Crime Spoils Paradise

Hi Pinko it might cost you a few dollars

A report in the West Australian, a few days ago, was about a man who performed a citizen’s arrest in Geraldton. He put the thief in a headlock and dragged them down to the police station.
A leftie magistrate fined him $800 for using excessive force.

I grew up as a young bloke in a small country town where my father gave the local police sergeant, permission to kick me in the arse if I got up to mischief. If they did that in Broome the police officer would be sacked and branded racist by the ABC and the woke bigrade.
The world has gone mad!

How do you know the magistrate was a leftie (a term you use a few times - so I assume you are from the extreme right).

Maybe on assessment of all the evidence the magistrate found that the individual did use excessive force.

I agree that there are concerns about visiting Broome but it is not a leftie vs redneck issue.

No Ozzie - Just an old-fashioned conservative but probably labeled a right-winger by the woke brigade. I believe these young thugs should be taken by the scruff of the neck and put in what we used to call a reformatory.

I'd say you'd be in deep doo-doo Pinko, especially when you later discovered it was your missus, or the park manager, or a slightly "tired and emotional" caravaner who mistook yours for his. The good news is that - using Dennis' infallible logic - if you explained to the woke-sympathetic judge that you were both woke-n suddenly and a woke devotee you'd probably get off scott free.

Woke jokes are not allowed Bazooka - you will end up insulting the sensitive darlings. Ha ha!

Have 2 bits of wood and once youve beaten the little bugger put the other stick in his hand and call the cops.

Hmmm, so it is likely most of these perpetrators have grown up in an environment of violence and some of you guys think you can solve the problem with more violence ?
Not to mention that they will almost certainly be more capable of dishing out a hiding than you would and you will most likely be copping the beating from your own stick.
Best leave the broom head on the stick and use it as intended

Thanks Alby. The common knowledge that corporal punishment is counterproductive and achieves sfa other than resentment, retaliation, and even worse - imitation ("violence begets violence") is apparently not as common as we thought.

I'm a bit disappointed Frank. When I saw the title I was certain the thread was about the Morrison government's latest foray into (car park) corruption. Corruption which, according to the Minister for Irony and Cynicism Simon Birmingham, is either not a problem or is our fault because "we" re-elected them.

G'day Frank P

I am neither a 'lefty or a righty' in a political party alliance sense nor am I a religious zealot, I am just an ordinary bloke who tries to live life by the rules, which have been set for us as a society to abide by, long before I came into being, there are plenty of others who simply don't give a 'rats' about rules or laws that are meant to keep us as a collective safe and orderly, some might say controlled.

Now the rehashing of the Broome story might be uncomfortable to revisit, but it's an actual fact only this time seen through another set of eyes and at another point in time.

I for one, read the post and thought 'so what's new' and if anyone thinks Broome or Geraldton is unique when it comes to shitty behaviour and crime along with a total head in the sand attitude when it comes to dealing with rat bags and criminals in those two places just come to the Pilbara and the town where I live and experience a whole new lot of exactly the same thing, there are all sorts of well meaning people charging around saying they have the answer and all it's going to take is more money and another agency or organization who with the help of respected elders will try to get a handle on things.

Now I like the sound of getting 'a handle' but I instantly thought of an AXE handle, so then that would make me one of them and I am definitely not one of them.

Sadly it hasn't happened and I am sure it will never happen, not in my lifetime anyway!



Safe travels : Joe

All well and good Michael, and I agree with most of your comment, HOWEVER I'm not convinced that there isn't an underlying reason why these threads get aired. The comments (and language) are instructive, knee jerk (likely out of frustration) and often show little willingness to understand or acknowledge the underlying issues.

This article might help improve that understanding for some. There are plenty more, like the one about Moree below.
Do-we-have-that-much-to-fear-from-a-12-year-old-aboriginal-kid-that-we-need-to-cage-them

Indigenous youth crime (especially recidivism), suicide, self-harm etc is a REAL problem in some areas and has been for years (Bourke-Brewarrina, Broome, Dubbo, FNQ etc) irrespective of the colour of governments, and DESPITE efforts by aboriginal communities, "lefty" social workers and "woke" judges and police etc. The good news is that there are programs making a difference - thanks to people with different attitudes, ideas and approaches likePeter McKenna, Community police programs DUBBO, andLloyd Munro, Martin Burke etc MOREE.

There are no easy solutions but smack 'em around and lock 'em up has already been shown to be resource draining, unproductive, and self-perpetuating .

A white man’s solution is never going to work Bazooka

This problem will go on forever unless the elders and parents take ownership of their problems. Blaming others will never solve them. They need to make their kids attend school and to keep them off the streets at night, to get an education to take place in modern society as our parents did.

They need to promote role models of aboriginal people like those I admire, such as Graham Farmer, Evonne Goolagong, Ash Barty, Ben Wyatt, Ken Wyatt, Jacinta Price, and Tony Mundine to name a few.

I have the greatest admiration for a friend, a lawyer, who jokingly calls himself a Leboriginal, who is half Lebanese and half Aboriginal. He didn’t winge about his lot in life, he just knuckled down and got on with it.

Yes and no Dennis. There are many other factors - racism, discrimination, jobs, opportunity, ties to country and family, different wants and psyche (and our lack of understanding of that) etc.

I agree role models are important but it's easy for us to laud those who rise above and achieve extraordinary things in "our" world while simultaneously stereotyping and jettisoning those less able. I wonder how we'd have fared in the same circumstances. Most of those you list didn't come from the dire situation which others face. The late great Polly Farmer is still my fav footballer, but like Anthony Mcdonald-Tipungwuti (great story there) he was relatively fortunate in his upbringing.

The good news is that over the last couple of decades there have been plenty of positive changes. Aborigines are now proud of their heritage and skin, opportunities in the arts, sport, environment, tourism have expanded enormously, our knowledge of their history and struggles has improved , and importantly, attitudes have changed across the board - notwithstanding the continuing problems in some communities.

Bazooka, It’s a sad fact but racism is human nature.

The aboriginal footballer David Wirrpanda says that taxi drivers are racist and won’t pick him up.
I know a bus driver who has been spat on by a group of young aboriginals who wouldn’t pay their fare.
I once worked for a real estate agent who wouldn’t let his houses out to aboriginals.
In our shops groups of aboriginals are followed closely by security or shop owners.
Are these people racist? – Yes and there is a reason.

My local service station, post office, and car wash are run by hard-working dark-skinned Indian Australians. Do they suffer the same racism? – No and there is a reason.

Hi Bazooka, I'd actually like to hear your response to Dennis's question?

Frankly Nutta if this were the appropriate forum I'd prefer to discuss the MUCH LARGER problem of corporate/white collar crime, institutional "misconduct" (aka law breaking and dishonesty in the real world ), and federal and state government corruption - none of which can claim to be rooted in a lack of education or jobs, poverty, difficult upbringing, discrimination, cultural displacement and not knowing where one fits in etc, but rather in dishonesty, lack of personal integrity and ethics, lack of close oversight, standards and accountability, lack of care by complacent and credulous Australian voters, and of course - enormous ego, entitlement, and a lust for power. Can you imagine the chaos our societies would be in if we all behaved like, and had the ethics of, these bastards?

If you think I have some special knowledge/understanding of or answers to the issues or what it feels like to come from a background of decades of paternalism, patronism and dispossession (of land, language, culture, tradition), of poverty, poor upbringing and education - then you'd be wrong. I don't know what it's like to be discriminated against, profiled, herded into "missions", of having my kids removed from me, of being caught between two cultures and not understanding my place in the world.

But I'll come along on your fishing trip if you answer my questions - why do you need my response and which of Dennis' rhetorical questions are you referring to? As I'vce already said, some of his musings have their answers in history, culture, place, upbringing, opportunity, ambition. You can read about that at your leisure in commentary by people far more experienced and qualified than me (including in the first link I provided above). Here's another very brief one which might be of interest: Creative Spirits - aboriginal communities are breaking down

From my perspective some observations/opinions about indigenous issues on Exploroz are clearly loaded, and their posters blinkered and misguided. For example, security staff who keep a close watch on indigenous kids aren't racist simply because they do so and kids/people misbehaving on buses and elsewhere is hardly confined to any one single group. How about that bus driver who left two pre-schoolers locked up in his bus for 6 hours in western NSW a while back? Or the St Kevins private school boys chanting sexist and offensive garbage on a public bus a couple of years ago? Or my workmate's house being broken into 3 times in a decade or so - likely by schoolkids (presumably non-indigenous given the local demographics) according to police.

I could link you to hundreds of reports of of house and car break-ins, assaults, fare evasions (most of the preceding list don't ever make the news), rapes, murders, life-changing fraud etc in predominantly "white" communities, of covering up sexual assault, predation, and misbehaviour (in schools, workplaces and even in what is supposedly the highest institution in the land) - but what would be the point? Surely the RC into Institutional Child Sexual Abuse - which led to numerous suicides and wrecked numerous lives - and the "Banking RC" told us all we need to know about our own problems and behaviours?

Just as there's a difference between reasons and excuses, so there's a huge difference between racism and rejection of certain behaviours which are unacceptable (if understandable to a limited extent) irrespective of race, nationality or skin colour. If you read some of the links above or do some wider reading you might get some inkling as to the reasons some indigenous people get caught up in the spiral. It's well-documented that kids in families where substance abuse (drugs and alcohol) is prevalent fare far worse than their peers irrespective of skin colour. Something as simple as appreciating why, for example, aboriginal people might prefer to have health care by someone from a similar background or a worker with special training in indigenous issues ("cultural competence") is a step towards a better understanding of cultural differences.

Sorry, what was the specific question again? Do Indians in Australia experience overt racism? I don't really know but I suspect the answer is yes, although probably far less than indigenous Australians - for many many complex reasons. How do we improve the problems of recidivism, aberrant behaviour, crime etc in indigenous communities? Blowed if I know however "closing the gap", education, job opportunities, targeted programs like those above, respect etc will play a part. But as Dennis said, ultimately it is probably parents and community leaders who have the greatest responsibility and can make the biggest impact.

Apologies for not getting back to you I was out of range for a few days.
That was an amazing answer, I totally respect and understand everything you have said.
Thank you.

Maybe it's not "boredom" - maybe it's borne by a dislike to having their homes overrun by tourists. I wouldn't like to live there and it hold no interest to me as a tourist to go anywhere that is a tourist hot-spot - it's all gone crazy.

Maybe so Michelle, different world over your side. Most small towns over here love the economy boost of the excess of travellers these days.
A lot of comunities over your side are so well funded by the mines and governments they see tourists as annoying.
Every outback QLD town we have camped in we ended up staying longer than planned and loved the welcome extended to us.
The only people we come across that werent worth talking to were the small percentage of caravaners that considered themselves above those in campers or tents.

I was only referring to Broome - heavily promoted and on most people's bucket list if they have never been. Certainly a different story for little towns in regional NSW and outback Qld etc that have never had mainstream popularity.

I think the problem is over tourism and the "entitled" factor that is all too commonly shown by visitors everywhere. Mostly through no direct fault of their own - just by being a part of the problem. A tourist responding to the media promotion to come to a region, wanting accommodation, food, shops etc. but the town's inability to manage this with a pre-existing indigenous problem. There's no easy answer, no perfect solution but its naive to ignore the hugely negative impact of tourism in towns where there are unresolved indigenous issues. The problem has steadily become worse in the past 30 years. The reason for the crime is no doubt a part of venting on their behalf as its the only thing they can do. They don't care if it puts off the caravanners. The tourism and town business might but not the ones doing the crime. Just my observation.

If you get a chance watch an ABC report called DIAMOND'S AREN'T FOREVER and see the problem RIO TINTO created in Kunnunurra. That was years ago but now the mine has closed down and in rehab. I worked there for a while and got to work with some of the local tradies at the mine, a really good bunch of blokes, I just hope their town doesnt implode now its main source of income has shut down.

You and I aren't permitted to be 'racist', however Governments are strongly racist.

Jail time is not a deterrent in these style of situations, it is a way of life. They have numerous friends and relatives in jail so it is just a normal part of life as is domestic violence and sex crimes.
My son lived in an indigenous community for a while and it was just par for the course , he went back to catch up with his mate 18 months later only to find he was doing time.