A very personal story

It depends if you assumed he wasnt the boss because he was carrying cleaning gear or because he was black??

It's funny you mention that sort of racism, I was watching the Channel Eddie TV show "The Lost Tribes" at 6.30pm last Sunday night & wondered if the same degree of nudity would have been shown, had they been 'white'.

I have a shoelace.

Footloose,

Find it interesting, some of this political correctness. Some times useful, sometimes a real pain.

Like you said, you soon work out the other people worth knowing, and the ones not worth the trouble.

In Moorooka at the moment, we have quite a few african families that have come through the immigration system, legally. Now some of the oldies around here are getting really worried about it becoming a 'little africa'. These are the same people who 20 to 30 years ago would go out of thier way to welcome a new family into the street, whether they be Greek, or Italian, Hungarian or English.

Came across a concept called social darwinism a couple of years ago. Became popular at the end of the 19th century. The basis of the theory goes that the advance of a society gives an indication of the people's inherent intelligence. Since the British empire was at it's peak, the Brits were the top of the tree in human development, then Europeans and other industrialised countries, then places like China, etc, then arabs, africans and last of course were Australian aboriginals and other hunter gatherers. Now we know this is a fallacy, but it seems to be taking a while for it to disappear. Suppose we all are a little nervous of things different. Part of our survival instinct. But I have heard it said that social darwinism and it's influence is partly responsible for the government policies of the late 19th and early 20th century.

Havn't explored this too far. What are your feelings as a result of your experiences?

PS - yes, I am white middle class, with most probably a few hang ups that I am not aware off. :o)

Hey Footloose

I think you had a paradigm shift of major proportions there.
Such a shift is almost always unnerving to some extent, it's not about racism but rather about how we see the world.

Here is a story you might like :-)

‘Imagine you're in London's Heathrow Airport. While you're waiting for your flight, you notice a kiosk selling shortbread cookies. You buy a box, put them in your traveling bag and then you patiently search for an available seat so you can sit down and enjoy your cookies. Finally you find a seat next to a gentleman. You reach down into your traveling bag and pull out your box of shortbread cookies. As you do so, you notice that the gentleman starts watching you intensely. He stares as you open the box and his eyes follow your hand as you pick up the cookie and bring it to your mouth. Just then he reaches over and takes one of your cookies from the box, and eats it! You're more than a little surprised at this. Actually, you're at a loss for words. Not only does he take one cookie, but he alternates with you. For every one cookie you take, he takes one.

Now, what's your immediate impression of this guy? Crazy? Greedy? He's got some nerve?! Can you imagine the words you might use to describe this man to your associates back at the office? Meanwhile, you both continue eating the cookies until there's just one left. To your surprise, the man reaches over and takes it. But then he does something unexpected. He breaks it in half, and gives half to you. After he's finished with his half he gets up, and without a word, he leaves.

You think to yourself, "Did this really happen?" You're left sitting there dumbfounded and still hungry. So you go back to the kiosk and buy another box of cookies. You then return to your seat and begin opening your new box of cookies when you glance down into your travelling bag. Sitting there in your bag is your original box of cookies -- still unopened.

Only then do you realize that when you reached down earlier, you had reached into the other man's bag, and grabbed his box of cookies by mistake. Now what do you think of the man? Generous? Tolerant? You've just experienced a profound paradigm shift. You're seeing things from a new point of view. Now, think of this story as it relates to your life. Things may not be what they seem. Seeing things from a new point of view can be very enlightening….’ – This is reproduced as it is from “Point of View”, a story by Joe Gracia

i would say your assumption was well founded, not very many would be able to even be a cleaner, nor do they want to. culture is now from a green can, respect for elders is gone. not racism, realism.

Here's one for you.

2 boy's aged 4 1/2 going to the same pre- school, they laugh and joke about the same thing, they play with the same toys, they swim in the same pool, they love fishing and hunting, they speak 2 different languages, they drink from the same tap, they play in the same sand pit, their fathers own there own business, they wear the same clothes, there best friends.

One day they will grow up and go to a pub, probably have one to many, people will look at one of them without prejudice and the other with disgust.

Why ????

One is a traditional owner of Kakadu, The other is my Son.

Cheers Steve.

How about Len Beadell's episode when he drove hundreds of miles into Alice from somewhere out there on the pre-natal Gunbarrell to get some parts after a mulga root stuffed his grader blade. He was confronted by a little old lady he assumed would go and get the expert, only to find she knew more about it by miles than he (Len) did, and after she dealt with other matters while he was there, realised SHE was THE EXPERT in town.

Did I read that right? Did Truckster say he had a shoe lace? ALRIGHTEE THEN!

Stuck in the Tanimi Desert about 10 years ago. Sent out a message for help... but got moving again. Needed to get to a phone and let them know we were okay before the posse was sent out.. so we headed into the Tanimi Gold Mine.

Went to the site office. Two aboriginal girls at the front desks and one white further back. To my shame... I spoke in a loud voice to the back at the white girl.... yep, the aboriginal girl in front of me was in charge and very helpful to the racist stranger...

Footloose, we are all shaped by our perceptions of what is normal, by our environment. I always thought that I was raised with a non-racist outlook at a time when Australia was actively being promoted as white, so my perceptions were never tested. Until I saw a piece of film in the 60's, which featured a typically British male walking down a street with a bowler hat and furled umbrella, viewed from behind. When the camera caught up and panned around to his front he was an African male, I was gobsmacked and then shocked by my reaction.
Years later, Mickey D's ran an ad where a man sat facing the camera with an Akubra tilted forward over his face while the spiel was voiced over the still image. At the close the man raised his head and uttered 'Strewth' in a very Aussie accent. Nothing odd about this you say? Not until you saw the very Asian face under the hat! That ad didn't run for very long.
Just lately, my youngest son called me a racist when I mentioned that, while sitting on my front verandah, I was shocked to see an Asian man go by on a three wheeled bicycle which had a canopied seat between the two back wheels, on which sat his wife and child. We live in small town Australia and that scene is not one which I relate to being part of my normal environment. I was not expecting to see that type of thing in the place where I live, so I was shocked into realising that the world has certainly become a global village in my lifetime.
Twenty years ago my 10yr old daughter was disabled by cancer for a while and I was astonished by the rudeness of people who stopped in front of her wheelchair and stared at her, forcing me to push her chair around the starers. Most of those who made it obvious were the older (50/60's) generation who had not seen too many disabled people in their formative years and reacted negatively when faced with one unexpectedly. Mind you, it didn't take me long to acquire 'attitude'. If they got in my way, I would push right up to them, stop, then say, "This is my daughter, she has cancer, do you have any question?' It's funny, but I never got a single one. I doesn't take much to change ones perceptions.
OzeSheila.

I was talking with a group of friends at a party the other night, the topic of discussion was which famous celebrity would you sleep with if the offer was made.

One friend, who is a doctor, mentioned that a doctor colleague of his had actually slept with Mick Jagger. We all thought, ooo yuk, is he gay?

Of course not, this doctor was a SHE!