Shockingly, the question of whether, and to what extent, Australian people are racist, has been raised.
On November 11th a French woman on a Melbourne bus received threats and abuse, because she was singing in her native language.
If you are in Australia, or have ever been here, you will know there are few countries quite as multicultural. So why did she become the victim of such hateful attention? Should we not be evolved enough in 2012 to respect and accept different cultures, languages and any other differences, which are not only harmless, but interesting and beautiful.
People here in Australia, a country founded on the adventurous spirit of immigrants, are now being scrutinised by the world's media and international community. Racism is being debated and discussed at length. And all because the attack on the French woman was videoed and posted to YouTube. Yay for New Media! The bigots can't hide anymore.
As you can see, it's pretty awful.
The woman appears to be told she is ugly, that she stinks, that she should speak English...
She then is told she will be cut and moments later one of the bus windows can be heard breaking.
Scary stuff!
So, NEWS programmes and topical shows are talking about it, how it represents Australia and how the actions and behaviour seen reflects Aussie culture. I see T.V. presenters frowning and shaking their head as if it's truly out of the ordinary and simply unacceptable.
Except that it isn't. It isn't a one off, and people do seem to accept it.
I have found Australia to be a very racist country.
In fact, only on Tuesday I was at a bus stop when a woman started to talk to me. She told me she was annoyed with Muslims and the like taking over a white country and that she was irritated at having to not celebrate her culture, for example Christmas, as openly as she would like because it may offend certain ethnic groups.
Having an opinion is one thing. But be educated. Australia is not a white country, if there even is such a thing. Aboriginal people have been here for what, perhaps as many as 70,000 years? Whites have only been here a few centuries. Oh, and there is that little matter of science suggesting being "white" is due to a mutation, and that we are all descended from black people.
I also remember being in a taxi, with a racist Italian taxi driver. He had immigrated to Australia many years ago, and was complaining to another immigrant (me) about Indian immigrants, stealing all "our" jobs, and how they should stay in their own country. If you can't follow his logic, that's okay, neither could I.
I was once in a group, and a volunteer was required for some task or other. The group was comprised of white, asian and black people. The person looking for a volunteer was white. When no-one volunteered (I hate those team oriented activities) she decided to pick someone by pointing her finger at people, in succession, while singing the words -
"Eenie, meenie, minie mo, catch a tiger by the toe..."
Except she didn't say tiger.
As she said the word, shock sank over her face. Her mouth gasped open, almost in slow motion. She clearly couldn't believe she had said it. Neither could anyone else. She did apologise...but why did she say it? She must have been thinking it, or been accustomed to singing it.
In society in general in Australia, as with this woman, racist attitudes seem entrenched.
But of course white people are not the only people who can be racist. The black bus driver who was giving black passengers free rides, but making white and asian passengers pay, is a great example of this. This happened a while ago now, but I won't ever forget it. I called the bus company and complained, and was asked if I was sure because this would be dealing with a sensitive area.
Damned right it's sensitive. I'm sure the guy on the phone, from the way the conversation went, did not want to challenge and discuss racism with a black man.
These are just some examples, and believe me, I have several more.
Racism is everywhere, to one extent or another. Not just in Australia. But Australia, with it's particular history and how it was, and is, seen as treating it's Aboriginal people, should be making every effort to educate it's citizens. Tolerance, understanding and insight, even if it has to be encouraged, will only ever benefit people.
The French woman in the video, and her treatment, is only the very tip of a very massive iceberg.
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