1 Year Anniversary: Cronulla Riots
Today marks the 1 year anniversary of the riots in and around Cronulla, NSW. It was a rude awaking to some that racism is rampant in Australia but for most it was an escalation of what is going on in Australia.
In fact, I was trying to find a video on Youtube to post on here that purely showed some kind of news report. Instead of finding that, I found that almost all the videos from the riots are remixed with music and white power propaganda.
I wish we could just blame this on Sydney but good old Melbourne is just as bad. At one cosmopolitan bar in Fitzroy, a couple of girls kept getting drinks bought for them by a couple of huge guys. The girls grew sick of the guys and ask them to leave their table. A scene breaks out, the girls start crying, and the bouncer tries to get these guys away from the girls. Then all of a sudden the girl yells out: “Leave me alone you WOG”. The guy flips out throws his glass and an expensive marble table over which cracks in half. The guys leave and the girls are left crying.
A couple of times some (Australian born) Indian friends have had insults thrown at them. They have also been rejected from clubs because of the way they look.
This is but a sample of what I have seen just over the last two months in Melbourne. Being a white straight guy, I can’t even imagine what other races have to deal with on a daily basis. So here’s the Melbourne related poll question, Do you think Melbourne is a racist city?
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Racist Cronulla videos on Youtube
Picture via Wikipedia
The city is only racist if you start out feeling that you’re already ostracised from the society due to your appearance.
I can count the number of times i’ve been marginalised on one hand in the two years i’ve been here. If you start out acting, behaving and talking like you don’t belong here, you WILL be greeted with racism.
There’re many ways to avoid the racial profiling or stereotypes. As a foreign student, i came to Melbourne with the full knowledge that i’m here to experience the culture and people. Hence, i do go out of my way to avoid foreign Asian students as hanging out with them only serves to strengthen certain stereotypes about Asian foreigners.
It’s rather racist on my part, but hey if you’re here in a foreign country, why would you want to surround yourself with people you can hang out back in your own country.
On the matter of racism, just give it back to them. It’s really easy in Australia as the true Australians are the Aboriginals. Just give the Caucasians a taste of their own medicine by saying “Go back to your own country!”. When this is said by an Asian to a Caucasian, it really puts them in perspective.
I’ve used it several times and i never get a smart retort.
In short, you’re only as racist as you are. If you act, behave and look like you don’t belong here, you WILL be subjected to racism.