Thursday, Jul 22, 2021 at 16:35
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.
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