If the sheet fits wear it: white supremacy is, like, so passe

ea says:

09:12am | 30/07/09

First you need to worrry about your own attitudes and then those of people you know who may be toxic.There will always be minorities with views others think weird, unacceptable etc but that’s democracy for you!

Matt says:

09:34am | 30/07/09

Comparing Pauline Hanson to advocates of Intelligent Design is something of a leap, wouldn’t you say?

Maddux says:

09:58am | 30/07/09

Not Really

watty says:

10:59am | 30/07/09

Nice try Tory. Linking Hanson,Howard and anyone else who may differ in opinion to you on immigration and our “shameful past”.

Ever consider that “progressives” like you might just be as heinous to some as Hanson is to you?

Margaret Gray says:

12:00pm | 30/07/09

“...before I knew it I was Googling around checking out the rantings of racists…”

I’m sure as part of your thorough research and due diligence you also checked out: Al Qeada, Jemaah Islamiyah, Mujahideen or Hezbollah?

Or did you only chase down ‘racism’ amongst the easy, low hanging fruit of white supremacists?

“...consistently terrible at making a logical point…”

There’s a lesson for you in that.

I look forward to your next ‘article’ which exposes China’s deep racism; the racial persecution of gypsies in Eastern Europe and the entrenched racism inherent in the preachings of Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. 

You do know who he is don’t you?

PL says:

12:32pm | 30/07/09

Margaret Gray, what’s the lesson? Does the fact that xenophobia occurs in other societies such as Islam make xenophobia more rational in our own? Xenophobia is never rational I’m afraid.
The blog clearly states it is looking at white supremacy only, if Tory feels the need to examine the prejudice espoused by islamic extremism she can do it at a later date if needs be.
That said Tory, I don’t think it is necessary to talk up fear of white supremacy, as the fear of the unknown is exactly what they themselves prey on. Its the classic hate group scenario, practiced by the islamic extremists as well:
1. Find the fearful and disenfranchised
2. Offer them kinship
3. Establish trust
4. Tell them who is to blame for their misfortune (Jews, Blacks, Whites, Christians, Muslims, etc.)
5. Organise them to act upon it.

The good thing about white supremacists is that they are not violent in the way they act so much these days (with a few exceptions) but that may change. Nevertheless there is only one way to eliminate hate groups - eliminate point 1. That will take empathy from all human beings to acheive it. And not just the xenophobes, but the people that fear and/or despise them as well.

Mondo Rock says:

12:45pm | 30/07/09

Or did you only chase down ‘racism’ amongst the easy, low hanging fruit of white supremacists?

Margaret - I think it’s fairer to say that Tory focused on the racism that exists within Australia.  Why would you criticise her for that?

You appear to be taking the Bolt-esq position that white Australian racism shouldn’t be addressed while worse racism exists amongst other groups.  This is a childish and ultimately pointless approach to the issue.

Mr Subramanian says:

01:29pm | 30/07/09

W, did you read PL’s points? John Howard used 1. - 5. very effectively in a quite a number of elections, except that 4. was not directed so much at the object of the fear (like it normally is with racism) but at the Labor Party.  She’s not calling those who voted for howard racist, she’s asking them to look beyond their fear and distrust.

RT says:

01:50pm | 30/07/09

W, I missed the part where Tory called those who voted Howard worse than white supremacists. Can you quote the part you mean?

stephen says:

02:41pm | 30/07/09

I agree with the author that these oddballs all look a bit unhealthy ( no teeth
and play the banjo), but unfortunately, they’re not all dumb.
Mobs like patriotic youth league, blood and honour, and australia first (sic), and other white supremacist groups only have to sit back and relax whilst our Labour Govt. makes a mess of Multiculturalism in this country.
The far right, at the next election, be the new alternative, and I’ll bet my last dollar that ordinary mums and dads, at the polling booth, will be looking over their shoulder.

Margaret Gray says:

03:18pm | 30/07/09

“...I think it’s fairer to say that Tory focused on the racism that exists within Australia.  Why would you criticise her for that?...”

Could you pick an easier, softer target?

Tory’s flawed article judiciously ignores the racism deeply prevalent in non-white Australian society.

Do you also deny its existence?

Regardless of their vile cultural stance, let’s examine Tory’s:

“pale guy with an overbite and thinning hair”
“someone who got bullied at high school”
“predominantly men”
“predominantly bad at spelling”
“hodge-podge of disillusioned youth”
“need to get out more”
“definitely need to get laid”
“bizarre beliefs”

Nice.

PL says:

04:16pm | 30/07/09

Stephen,
although the “aussie pride” groups like Australia First and PYL look like white supremacists (probably due to their membership demographics), their arguments are often produced in quite a logical manner. They market monoculturalism as a way of minimising violence as this is the ultimate scenario of culture contact.
However, what it does is refuses to tackle the problem - ignorance and irrational fear is the problem. I do not believe people are inherently violent, they just perceive through their (always limited) understanding of the world that there is no alternative to it. Therefore there should be nothing to fear from people as long as they do not fear you.
Even within a defined culture these perceptions can be markedly different - you and I might have a completely different understanding of the world yet we can live in peace. Why? Because we both understand that we don’t know everything, and that our rationality is bounded by an incomplete perception of the world. These simple principles have nothing to do with culture, they are universal.
The aussie pride movement is taking the apologist approach to this, saying we have to legislate around people’s inability to accept difference rather than tackle it. This is the incorrect approach in my opinion.
The white supremacy movement takes it a step further, refusing to compromise on their perception of the world and promoting cultural violence as a means of protecting that perception. This is much worse.
As for the multiculturalism debate, I’m not sure what political policy you are referring to, but I assume it is the Keating era you are objecting to? The increase in cross cultural immigration? I don’t agree with you there - multiculturalism in this country is inevitable and economically sound I believe - the global market is multicultural, and the most multicultural nations are in their best position to capitalise on it.

Tory says:

10:21pm | 30/07/09

Hi, all - a bunch of you have missed the point, which means I’m crap at communicating effectively, which in turn bothers me immensely.

What I was trying to say is that the white supremacists are old-school, simplistic thinkers who are now isolated pockets that are no longer the real problem when it comes to racist thinking in Australia.

The real problem now is people who are media savvy, slick talkers, and have ways of dressing up their racist arguments in ways that might make sense to confused people and therefore be more effective. These are the people lobbying governments.

That’s where the comparison between Creationism and Intelligent Design came in.

White supremacy - blunt tool, outdated argument, unconvincing
vs.
Ideological racism - sophisticated arguments touching on populist fears.

is a similar line to

Creationism
vs.
Intelligent design

which again has similarities to

Hansonism-style xenophobia
vs
Howard-style anti boat-people racism

You’re right, there are plenty of other targets to attack when it comes to picking out racists, but this just happens to be something I came across that struck me as worth talking about. So thanks for joining the conversation!

Dave says:

12:07am | 31/07/09

“White and proud, not racist”. If you saw someone walking down the street wearing that T shirt would you think to yourself “yeah right, racist”.

I have a shaved head, multiple tattoos, lily white skin and a hairy face. If I wore that shirt what would you think?

There is nothing wrong with being proud of what you are, but there is something wrong with judging a book by its cover and hating someone because of the way they look.

This tattooed, bald, rough looking fella has a brain, six kids, one grandson (who is part aboriginal), tertiary qualifications and owns a small business. I am patriotic, don’t believe in multiculturalism but don’t care where you come from or what colour your are so long as you love this country and want to make a commitment to it. I love my family and friends, most are white, some are black, some are gay all are loyal. I have political opinions that our government calls pro bikie (funny I don’t ride a bike), but there they go judging a book.

Perhaps we should stick up for our own country a bit more and stop telling everyone we need to be a melting pot and change everything all the time and there would not be so many, thinning hair, overbite, poor spelling and angry young men out there.

Oh, yeah, let’s have a sense of humour too, we are a little too PC.

Dan says:

12:46am | 31/07/09

Margaret Gray, it’s not about picking easy targets, afterall what is an easy target in your eyes may not be an easy target for other people. Nonetheless, if you do believe that we should ignore racists in our community because there are racists in other communities is simply stupid.

W, maybe the people who voted for Howard ARE racists. Howard was an abomination; he was blatently Islamohobic. If someone voted for him, and they don’t like being called racist, they won’t get any symoathy from me.

Brendan says:

04:59pm | 07/09/09

I like Dave’s comments. 

I’m not of the “my country, right or worng” view, but I think this country gives more of a fair go to everyone than almost any other.  I’m distrustful of those would advocate staying here while changing everything about it.

But then, on the other hand, I think its the right of everyone to question the system they live under and speak fearlessly to authority….

Maybe I’m just confused?

Brian "Wheely" Ferris says:

06:45pm | 16/11/11

The only dog whistling here comes from the author.

Grover Jenkins says:

11:07am | 15/12/11

I think I saw the author partaking in the Sheep Dog Trials.

Jimbo Jones says:

11:32am | 29/01/12

The author is the only shepherd that goes “Woof!”