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...more open and tolerant. Don't judge all Australians by this sickening story of racism. I would hate to think the rest of the world views all Americans through the filter of, say, the Watts riots. Or, more recently, the wave of physical attacks on anyone perceived to be a Muslim in the U.S. immediately after 9/11.
To my way of thinking, the ebb and flow of progress in Australia mirrors that of the U.S., only at a different speed and time. The last time I was there (six weeks over Sept.-Oct.), it felt, as it always does, like being in the U.S. of my youth: slower, kinder, gentler, nicer -- and definitely cleaner. But it also felt like what I imagine the 1950s would have been like here if Joe McCarthy had been president.
Just think of Australia as going through the first throes of its own "Patriot Act" era right now (as well as a major, crushing assault on blue-collar workers by the federal government -- sound familiar?). They've gone through worse, and so have we -- and if you believe, as I do, that the U.S. will come out of this nightmare at all, then you have every reason to believe Australia will too. It's just going to be on their own schedule, not ours.
As far as racism in Australia goes, I know only what I've been told, as I've never witnessed so much as a verbal slur while there. The country is something like 93% white-European, and I've never seen an African-American there. Africans, yes, especially Sudanese, but the only other non-white people I have seen at the mall or wherever have been almost solely Pacific Islanders (mostly Torres Strait & Fiji), and lots of Maoris from New Zealand. But then, consider the geography -- and the fact that it's a rare day I run into another American, white or not.
The funny thing is, when I'm down there (and I spend almost all my time in Melbourne), I seem to be the only one who actually notices non-white people when I see them. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, where whites are outnumbered by non-whites, so I don't notice whether anybody else at my local supermarket is white, black, Hispanic, or Asian. So it's the absence of non-white people in Australia that throws me.
As for Aboriginals, there is still a big divide, and a major issue of contention. In short, white Australia did to the Aboriginals pretty much everything white America did to the Native Americans -- and the results have been pretty much the same. The difference is that, I believe, the majority of white Australians are now labouring under some serious guilt, and trying to find a way to unite with Aboriginal society, in a way that isn't solely lip service.
I guess all of the above must make it sound pretty bad for non-white folks Down Under, doesn't it? I can't tell you that it's all good in Australia, because I'm white (although not quite as white-looking as the average Aussie; I'm more Latin-looking, which gets me a few friendly but curious looks from time to time), so I can't possibly see it through your eyes. On the other hand, I'm also queer as a three-dollar bill, and make no effort to hide that fact. And from that point of view, I can say I've run into far less homophobia Down Under than I have in the U.S. The rule is basically this: As long as you're good and trustworthy and understand real "mateship," then you're A-OK in most everybody's book, and you're always going to be a "member of the club" unless you do something drastically outrageous, like betraying a friend. (I consider there to be no higher compliment in the world than for an Aussie to truly consider me a real "mate" or "cobba"; it's an honour to me.)
Still, I've never witnessed so much as a cross look at a non-white person, and all the Aussies I know couldn't care less what color their friends, co-workers, or neighbors are.
Sure, interracial violence happens. Heck, there are some leftover pockets of antagonism between some Aussies and the Greeks and Italians who emigrated in the 1950s. There are Aussie-Serbs who detest Aussie-Croatians and vice versa (and there's a significant number of both down there). But what country can say it's free of such conflict? Certainly not the U.S.
I hope you'll forgive my long post; obviously, Australian culture is one of my very favorite subjects. Australia is far from perfect -- but what's good about it is nearly impossible to explain if you haven't experienced it personally.
Which is why I ramble on endlessly, trying to explain it. LOL
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