenous person. But of course that wont happen because the politics of fear and discrimination is indoctrinated - 'us' and 'them' is intended to make 'us' feel superior to 'them'. I doubt I'll be alive to see any sweeping social change in that area. Its as bad as that ridiculous term 'Un-Australian'. We have loftier morals and social mores than say, a Brit or an American, or a European? I dont think so.