Millwall Supporters

[Deuce Bigolo]

We in Oz have plenty of Racists from all corners of the community

Given that there are over 100,000 long term unemployed in OZ its very easy to suggest to them all their problems are due to migrants(not the white ones of course)

Wasn't that long ago that we had a White Only Immigration Policy so its not surprising there are a lot of bigots still in existence from that generation

Then we had the Pauline Hanson One Nation Party pick up on all the disgruntled whites with their We're being over run by Asian bullshit

While poeple play on peoples fears Racism will never die

cheers
B....OZ

[eduardo]

I spent New Years Eve in the certain of Melbourne a couple of years ago (2001) and witnessed a number of "verbal" racial assaults on young asian families including one rather intoxicated Aussie female berating an asian woman in front of her children that "this is my fucking country and why don't you fuck off back from where you come from".

I do think though the Aussies are becoming more wise to an inter racial society as things had definitely improved from the last time I was there which was 1992.

Then regular mention was made of "slopies" and racial taunts were widespread etc but as alot of kids have gone to school in a multi racial society and I think this has helped changed things from the previous generations who only had the "white Australia policy".

I noticed a big change in attitude to the aboriginal people on my second visit. In 1992 they were popularly labelled as drunk dole bludgers and commonly despised by the majority.

However in 2001 they seemed to have embraced this more. Art galleries and museums with aborigianl culture were much more noticeable. They may have been there before but they were to the forefront this time and not hidden away.

[eduardo]

Sorry that should have "centre of Melbourne".

Bloody hangovers.

[woodgnome]

no, she was of more african appearance, which you might expect given the geographical location of those islands.

of course, north london isn't quite paradise on earth - yet! - but the sheer density and diversity of its inhabitants has created a social environment where pretty much everyone is simultaneously both 'insider' and 'outsider' in relation to mainstream british society. which is precisely why i, and lots of other folk who were reared in, more restrictively homogeneous circumstances, feel so comfortable here.

yes, london has it's drawbacks, much like any major conurbation, but the pluses are sufficiently numerous to anyone whose instinct is to embrace diversity rather than flee from it, that you always find the means to deal with them (although, of course, this does not include the current scourge of 4X4's infesting our highways and side streets. there are limits to even the most right-on urbanite's tolerance threshold).

as for 'romper stomper' - iirc, it wasn't based on any real life events or existing sub-culture but was more a warning shot across the bows of the good ship australia, concerning the dangers of complacency in the face of unchallenged predjudices (an apt metaphor given oz's response to any small, overcrowded craft bobbing about off it's continental shoreline)

anyhoo, buttsie's better placed (by about 10,000 miles) to judge whether it was anything more than artistic license being portrayed by mr crowe.

[Deuce Bigolo]

Never seen Romper Stomper and I'm always in bed by 7-00pm every night
connected to the internet-DEDICATION

Seriously I'm in bed by 7-30pm...30 minutes of Bird watching before bed

Back to the issue at hand

Where exactly did your friend cop this racial abuse and in what form did it come?
How long ago?

Racism is alive and well in OZ,make no mistake about it but its more through social exclusion than outright in your face verbal/physical hatred that I've experienced.

I have my fair share of abuse as a whitey from the indigenous population
but thats something I'm prepared to cop given that we whiteys used to hunt them like animals....disgraceful practice

One thing to keep in mind is that we are still a young country not to mention an island continent which many experts overlook.When I was at school in the 80s the aborigines(40,000 years old) didn't even rate a mention in our history of 200 years

Thats not to say there aren't dangerous arseholes who are just up for it on the street.

I still think that our community is a lot more tolerant than most given the diversity of our population & cultures which live side by side

The best example would be that we have people from all the current wars going on but we have had no conflicts between them on Australian Soil-so far

cheers
B....OZ

[Deuce Bigolo]

An acquaintance of mine who was english(left england at age 3) used to think it was OK to have a pop at the Asians especially if they were speaking in their own language back in the mid to late eighties

He was poorly educated and from a working class background
Almost a recipe for intolerance in itself
Add in alcohol and the rest is predictable especially when a minor part starts
a message of fear that we're being over run by Asians

It always strikes me as ironic that we whites immigrants ourselves fear other migrants because we don't understand what their about
Migrants generally are seen as rivals for jobs where as the opposite is true
They generate jobs

On the other hand Asian Gangs & Triads in OZ don't help the cause of tolerance.Another area that the media love to report all to frequently
It seems the only time that asians make the news is when they've been murdered

The aborigianl problem is an interesting one
Where once they were seen as drunks & losers now they're seen by those at the lower end of the class system of having billions of dollars of government hand outs and of wasting them

The media has a lot to answer for in this respect
Every time it portrays a negative image it reinforces the views of intolerance especially from those Whites that are struggling to make ends meet themselves

cheers
B....OZ

[eduardo]

Yeah I agree with you very much.

In the 9 years or so between visits I noticed a big change in the levels of racism and things had definitely changed for the better.

I think the fact that alot of school kids now integrate with asian migrants via education has helped big time. They have become wiser and so have their parents who they have helped educate.

I as a little suprised by the racism on my first visit as it is a migrant country. Massive amount of greeks, italians and croats as well as the british & irish. But I suppse that was before the white australia policy was abolished in the 70's.

I also agree that asian migrants provide jobs. They do big time.

And as for the media scaremongering then it was disgraceful. There were regular things in the media when I was there about australias population will be 15% asian by year ... and then 25% by........

This didn't help at all.

[Deuce Bigolo]

Yes we have changed for the better but it doesn't take much to stir up trouble

Every country seems to have a Group that blames all their woes on immigrants....Invariably their Politics are based on FEAR

Case in point-Jack Van Tongeren

His Racist crimes





Either way it says there are a hardcore group of white supremacists
just biding their time in the shadows

cheers
B....OZ