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[ScottWoz]

For a modern country rich in culture, Australia's past has seen its fair share of racism. From the first European settlement and the attempt at breeding-out aboriginal people, to the more recent opposition of non-white immigration, travellers to this day still witness or encounter first hand experiences of this discrimination.

How about you? What are your experiences? What are your views?

[whereshegoes]

When I was in Oz I remember seeing this anti-sematism graffiti. I commented that it was weird that they would leave that kind of thing up for so long, assuming it was from years ago. My friends just looked at me funny. I guess it was fresh paint.

We just don't see that kind of thing where I live in Canada. I was shocked.

[uncle_davros]

I am an Australian, and I am racist, and personally, I believe we all have had at least one racist thought go through our heads, one time or another, and when you are travelling in countries, as the Sorceress stated, you will meet racist locals, no matter what

[Paul]

Hi. Interesting topic. What made you write about it?
Yeah, racism in Australia runs pretty deep. It is such a part of Australian life that I think many Australian people don't even realise what it is when it is happening.
If you want to see it, visit places like Port Augusta where the bars are segregated - one area for whites, one for blacks.
Racism is also used by the media and politicians in Australia to get power over the people.
Other interesting facts - look up how young blacks die compared with whites (10 - 15 years faster), or how many blacks go to prison as a percentage of thier population (huge percentage). All good indicators of a fairly uneven unhealthy society, which for most however is all suburban and nice and dull.
Hmmm, bit of a shame. Most Australians are very nice however and when confronted by an individual of any colour or religion will tend to be very helpful and kind. Unfortunately they then sit in their lounge rooms, drink beer and watch the propaganda on how the rest of the world is unsafe or how Muslims are evil or how refugees don't love their children or are trying to take over the world or whatever crap the media and govt are feeding them now a days. Too many sit around and say "those bloody muslims .....bla bla"
Oh - I saw someone mentioned that Australia is multicultural - although this year I also noticed the aboriginal affairs minister said that aboriginal culture was irrelevent and shouldn't be praticed as all australians should practice the same mono culture.
Anyway, their are worse places in the world for racism, but certainly Australia has got it's fair share.

[ScottWoz]

Isn't there parts of England that a Sri Lankin, or Pakistinian etc

Of course, there's a hell of a lot - both ways too and some parts much worse than others. The whole 'excess immigration' thing has caused a lot of bitterness and ill-feeling too, rightly or wrongly..

[uncle_davros]

There are a groupd of people in the UK who believe that the white man is the one who is now treated badly. It has hapened in SA. Reverse Apartheid

[Paul]

From today's news:

Many of Australia's indigenous peoples live in some of the worst conditions in the world, according to the United Nations special rapporteur on adequate housing.

Miloon Kothari made the claim in a news conference at the end of a two-week tour of the country at the invitation of the government.

...

"We visited one community in the Alice Springs camps where people were living in tin shacks for the last 30 years and with no rights to their land and, of course, no services."

Mr Kothari, an architect by training, said housing design was not done in consultation with the indigenous people but was imposed on them.

...

Aborigines have lived in Australia for at least 40,000 years, but they are now a minority with a population expected to reach 470,000 this year out of a total of 20 million.

Many live in squalid Outback camps, where unemployment, alcohol dependency and lawlessness are rife. Non-indigenous Australians are enjoying an unprecedented economic boom and First World lifestyle.

A report compiled earlier this year by the charity Oxfam found that the health of Aboriginal Australians lagged far behind that of indigenous people in other developed Commonwealth nations.

[ScottWoz]

Thanks for the info Paul, quite an eye opener!

There are a groupd of people in the UK who believe that the white man is the one who is now treated badly. It has hapened in SA. Reverse Apartheid

Absolutely. Also the word 'group' can often signify a minority. In reality, this 'group' is huge..

[rbisset]

I spotted an article in a newspaper in Cairns and had to post it on my blog.

IS KARMA GETTING BACK AT INDONESIA?
Remeber the Bali bombings, the embassy attacked in Jakarta? Remember the anti-Australian sentiments by Indonesia or the billion dollars plus towards Aceh etc?
Kill the infidel Aussies? The anti-Christian attitude towards us Australians by those Indonesian Muslims? Well, guess what? Karma (a Buddhist terminology) once again is showing Mr Indonesia that biting the hand that is feeding you is wrong, by an earthquake in Jakarta.
But we Aussies once again are in there with our help, money, goodies, goodies at our own expense. We Christians, are showing the Muslims how it is done by deed.
As far as I know, not one rupee was spent to assist us with Cyclone Larry.
Ionly hope that our Government won't go overboard to assist those that keep on looking down on us Aussies, and I mean those Muslims that expect us to respect them for what they are.

Most Aussies were sound though although they didn't really have great things to say about the Aboriginees.

[Guest_Paul_*]

Ha ha - I think that last writer pretty much answers the question.

[uncle_davros]

Or, we could turn this thread into a version of AA called RA, enter as a guest and we could all tell the truth

Hi, my name is Sorvad Elcnu, and I am from Saudi Israelia and I am a racist.

There, I feel better already

[oldhongerlady]

I only got to see sydney and byron bay when I was in australia.

I'm asian and saw tons of other asians in sydney. I didn't think I experienced any form of racism towards me in particular.

going to byron bay, I must've been 1 in probably 5 asians in that entire town. again, I didn't experience any form of racism. everyone appeared quite friendly...

[uncle_davros]

I only got to see sydney and byron bay when I was in australia.

I'm asian and saw tons of other asians in sydney. I didn't think I experienced any form of racism towards me in particular.

going to byron bay, I must've been 1 in probably 5 asians in that entire town. again, I didn't experience any form of racism. everyone appeared quite friendly...

Byron - Full of Poms, Paddies and Ferals. You need to go back to Sydney or visit Melbourne to see/here the racism

[oldhongerlady]

Byron - Full of Poms, Paddies and Ferals. You need to go back to Sydney or visit Melbourne to see/here the racism

first off, what the heck are poms, paddies and ferals?

and second, like I said, I found people were quite friendly in sydney. although I found some of the women to be quite snobby, I wouldn't necessarily jump to the conclusion that it was due to racism.

as for melbourne, I'm shocked that racism occurs here considering how multicultural it is! I generally find that most racism occurs in small towns where the ethnic minority population is very small....

[uncle_davros]

Byron - Full of Poms, Paddies and Ferals. You need to go back to Sydney or visit Melbourne to see/here the racism

What the heck are poms, paddies and ferals?

Poms - English
Paddies - Irish
Ferals - The undesireables that inhabitat Byron and bludge off of society

[lucinate]

We've experienced different kinds of racism whilst we've been travelling in the form of duel pricing or the locals getting preferencial treatment like the better seats for example, or speaking down to us, being bribed by police. A different kind of racism but racism all the same. Also being a woman in certain places has been difficult. Being made to sit in the corners of mini buses because I can't sit next to men, ignored even when I hand over money etc. Racsim comes in different forms, some much more harsh than others.

[sslattery]

We've experienced different kinds of racism whilst we've been travelling in the form of duel pricing or the locals getting preferencial treatment like the better seats for example, or speaking down to us, being bribed by police. A different kind of racism but racism all the same. Also being a woman in certain places has been difficult. Being made to sit in the corners of mini buses because I can't sit next to men, ignored even when I hand over money etc. Racsim comes in different forms, some much more harsh than others.

If that's your picture, what you're experiencing is not racism; rather you are describing sexism and nationalism. Sorry to split hairs here but you are the same ethnicity as the average Aussie.

[uncle_davros]

We've experienced different kinds of racism whilst we've been travelling in the form of duel pricing or the locals getting preferencial treatment like the better seats for example, or speaking down to us, being bribed by police. A different kind of racism but racism all the same. Also being a woman in certain places has been difficult. Being made to sit in the corners of mini buses because I can't sit next to men, ignored even when I hand over money etc. Racsim comes in different forms, some much more harsh than others.

If that's your picture, what you're experiencing is not racism; rather you are describing sexism and nationalism. Sorry to split hairs here but you are the same ethnicity as the average Aussie.

Obviously Slats has never been to these types of countries before. Yes they have sexism and nationalism, but I have also had racism thrown at me.

And by the way. Lucinate is not an Aussie, she is a Pom !

[thellie]

i was in oz for 2-3 months around the millennium, and racism seemed pretty endemic there, but then i'm english and it's pretty endemic here too... it's the underlying racism which is part of the culture, where individuals aren't even aware that what they say or do is racist. it could be argued quite easily that this is more damaging and more invidious that the open racism of national front, british national party, or their aussie or any other country's counterparts.

i saw no overt racism in australia, and nothing against any race except aboriginals, which doesn't make it okay... but every country is full of bigots, racists, small-minded ignorants, frightened people... and i would imagine australia is no different...

i am much more concerned by fundamentalists of various faiths, who insist on imposing their beliefs on everyone else.

and, carmella, i'm happy to say that i saw no racism at all in canada... just some moronic driving!

[whereshegoes]

Just for the record. Definitions of:

Racism:

1: the prejudice that members of one race are intrinsically superior to members of other races
2: discriminatory or abusive behavior towards members of another race

Bigotry:

1: stubborn and complete intolerance of any creed, belief, or opinion that differs from one's own

Sexism:

1: attitudes or behavior based on traditional stereotypes of sexual roles.
2: discrimination or devaluation based on a person's sex, as in restricted job opportunities


Nationalism:

1: love of country and willingness to sacrifice for it
2: the doctrine that your national culture and interests are superior to any other
3: the aspiration for national independence felt by people under foreign domination
4: the doctrine that nations should act independently (rather than collectively) to attain their goals

Prejudice:

1: an unfavorable opinion or feeling formed beforehand or without knowledge, thought, or reason
2: any preconceived opinion or feeling, either favorable or unfavorable
3: unreasonable feelings, opinions, or attitudes, esp. of a hostile nature, regarding a racial, religious, or national group

And how about this one:

Tolerance:

1: a fair, objective, and permissive attitude toward those whose opinions, practices, race, religion, nationality, etc., differ from one's own; freedom from bigotry.
2: a fair, objective, and permissive attitude toward opinions and practices that differ from one's own.
3: interest in and concern for ideas, opinions, practices, etc., foreign to one's own; a liberal, undogmatic viewpoint.