By MESHEL LAURIE
Mia, my mentor, friend and inspiration – I must respectfully disagree with some points raised in your piece about the “Racist Delta Tweet” situation. (Editor’s note: You can read Mia’s original post, which explains the context of this particular debate here.)
I’m one of those people who refer to the “invasion” of Australia, rather than the “settlement”. I believe Australia Day is a hurtful and inappropriate talisman of the whitewashing of Australian history. I believe we are living in a kind of apartheid in this country that makes a mockery of any claims we make against the human rights records of others.
I am that person, and as that person I attract a lot of criticism from white Australians whenever I express my views. As I grow older, I express my views rarely unless I’m with like-minded souls because I can’t be bothered with the blowback. Today though, I feel I must come out of my cultural closet in defense of Aamer Rahman and Nazeem Hussain:
I’ve experienced many times the stunned confusion and sometimes unbridled fury of white Australians at the suggestion that this country has a problem with racism. Frankly, I’m just as confused that they don’t realize it, but I don’t bother pursuing the conversation because I am a fortunate white woman who has the option of ignoring it and getting on with my life.
Australian racism doesn’t affect my employment opportunities, or my nights out. The media doesn’t ignore my problems, or those of my ancestral homeland.
People don’t openly fear or mistrust me because of my color. I’m not followed in shops by anxious staff. Taxis don’t pull up at my house and then drive off when they see me walk towards them. No one tells their kids not to play with mine. No one worries I might be a terrorist.
As a fortunate white woman, I don’t believe I have the right to decide what isn’t racist in Australia. I’m not the one hurt and belittled by it. Honestly, I find the telling of racial minorities that they are over reacting about racism demeaning.
It reiterates the message that their voices are not welcome in our society, that they are outsiders and we will shout them down if they dare to raise their heads above the bunkers we herd them into.
I’ll take you on about sexism, and fatism, and any other ism I live inside of, any day of the week, but I have to accept that for all my cultural sensitivity, I don’t know what it’s like to face racism.
I have to accept that I will sometimes cross the line myself. Would I have tweeted a picture of me with a blacked-up Seal impersonator? No, but as professional broadcaster I’m sure I’ve made mistakes and will again. All I can do is apologize when those mistakes are pointed out to me. Apologize for making someone feel less than, and I can learn from it.
My piss-poor reluctance to discuss race in polite circles relies upon the existence of people as smart, young and brave as Aamer Rahman and Nazeem Hussain. I can let it slide because I know that these guys and many like them will not pipe down, but will fight with everything they have for the Australia I want to live in.
Yes, calling Delta Goodrem, whom I’ve met and like tremendously, a “stupid racist” is harsh, but so is bigotry. It promotes extremes and defensive diatribes, attributes already abundant in the young and passionate.
I can’t help but think that if more people like myself, older, white, fortunate, spoke more openly and confidently about the issues, and were more supportive of people like Aamer and Nazeem the conversation might make some actual progress. Those guys could learn a lesson in diplomacy, and I could certainly benefit from a dose of youthful courage.
Meshel Laurie is a comedian and broadcaster. You can catch up with her on Nova’s Drive Show with Tim Blackwell and Marty Sheargold 4-6pm on weekdays. You can also follow Meshel on Twitter here.
Did you think that Delta’s decision to tweet this photo was racist?
Top Comments
Since when is a Religion a race? Muslims are not a race. They are religious believers of the Religion of Islam, they are not a race. For the same reason that 7 day Adventists , Scientologists, etc are not a race either.Muslims are trying very hard to bring this idea into the world, because they do not want you to be critical of their superstition and backwards ideology , that is called Islam.For the same reason that they do not tolerate criticism of their Doctrine via cartoons, they do not want to hear any reasoning about their religion either, all Religions can be mocked and critically examined, but Islamists are strongly opposed to this. Even ANU has now Blasphemy laws for Islam at their University.The OIC wants to make international Blasphemy laws for the Religion of Islam, with preferably the death penalty.Nazeem Hussain is a fundamentalist Muslim , who pretends to be moderate, like Mehdi Hasan , in the UK, who calls unbelievers "Unintelligent Cattle" watch YT.Meanwhile infiltrates the media and teaches people that reasoning is racist. Hussain, clown by night, and fundamentalist by day, is dead serious about Halal food, and against cartoons as we can read on his site Islamophobia Watch, where he shows how racist the west is.
He is against the Danish Cartoons, and freedom of speech. There is discrimination everywhere, and white people are also discriminated against, we should be aware of this and try to live together in a peaceful way, but I do not see any reason why we suddenly are not allowed to be able to criticize a religion,it would mean we go right back to Medieval conditions, where superstition was rife, and where advancement through science and and progress suffered as such.
Have you heard of this novel group of people called Jews
An ethno religious group which is often spoke of as a race. Religion can be related to race.
Defending a racist like Nazeem Hussain? There is NO excuse for racism, not even by "brown" on "white". Racism is racism. You cannot bend the definition to exclude people of white skin as possible recipients it. What kind of a question is: "do white people have the right to decide what is racist?". Are you for real? White's are by far the least racist of all "groups". If you even have to ask this question ..... you need some serious help. And also, stop treating all non-whites as though they are not "grown-up" etc. It must be very condescending to always be treated as though you have a handicap.
Here's a video about what you call "racism by brown on white". There is no such thing and here's why...
http://www.youtube.com/watc...
"There's no such thing"... because it suits Mr Rahman's comedy.
That is all.
This is exactly the sort of thing that reinvigorates modern racism. Racism is racism, and unfortunately the public fighters of this disease purposely turn a blind eye towards it if it's directed toward Caucasians or similar ethnic groups.
Ergh. Racism is such a critical problem because it singles out a minority or disadvantaged group. It functions in direct proportion to privilege. It is about discrimination against people or groups who start on lower ground, through no fault of their own, on an uneven playing field, so to speak. As white people you, and I, (I'm assuming you three are white because no person of colour would ever level such an argument) are on the high ground, and so THAT is why there's no such thing as 'brown on white' racism (what a stupid term). Racism is about power relations and, whether you like it (or choose to see it) or not, if you're born white in Australia (or any other colonised country for that matter), the power balance is in your favour. That is statistically proven through life expectancy, percentage of people in management positions, rates of imprisonment, and the list goes on. Sexism, homophobia, and racism all function in the same way - they involve a privileged majority (in the sense of the majority of power and not necessarily numbers) group levelling an attack against a minority for a fact they cannot change. Each time the perpetrator changes, the negative group changes (in homophobia it is the heterosexual causing offence to homosexual people; in racism it is the white majority levelling attacks against an othered racial minority), but the dynamic remains the same. It's like sore winner syndrome, and you sound like an idiot defending it and saying things like 'reinvigorating modern racism' - racism has never ceased to exist, it's just that you have less and less excuses to be completely blind to it.