Soren wrote on Oct 13^th, 2009 at 11:44am:


I am addressing you and abu_rashid in this post, because both of you keep insisting the skit wasn't racist.

None of you are qualified to say the skit wasn't racist.  Only black people are, and they all unanimously condemn the skit.  There's no point bringing up Fawlty Towers.  Sigh.  I keep addressing this point over and over.  You cannot compare apples to oranges.  Because of history, some things just don't offend some races but the same thing could offend other races because of historical injustices.  Spaniards don't have a history of slavery or oppression from the British, and the Germans are truly repentent about the WW2 (to their great credit).

So for you to keep insisting the black face skit is not racist is ignorant.  Do you really believe decide what is racist or not?  The sheer arrogance is astounding.

What is really amazing about this case, and this is why it is worth discussing, is that Australians of all colour seem to think the skit is not offensive.  It just highlights how endemic racism is in Australia.  Racism doesn't have to be a conscious act to be racism.  Racism is forgivable if done out of ignorance.  What is unforgivable is thinking it is not offensive after being told by the targets of parody that it is.

mozzaok wrote on Oct 13^th, 2009 at 7:53pm:


I have provided enough links on this thread showing that around the world, Australians have a reputation for racism (please go back and read them).  I live on the other side of the world (literally) and people ask me about the racism in Australia.

As an Australian, people have asked me in every country I've lived "I've heard that Australia is racist, is that true?".  At first I told them it wasn't that bad, because I had been out of the country for about 7 years.  I was one of the visible minorities who assimilated like some of the people on this board are expecting me to do, so I didn't really experience much racism during my university days, unlike my high school days which was an absolute racism hell.  However, it was only after going back to Australia after about 10 years that it was obvious the place was racist because I was used to the standards here in Canada.

That's what prompted me to go on this board, to highlight my disgust with the backwardness I see in Australia when it comes to social progress.  After some 12 years being away from Australia, in many ways I actually see Australia regressing as far as social progress is concerned.  Much progress has been made in N.America and I have analyzed what efforts N.Americans have done to enable social progress.  I see none of those effort being made in Australia which is why I created these racism threads because Australians ARE ignorant and live in denial when it comes to racism (please read my links on page 6 of this thread).

But after getting the denial treatment on these boards, I no longer defend Australia or Australians any more when asked about racism.  What can I say?  I have to say that Australians are racist based purely on the discussions on these boards.

Why?  Because if I am a visible minority, and I tell a white Australian that I am marginalized, and I give examples of how I am marginalized, and to be solution-oriented rather than problem-oriented I give my suggestions for improvement; then if I receive responses of denial, or comments that I'm just self-piteous, or blatantly racist comments in the same sentence as denials of racism; then I am left to conclude that white Australians are in fact unrepentently racist who don't deserve to be defended by a visible minority.

I came to these boards, thinking that white Australians are generally good people, and that the problem of endemic racism was merely a problem of ignorance.  You don't have the benefit of techniques used elsewhere in the world that have effectively eradicated racism from culture.  I naively thought that if I told you what these techniques were (such as purposeful and mainstream representation of minorities in mass media, not just token background roles) that the goodness of white Australians would evolve those ideas.  However, now I know better.  I know that the reason why racism is endemic in Australia is not only because of ignorance, but of willful denial, even in (evidently) the face of global condemnation.

The rest of the world actually has no problems believing white Australians are racist, so you really have to be careful what you say on a public forum because the stubborn denial of people here is sending a strong message to the world.  So if you don't care what the world thinks, then wear the badge of racism proudly because that's how the world sees you right now.

I think living geographically separated from the rest of the world has affected the collective Australian mindset, because some of you don't seem to realize (and I'm giving you a BIG hint) that it only takes a google search or a link to this thread to showcase Australian racism.  I suppose you imagine you're doing a good job debating against the fact, but you're only confirming racism by denying what is already bloody obvious to the rest of the world.

Hey here's that Qantas ad:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lt6h7Jwmb5c

No doubt Australians were very proud of this advert that showcases their country.  Me?  The first thing I thought was:  Notice how Aboriginals are shown in the same way as African jump dancers (ie. not part of the group of kids representing the "true" Australia).  Notice also the comments on the video which show quite clearly I am not the only one to notice the lack of minority representation (and I mean upfront obvious representation, not background fillers).



So be proud of that video white Australians!  It's the reason why the world thinks you're racist.  When were those videos made?  1982 or something?  What's that?  They were made in the 21st century?    

fakir wrote on Oct 14^th, 2009 at 6:26am:

Catching up with the times now are we cryboy

Us Australians have a remarkable capacity to rapidly transform our society... Thanks to those who love their country more than they hate themselves.

Quote:


No, they dont, thats a lie.I showed you an example yesterday where some Aboriginal friends of mine said it wasn't racist.
I can't be bothered reading all your dribble but I notice you still havn't answered my questions
Are you white?
Have you ever been to another country?
Because the way you are carrying on I doubt you've had any exposure what so ever with other countries.

helian,

Quote:


I'm not sure if this is your intent, but it seems to me like you're suggesting racial abuse in Australia is just a teething problem of sorts that people anywhere in the world would go through as they settle into a strange location.

Might I remind you that Chinese (ie. those who are quite visibly Asians) have been here since the early goldrush days, and yet till this day, they often find themselves the targets of racial abuse? This fact alone vindicates fakir's position that Australia is an inherently racist country. Even 150 years after they first arrived, Asians are still being harassed and abused for being different.

fakir,

Quote:


Last time I checked, Harry Connick Jnr. wasn't black, and he's the one who found it offensive. Racism cannot purely be defined as someone taking offense at something, since various people will take offense at different things. In my understanding racism also must involve some intent on the part of the perpetrator, and it also should involve some degree of derogatory action, which the skit did not.

But on that point, I did think the cartoon drawn up during the show about Kamahl was racist, since it had nothing to do with the skit, and was obviously just included because he's also black.

Quote:


Bit of a contradiction there isn't it? Do blacks unanimously find it offensive? Or do black Australians at least not find it offensive?

NorthOfNorth wrote on Oct 14^th, 2009 at 7:01am:


Do you imagine I wasn't aware of the 2009 ad before I posted the first Aryan Airways ad?  It's the 21st Century and the fact that Qantas could even conceive producing such a xenophobic advertisement within the last 9 years shows that Australians are backward (Western societies shown as modern, Asian/African people shown as primitive/superstitious).  So being 30 or more years behind the rest of the world is "rapid" to you?    I agree that is certainly remarkable but not for the reasons you think!

I noticed the lot of you conveniently ignored the article about Australian denial of racism?  I'm still waiting for someone to tackle that one.

The Qantas ad was very well produced.  It's a lot better looking than other airlines for sure, but it is unintentionally funny.