Re: Four men beat up M'sian student in Melbourne
Aussie Pete,
Would you like to comment on the issue of racism in Melbourne?
Is there really that bottled up anger against asians in Melbourne by some Australians?
Thank you.
Gidday kakowi - thanks for posing the question - I've pretty much given up trying to defend against many of the other posters here.
The "baggers" will once again slam whatever I post on this topic - although I believe I truly am able to talk with authority, due to decades of experience in many countries and continents, travelling and also living.
I've spoken in other posts before and agreed that racism exists everywhere. One of the good things about Melbourne, is that it is truly regarded as one of the 'multicultural' capitals of the world. The reason for this is because most people live in harmony.
The mass media will always pick up on single incidents where people of different races have come to clash - I very rarely see reports on the news or in the papers here, or even on the internet, of the greater proportion of incidents of violence within races - ie. aussie against aussie, chinese against chinese, lebanese against lebanese, japanese against japanese, vietnamese against vietnamese, etc etc... which far outway any racial occurences. I have no idea what inspired the thugs to beat up on this Malaysian, but the media always jumps on this kind of thing and labels it as some sort of hate crime based on nationality... this happens often when the victim and offender are of different race or even sometimes religion.
There is no doubting the terrible religious conflicts in Sydney in the past, but once again, if there are a few hundred people with hatred toward one another for some reason, it does not justify labelling all Aussies racist as many people here have been doing.
In Melbourne, it is common for families to visit Box Hill, which is reknowned for it's high Asian (predominately chinese and vietnamese) communities to enjoy in the diverse culture, foods, shopping etc... same for Preston for a Lebanese flavour, or the infamous Lygon Street to experience Italian culture. Or many other suburbs to bathe in muticultural glory.
My wife (Shanghai born) is amazed at the acceptance of the general population of Melbourne, and has not once feel threatened or intimidated due to her race or cultural differences... either with me or out with her Chinese friends. Never even heard a racist word in many years.
Once again, I could write on this subject for hours and cite many happy experiences of "new" Australians, but there is no convincing those who wish to base their opinions on 2nd-hand stories or a few people's personal poor experiences... I would in no way suggest that there are not some people in Australia who are racist, just as I would not suggest the same of Singapore, or China, or the US - to do so would be naive... but thankfully these are the minority.
In Australia, there are anti-discrimination laws and racial villification laws to try and curb the minority - for instance, to call someone a name based upon the appearance or race (eg - as one poster here keeps referring to indigenous aussies as "abos") in a professional sporting event, will often see a full season ban of the offender, with mandatory counselling if they wish to play sport at a senior level again - this is reality and does occur. Unfortunately stuff like this doesn't get reported in the media here - but it is big news down under when it occurs and helps shame the offender into better understanding and tolerance of each others' differences. This is why so many aussies can feel offended by the term "ang moh" when first visiting SG - they are not used to descriptors based on appearance... for the record, I've lived abroad for long enough to not really care - many of my friends use the term with affection.
Finally, I know I cannot dissuade the opinions of the non-believers here, but if you happen to be a "fence sitter" and not too sure what to believe - all I can offer is my sincere and heartfelt message that most Aussies have a "she'll be right" attitude, are grateful to what our immigrants can bring to the culture and country... the long-standing lord mayor of Melbourne is Chinese, the number one heart surgeons and eye specialists are Asian (along with thousands of other community leaders - not to metion the many famous aboriginal legislators and senators), and "mainstream" aussies will welcome people with open arms regardless of race... if respect is not reciprocated, violence will not usually be the option in any way shape or form.
Anyway, cheers mate - if ever we meet up down under we can share a barbie and share our cultural experiences with warmth and tolerance.
For the record... my wife has been 100% accepted by all my (immediate and extended) family, friends and associates in Australia, and never have we experienced anything negative (in Australia) in regards to her race.
