Monday, May 29, 2006

An Awesome Arguement

Today I got to chat face to face with racism. How did it feel? I'm not some interviewer like Andrew Denton or Oprah. Not even a lowely TV psychologist like Doctor Phil or Koschie from Sunrise.
But I was excited and thrilled and got to smack that racism bitch down like a true chauvanist!
It started with the innocuos question (i really shouldn't use adjectives what I don't know what they mean) 'How was your weekend' my UNESCO seminar on aboriginal entrepreneaurship one out over tupperware party (even though tupperware party is a more exotic experience for me than peace and love gatherings of intellectual snobs) I was really feeling strongly about this one because a couple of corn kernals had gone pop in my brain and they were dripping with butter.
Australia is racist. 90% of funding from the government goes to remote communities even though 70% of the indegenous population live in urban areas. This perception is cultivated by the media. Of the 6089 aboriginals classed by the ABS as Self employed (representing 4.8% of the indigenous population) 2058 are employers only the rest are classed as Other Self Employed which is a politicised term of the work for the dole scheme.
Many Aboriginal entrepreneaurs claim to be indonesian and south east asian because it is favorably percieved relative to being Indegenous.
My spelling is pretty atrocious but as I was realing off such facts racism surfaced and stopped me.
'Hold on, I have a friend who went to Dubbo and she was afraid to go out on the streets because those arogant ungrateful aboriginals would have beaten her up'
A) Suggesting she was afriad of something that might happen rathen than something that would happen.
B) I have said before the Anglo Saxon is Mr. My Way or the High Way, the most merciless, intolerent and violent race to ever grace the earth.
C) Aboriginals as far as I am aware have never committed genocide and dispossessed any White races in history.
When I explained this racism said:
'Your talking about our great great great great grandparents'
To which I replied 'Up until the 70's an aboriginal women wasn't allowed to own property the government would confiscate it, this isn't generations we are talking about this is generation.
So racism got tactful: 'Australia is multi cultural, they get all these benefits. Any other race that comes here can get work.'
A) Being on centrelink is not the dream of any individual anywhere. It isn't a glorious or worthwhile occupation it is a symptom of a racist repressive system.
B) Italians an greeks were brought in as migrants to employment and as such were given more of a chance than any indegenous residents ever got simply by having structural employment and being able to freely practice their way of life (being European)
C) $8 an hour is a good wage for a Chinese international student in China town, these students find it incredibly hard to find employment in decent jobs against local students.
We two'd and fro'd between customer calls for a while but racism was cornered, not realising this manifestation of an attitude was precisely the problem.
'They get all these benefits and do nothing with it'
All these benefits what about all the free land white colonists stole and have derived millions apon millions of dollars of wealth only to spend a measly few million on indegenous affairs. I'd fucking attack these whiteys too.
'They can get work, I lost my job and I put out heaps of resumes and got work.'
Where did you work racism?
'Jeans West'
And how many overweight people did jeanswest employ on the shop floor?
And that was it that was the clincher I had to put it like that before she realised that an aboriginal can no more get a job with the Australian attitude than a fat chick can work at jeans west.
Life isn't as simple as trying hard.
The real sad thing that highlights it all was this guy that spoke to us spoke of a dude who was the first aboriginal member of the Coffs Harbour Golf Club and President no less, as well as president of the Hoteliers and Caravan association actually went to England to get educated.
An abbo had to go to another country to have a chance. Not in Multi-Cultural Australia.

1 comment:

mr_john said...

Nothing more heartwarming than a sympathy comment.

I still can't see why you don't spell or punctuate properly... I know you can.

Even so, I like your stuff.