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Two days ago, from when I begin typing these words, that was the declared Australia Day. I've not been enamoured of this day in celebration of white (our) colonisation, as I've not been of the United States' Thanksgiving, and felt no inclination to be celebrating it.
Prior to the day, suggestions of changing the date to something a bit less... blatantly colonialist were on my mind. It seemed a decent idea, though one I'd expect to get more resistance than support in the public or political eye.
And then we get this:
And this:
And yet we get this sort of response:
I'd point out that racist slurs are not exactly unknown in cricket, but that still seems a rather inappropriate comparison. Since I don't dare hope these reports to be false, I'll hope instead Commander Darcy was ignorant of the details at the time this statement was made, and / or quoted out of context. Not a hope I am confident of seeing borne out, but it would be nice.
To understate: I don't like this. Something, probably a whole lot of somethings, need(s) to be done. Australia Day, as it stands, I am inclined to think ought not continue. We might move it, we might attempt rebranding, but I think incidents like this are reflective of national identity and narrative and those need changing before any national symbol-day would cease to be associated with racist violence.
Personally I'm inclined to give up any sort of nationalist holiday, even one moved or under attempted rebranding. Might try establishing something new before phasing out the old to avoid association but I really am at a loss for devising some positive value celebration that would not readily be coopted for white nationalist violence.
Ah well. 'Tis always a long project, not a near future fix, and hopefully better minds than mine will conjure better ideas - I don't pretend to think I'd by myself overcome the world, not tonight.
Edit: I've missed a lot which ought have been said, concerning especially Indigenous issues, but though too weary now to form well my own words want not such to go without acknowledgement. So we reproduce as stand-in this comment here:
Prior to the day, suggestions of changing the date to something a bit less... blatantly colonialist were on my mind. It seemed a decent idea, though one I'd expect to get more resistance than support in the public or political eye.
And then we get this:
In the Sydney subrub of Manly, hundreds of youths draped in "Aussie pride" livery wore slogans declaring "f--k off we're full" as they smashed car windows and ran up the famous Corso targeting non-white shop keepers.
A 18-year-old Asian female in one of the cars was showered with shattered glass, giving her numerous cuts to her arms. She was treated on the scene by ambulance officers.
A taxi driven by a Sikh Indian was also targeted while an Asian shopkeeper was reportedly assaulted.
Groups of men jumped up on cars chanting race hate to the terrified passengers within, and were heard singing "tits out for the boys" at passing girls and yelled "lets go f--k with these Lebs".
What started as chants of "Aussie Aussie Aussie" at 1pm (AEDT) had in an hour had developed the potential to resemble Cronulla Beach in 2005.
And this:
"It was a mix of hoodlums who had obviously been drinking as well but, to me, there was also an underlying element of racism dressed up as nationalism," Dr Burridge, a senior lecturer at the University of Technology Sydney, said.
"When they were gathering on the [oceanside] beachfront, that's when they were screaming out 'If you're Aussie and you know it clap your hands' and 'If you're white and you know it clap your hands'."
Dr Burridge said an 18-year-old woman was traumatised when three teenagers jumped on the car she was in and smashed two windows.
The youths went on to jump over other cars and damage shop awnings as they ran through the area chanting "Aussie Aussie Aussie, oi oi oi" and "Aussie pride".
"When I was on the beach there was a bunch of them ... and these are teenagers -15, 16-year-olds - with slogans on their backs and postcodes with Penrith and Londonderry," she said.
And yet we get this sort of response:
But Commander Darcy from Manly Local Area Command said the group, most of whom were not from the area, were no worse than a rowdy "old cricket crowd".
"To suggest that there were racial overtones there is, I think, way over the top," he said.
"I personally gave them a good looking over, just assessing them. There was an intensity there that no doubt would be confronting to some but at that stage they hadn't crossed the threshold of criminality."
I'd point out that racist slurs are not exactly unknown in cricket, but that still seems a rather inappropriate comparison. Since I don't dare hope these reports to be false, I'll hope instead Commander Darcy was ignorant of the details at the time this statement was made, and / or quoted out of context. Not a hope I am confident of seeing borne out, but it would be nice.
To understate: I don't like this. Something, probably a whole lot of somethings, need(s) to be done. Australia Day, as it stands, I am inclined to think ought not continue. We might move it, we might attempt rebranding, but I think incidents like this are reflective of national identity and narrative and those need changing before any national symbol-day would cease to be associated with racist violence.
Personally I'm inclined to give up any sort of nationalist holiday, even one moved or under attempted rebranding. Might try establishing something new before phasing out the old to avoid association but I really am at a loss for devising some positive value celebration that would not readily be coopted for white nationalist violence.
Ah well. 'Tis always a long project, not a near future fix, and hopefully better minds than mine will conjure better ideas - I don't pretend to think I'd by myself overcome the world, not tonight.
Edit: I've missed a lot which ought have been said, concerning especially Indigenous issues, but though too weary now to form well my own words want not such to go without acknowledgement. So we reproduce as stand-in this comment here:
I don’t really think it’s appropriate to identify and celebrate another day, until we actually honestly address the problems that resulted from both colonisation and federation. The jingoistic blah that surrounds Australia Day offends me, but unless we partake in some genuinely honest self-appraisal as a nation, an alternative day will be just as bad.
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Date: 2009-01-28 13:03 (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2009-01-28 23:08 (UTC)From:When I came back from Sydney last week I had to sit through a drunken racist tirade from another passenger. He got off at Hornsby, accompanied by a couple of transit police. I still feel bad for not saying something, even though i was tired and ill that day.