Race
So Prime Minister Julia Gillard has shoehorned Nova Peris onto the ALP Senate ticket, thus illustrating that her cackhandedness is no passing fad.
The former Olympian will be set to become the first Federal indigenous Labor representative, and the first indigenous female Federal pollie. About bloody time.
It is shameful it has taken this long – and it’s also a shame that it will be a tainted appointment.
Continue reading "Good luck, Ms Peris, I’m afraid you’re going to need it" »
Welcome to another edition of I Call Bullshit, a column dedicated to codswallop. Today we’re going to look at racism in Australia.
We were treated to nauseating scenes yesterday of a bunch of dumb, drunk idiots taunting, bullying and threatening a woman who was singing in French.
Today in news from the UK we hear that a New Zealander was branded a “stupid, fat Australian bitch” by her neighbour… and a court found the neighbour guilty of a “racially aggravated public disorder”.
Continue reading "ICB: Can you be racist towards white people?" »
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Tory Shepherd says:
Is anyone here seriously suggesting that in Australia most racism is NOT from white people towards other groups? Read more »
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Tory Shepherd says:
Hm. Most people in the real world I talked to about this say they’d do something, at least just move casually in between the men and the woman, or move closer to her, or do something. It’s weird for people to seem braver in the real world than online… Read more »
Since last week, plenty of sushi-eating, bubble-tea-sipping Aussies have taken to the Interwebs to voice their indignation on behalf of Asian-Australians over A Current Affair’s “All-Asian Mall” blunder.
They wanted to make clear they were personally aware that the members of our community who cling-wrap their remote controls, chop their food with giant cleavers and apparently want to start specialty stores in Sydney’s North-West are, indeed part of the community.
But as a country, it looks like Australians aren’t all that into “Asia”.
Continue reading "Australians can’t be racist - we love Pad Thai!" »
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Louise says:
James1, well I didn’t expect that! You surprise me; I’m seriously impressed. And I agree with you that people born should be able to feel equally ‘native Australians’, regardless of ancestry. Unfortunately, human nature - judging on appearance etc. - doesn’t always make it that easy in practice. (I’m not… Read more »
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I hate pies says:
Does anyone on this website actually know what a redneck is? I don’t want to be picky, but the correct terminology in Australia is “bogan” or, if you’re old school Queensland, “bevan”....get it right, protect our culture. Read more »
How racist am I? Hopefully not at all, but I’m a little confused. I’ve got two distinct groups of friends, and with one group a bit of casual racism seems acceptable, while with the other group, even mentioning race gets you into trouble.
So I grew up on one side of town, went to school on the other, and I reckon that’s a nice little analogy for my life. With my two groups of friends I often feel like two different people, but at the same time. Kind of like a hermaphrodite, but on the inside.
The friends I grew up with have mostly settled down in the ‘burbs, and are into footy, furniture and churning out the kids. Which is fine, they’re a great laugh and one day, I’m not sure I don’t want the same.
Continue reading "I’m no racist, just ask my trashy white friends" »
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David V. says:
In Singapore the locals aren’t thrilled by the behaviour of mainland Chinese. Here you see why: http://singaporeseen.stomp.com.sg/stomp/sgseen/what_bugs_me/816516/china_couple_changes_babys_diaper__in_middle_of_restaurant.html Read more »
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Swamp Thing says:
Any one can be racist. Beggars belief that so many ‘whites’ still do not get this truth. I had a lovely relationship with a Malaysian girl when we were both in our late teens. Her father, a wealthy business man (who she feared and obeyed) made no bones about his… Read more »
It’s not clear when multiculturalism became a dirty word in Australia – to some, anyway. According to my dictionary multiculturalism is about equal rights and opportunities for all, about tolerance, a “sort of new name for the old Australian ‘fair go’. Sounds pretty good.
But the word has quietly dropped away from common use, and perhaps some of its sentiment has too. It’s still an official policy, but sectors of the public seem to have turned off it.
The Department of Immigration and Citizenship – which dropped the word multiculturalism from its title – still has a fact sheet on its website. It wends its way from the White Australia policy to the Government’s official policy, The People of Australia.
Continue reading "Multiculturalism - when did it become a dirty word?" »
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Zac says:
Friends, I suggest a new way; ‘MULTI-RACIAL AUSTRALIA DAY’ (people from different races under one banner promotes the mainstream Australian culture). It should have absolutely nothing to do with culture, clothes, language etc This is the ONLY compromise I would be willing. Read more »
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Bear says:
It can be ignored if it doesn’t happen here can it? At least here something might be done to eventually stamp it out. If we all stay in our little boxes without interaction they’ll continue to do it unfettered indefinitely. Read more »
It never looks quite right. On any sunny afternoon in Manhattan’s wealthy Upper West, there are swarms of black nannies pushing young white children in strollers.
At a glance, it’s a deep south plantation fantasy, minus the tobacco fields, bullwhips and chains. But we’re in the north of America. And the north beat the south because of slavery.
Is it a status symbol to possess a black nanny? Is there a modern mammy conspiracy?
Continue reading "Nannying in New York is a black and white issue" »
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Jeana says:
This was so helupfl and easy! Do you have any articles on rehab? Read more »
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alan says:
watch mate these are black nannys,they maybe the best but,if you go to far the blacks racist heads will pull the race card,like they do the world over Read more »
You don’t often hear people challenging someone’s claim to be Italian. Or Swedish, or American. Generally you accept what they say even if they don’t have an accent, or a funny surname, or blond hair.
Aboriginality, on the other hand, apparently remains a contested field.
The Federal Court last week decided that high-profile and controversial columnist Andrew Bolt had breached the Racial Discrimination Act in his columns ‘It’s so hip to be black’, and ‘White fellas in the black’, which questioned why nine prominent ‘fair-skinned Aborigines’ identified as Aboriginal.
Continue reading "The politics of race go beyond black and white" »
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Nicholas Steel says:
It’s odd that the progressive community are quick to accuse all and sundry of racism. However they are silent on the 40 million deaths from malaria that have occured due to the environmental movement banning the use of DDT as an insecticide in the early 1970’s. If you examine census… Read more »
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PG says:
“They think people who have been sideswiped by colonisation, sent into a tailspin of poverty, ill health and despair, people who suffer appalling health outcomes, shorter lifespans and intergenerational unemployment, are somehow better off than they are” I agree with the point you are making here, however if you have… Read more »
A radio host the other day was discussing the iPod-full of Australian artists that our Prime Minister gave to Barack Obama. Reviewing the collection of songs - which included Midnight Oil - he claimed it proved “political correctness has gone mad’.
(Glenn Beck on political correctness gone mad)
These sentiments were echoed in The Punch the other morning when Kevin Donnelly warned us that the proposed national curriculum was much too ‘politically correct’. The entire curriculum, Donnelly argued, is overwhelmed by politically correct messages and ignores Christianity.
Feeling under siege by political correctness I decided to do something about it: I called a Muslim friend and made some jokes about her cultural background. I figured it was OK, because some of my best friends are Muslim.
Continue reading "Economic correctness - the new political laziness?" »
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Glenn says:
@Scarneck People in housing estates are not “filth”, they’re only less fortunate then you. You had a relatively decent upbringing (although your politics leave much to be desired) else you’d be in one of those houses. You aggressive individualists can’t see cause and effect in the individual, you focus exclusively… Read more »
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Glenn says:
This article is such a departure from reality one has to wonder if it wasn’t written purely to manipulate people into further abandonment and demonisation of Political Correctness to further the neo-con social project now underway in Australia. The original political correctness is things like not allowing wife bashing, racism,… Read more »
Islam doesn’t have much of a reputation for a sense of humour. Maybe its best comics don’t get an airing here in the west – there might be an equivalent of a Peter Cook or a Lenny Bruce doing stand-up at a nightclub in Tehran.
But as a general rule, the more orthodox practitioners of the Muslim faith are more likely to crack a fatwa than a funny. And there are a few Danish cartoonists who found out the hard way that poking fun at the prophet Mohammed by daring to draw a picture of the guy can land you some pretty bad reviews, and also result in your nation’s embassy being burned to the ground.
In Australia, the relationship between Muslim communities and the wider community has often been fraught. The tension has been strongest in Sydney, particularly in relation to the Lebanese Muslim community. There was an amusing and hopeful moment last week which suggested that a genial kind of mutual accommodation may be taking hold.
Continue reading "Multiculturalism: something we can all joke about" »
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Reodasotlat says:
Xifuqynfz ??? ?????? Fmdgndstq Oenistdhb ??? ?? Zeukqqvdl Nahzdhqzx ??? ?? ??? Vmdeqsdpl Vmmjrgagb http://www.muchgucci.com Ukfpymsyh ?? ??? Brvlbjflw Ltdvwkurn ugg ??? Gmlqqswis Vyzhqhcio ugg ??? ?? Cjnubmsff Qlrxuompq http://www.bootsqueenjp.com Heeehqwtf ?? ??? Iskngjnqb Iwjqghtvi UGG ??? Yyfmrcgdn Orqbxqmhy UGG ??????? Hlsuvoriu Wtrrosrok http://www.boots-skybus.com/ Ktpwkgwze ?? ??? Gclavmxuw Xzpfavrev ugg… Read more »
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hekdbidxntest says:
Implementation of the reform of the community health service system, we built a new performance appraisal system in accordance with the new mode of community health services, management models, the standard system, and assessment methods to carry out the work. Jianmin,abercrombie, said, substandard wages substandard wages should be deducted. and… Read more »
Andrew McLeod, addressing the United Nations last week, argued that the AFL must address racism in football, citing their laws that prevent insults and threats on the basis of a person’s race.
His address, on Australia Day, coincided with hundreds of speeches around the country assuring those taking up Australian citizenship that the nation’s racial vilification laws prevented discrimination against them on the basis of their race.
Race is also emerging as a hot topic in the controversy about a referendum on indigenous recognition in the constitution. Options for change are already citing “people of any race,” “racial groups” and “all racial backgrounds” and the race power contained in section 51 (xxvi) (1).
Continue reading "Science shows we should get rid of ‘race’" »
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Queenie says:
I guess finding useful, reliable information on the internet isn’t hoepelss after all. Read more »
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Greg says:
Race is determined from DNA testing in Australia: http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/dna-offers-a-clue-to-the-criminal-look/2006/10/28/1161749357987.html In the USA: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techinnovations/2003-06-05-dna-ancestry_x.htm and in the UK: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-2393936,00.html Proof, proof and more proof. Time for the race deniers to say “uncle”. Read more »
Last week Gordon Brown called one of his voters a bigot. Her crime, voicing her concerns about immigration policy in the UK. Brown was condemned for an act of outrageous insensitivity and dutifully marched back to her home for a 45 minute apology.
Talking about immigration is not easy in western democracies. There is an elite consensus that seeks to deny the conversation. Apparently, we’re not mature enough to have this discussion without our raw, untamed racial prejudices overwhelming our capacity for reason and having their way.
To protect us all from our dark side, the self appointed elite apply the tags of racism, bigotry and dog whistling to anyone who cares to discuss the topic. After all, it’s for our own good.
Continue reading "Debating population is not racist or bigoted" »
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Yury says:
By the way, you’ve told my weakness was to draw attention to one particular year. There you gave it yourself: almost quarter-century trend. Anything horrible happened to this country because of it so far? Your last two year increase in NOM, which apparently worries you a great deal is not… Read more »
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maureen says:
Yury - This is getting a bit like that monty python sketch with John Cleese - his arms and legs hacked off he stands up and says, ‘come on then its just a flesh wound! Is that all you have got?’ Yury I have plenty more. Yury here’s another hard… Read more »
I’m still not sure how it happened. We headed out to Olympic Park on Friday with two other couples to see Beyonce’s Sydney show, planning to bop the night away to her awesome collection of insanely catchy dance tunes.
We ended up wiping away tears and struggling to speak as the concert turned into an emotionally-charged celebration of the best features of life in the west – women’s rights, civil rights, democracy, freedom of expression, a philanthropic sense of community.
The word “pop” of itself sounds frivolous and popular music is generally ignored or ridiculed as the shallowest cultural genre. But at some point during Beyonce’s show, the concert underwent a strange transformation, as if she’d read the “life, liberty and pursuit of happiness” passage from The Declaration of Independence and decided to build a stage show around it.
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Ian says:
I am from Malaysia, while, it is not the first time that the Islamic party try to ruin Beyonce’s concert. She was supposed to perform somewhere last year in November, but again, the Islamic party put the blame on Beyonce and “her skimpy attire and behaviour onstage are immoral and… Read more »
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Andrew says:
Back to school, Nic: it’s “drivel”. Read more »
One of the most disturbing things about this morning’s counter-terrorism raids in Melbourne is the profile of the suspects, who were allegedly planning a Mumbai-style machine-gun attack on Australian Army barracks.
They were, The Australian reports, construction workers and taxi drivers of Somali and Lebanese descent, living in suburban Melbourne.
Combine this with the admission of Anglo-Australian terrorist Shane Kent that he was part of a terrorist organisation and it’s clear terrorists don’t look like anything in particular and could be living in your street.
Continue reading "Race profiles a blunted tool in fight against enemy within" »
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johnv_au says:
The profile is they will be muslim they will be residents in the country they are going to attack and young and ready to kill non muslims and the authorities and law abiding muslims will probably already know them and they will be driven by what is happening to muslims… Read more »
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Paul says:
Paul Colgan your politcally correct views in this case are absolute nonsense. how many innocent people will have to die before fools like you admit that our biggest terrorist threats are from EXTREMIST MUSLIMS primarily of ARAB AND AFRICAN DESCENT. how on earth do you get away with publishing drivel… Read more »
WHITE supremacy is so yesterday, don’t you think?
But the skinheads are using a modern medium for their oh-so-1950s messages. And, as with so much online, it’s a rare chance to see inside a different world. A strangely amusing world.
I came across a couple of sites by accident, and before I knew it I was Googling around checking out the rantings of racists. With each new site, I was mentally preparing myself to be outraged, appalled. Filled with a towering sense of injustice.
Continue reading "If the sheet fits wear it: white supremacy is, like, so passe" »
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Jimbo Jones says:
The author is the only shepherd that goes “Woof!” Read more »
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Grover Jenkins says:
I think I saw the author partaking in the Sheep Dog Trials. Read more »
Last November, a curious list was posted to various websites in England.
It had no author, it carried no commentary but included the names, occupations, addresses and personal details of some 12,000 people who were members of the British National Party.
The privacy breach may have been of concern to some liberal commentators but for British authorities and political leaders, it was an alarming wake up to the rise-and-rise of the far right movement in the UK.
Continue reading "Postcard from London: list of blackshirts stuns Britain" »
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Jacob says:
This article is just the type of misinformation we have all come to expect from the mass media. The BNP are not “neo-fascists” nor are they complaining about East Europeans in housing estates. BNP is a reaction to increasing anti white racial attacks, attacks that are of course, never reported… Read more »
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watty says:
A ist of “closet Trotskysites” could take up the whole of the weekend edition of the Times. And that is just the Teachers Union. Read more »
Here’s my guilty admission. I sat through Samson and Delilah and I wanted it to end.
The violence, the petrol-sniffing, the exploitation – white and black, and the indifference were all confronting.
But it wasn’t my squeamishness that had me longing for the closing credits. What did me in and left me feeling completely bombed was that for much of the movie you are placed in the shoes of Aboriginal young people who have seemingly little to live for.
Continue reading "Finding love and salvation amid poverty and despair" »
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shannyn says:
So has the movie highlighted the need for better policy for indigenous people Maxine, colonialisation hasnt worked for them and neither will the intervention, these people need to be part of their recovery, they need to be able to assert their will and to direct us as to what they… Read more »
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Geoff says:
As superb and uncomfortable as this movie is 2 quibbles about your comments Maxine. 1. star crossed lovers? Hardly. and 2. while the end does show the strength of spirit of aboriginal women the ending could not/would not happen. What was this girl doing seemingly devoting herself to this by… Read more »
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