What is racist?

Sorry I am a little late on this topic but I was off the air this week. There has been a lot of discussion on FB in regard to the Adam Goodes incident last week and I thought I would offer my own analysis from my point of view about it. From the outset let me say that Goodes is a great sportsman and could be considered a role model to ALL sport loving Australians (even if it is AFL) but to me this feels like a real media beat up, hell I don’t even think the original comment from the girl was racist anyway and if that is the worst thing Goodes has been called I would be surprised. That in no way excuses the girl’s poor behaviour but for god’s sake she is a 13 year old girl.
In my opinion Australia is in danger of losing its sense of perspective on this issue thanks to the media portraying Australia as a county full of racists. It seems to me that racism is very selective for the media who have pushed this story hard this week but has double standards on it. As a result of this lopsided media beat-up some people may come to the conclusion that they are in fact different and expect the rest of us to treat them differently from everyone else and this may in fact already be happening.

As someone who has travelled around the world a bit it’s my opinion that Australia as a country is not a racist country by any stretch of the imagination, there are certainly racists among us that’s true but as a whole the laws of this country allow anybody to come to this country and make a go of it no matter their background and they are equal under the law. That however can’t be said for many other countries. Try and buy a home or land in some of our Asian neighbour’s countries or get citizenship they actually have laws against it to stop you. Try and practise religious freedom in any Islamic country, on the whole nobody can say Australia is not a tolerant country by comparison.

There was actually an example on TV recently of this double standard from the media on this topic with a Scotsman selling a new Ute in an ad, you may have seen it. In the ad he tells us that we should trust a Scotsman when looking for a deal on a new Ute. What are they suggesting to us, that Scottish people are penny-pinchers and tight with their money? Let me give you an alternative for that ad that you will never see. Imagine if the Scotsman was replaced by a Jew in the same ad. I can tell you now the ad would never see the light of day and if it did it would be a news story. Why? It’s just a joke right? Why is it not offensive for a Scotsman to be in the ad but we would all feel that the ad was a little off if he told us he was a Jew and we should trust him to find a great deal the inference being that Jews are also tight with their money. I can’t help feeling that there are different standards of racism from a media who beat us up over the issue on one hand but are happy to use a Scottish person and the inference that it carries to sell a Ute but would probably never use a Jewish person to do the same job. We are being played on this issue by the media in my opinion and the real issues of addressing racism are not being helped by this sort of fake indignation from the media for the sake of ratings. Anyway that’s what I think and I may well be wrong but that’s just how this whole story for the last week has felt to me just a big media game.

Why we must move on from Rudd.

I can’t help but comment on the actions of Kevin Rudd over the last week and the reaction from some of the public.

The thing I don’t understand is why people are so taken in by this guy. Don’t misunderstand me I do get that there is a level of sympathy for him and the way he was treated by his own party when removed (inappropriately in my opinion) from the Prime Ministership. That said however I think people should remember the circumstances surrounding that event and how it came about. I think we have forgotten just what the circumstances were that led to his removal at the time. The picture back then was of a party losing its grip with a Nielsen poll in May 2010 indicating that if an election were held then, Labor would lose that election. All this came on the back of the disastrous roofing insulation debacle and failed climate change policy back flips and increased spending during the GFC. It is also important to remember that at that time he was ably advised by the likes of Gillard, Swan and Wong. Rudd also had come under increased criticism from those around him of his autocratic leadership style that was creating difficulty within his own office among his staff. In July 2010 Bob Hawk said of Rudd on the 7:30 Report “Mr Rudd could have been prime minister for a lot longer if he had taken a different approach”. Hawk also said “I also had the feeling that he would have avoided it all if he had been consultative". So at the time Rudd had created mistrust in the voting public and polls were on the way down with an even greater dislike among his cabinet, party colleagues and staff. There was certainly a collective “gasp” however from the public with his removal and a feeling that this was not the right way to treat a sitting prime minister and that he should have been allowed to see out his term and let the public decide his fate. It is this that I believe has created this “soft spot’ for Rudd today.  

However the conduct of Rudd since that time could not be described as dignified or prime ministerial. Rudd has conducted a subversive counter attack that has been a constant destabilising factor to the current government. He and his supporters have made every attempt to bring Gillard down and undermine her position as well as public confidence in her ability. Earlier this week on ABC Q&A Mark Latham, who knows a little about the savagery of labor politics accusing Rudd of being ‘‘evil’’ and “orchestrating a three-year ‘‘jihad of revenge’’ which he said was “unprecedented in Australian politics”. Latham said "You’re getting into the realm of evil here with Rudd, the realm of evil, with someone who has gone well beyond normal practices in politics...’’

As it looks at this time Gillard and her government, (again ably assisted the same people that were supporting Rudd - Swan and Wong) will fall victim of its own ineptitude in September but I am also sure there will also be a bit of pay back from the public for the wrongs done to Rudd.

This brings me to bit about Rudd and the fawning fans I saw on TV this week that I don’t understand. What has been Rudd’s motivation since his removal in 2010? Has it been to work hard to see the stability, prosperity and growth of the Australian economy for the benefit of the Australian people? Has it been to fight for Australian’s around the country that have lost their jobs and face significant financial hardship under this government? Has it been to see a resolution to the asylum seeker and border security issues facing this country? Or has it been to seek revenge, destabilise and unseat Gillard and her supporters? Based on Rudd’s actions since 2010 Latham may well be right when he described Rudd as a "once-in-a-century egomaniac". Based on the evidence you would have to say Rudd falls into the second category in my opinion. I don’t know about you but I am not sure this qualifies him for the job of prime minister of this country. I for one don’t think we need a leader that has displayed nothing but self-promotion, self-interest, contempt and revenge regardless of the impact those actions would ultimately have on the rest of us. Rudd should be consigned to history as the failed leader that he was and let’s move on.

A town like Bourke.

I could not help but feel sadness as I read through an article in the Sydney Morning Herald today: Crying out for a new beginning.

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/crying-out-for-a-new-beginning-20130201-2dq00.html

For a few years in the 90s I worked for the NSW state government and part of my patch was working in the Bourke area. I must admit that on my first trip out there I arrived with some trepidation. I had heard the stories of a dysfunctional town, high crime rates and zealous police.

What I found however was not quite what I was expecting. Yes I saw the poverty of some of the local indigenous people. I heard the stories from both sides of rough justice meted out by some of the local police. What I also found was a town that felt like an island oasis, a town made up of proud individuals who deep down loved this place black and white, this island in the middle of the bush. I also found a town not only overwhelmingly rich in aboriginal history but a place that is so burnt into the Australian psyche that much of Australia’s grounding and sense of mateship was born here. Names like Banjo Paterson, Henry Lawson and Breaker Morant helped put Bourke on the map and build an image of outback Australia, hell they even have a festival celebrating it.

What I also found was sadness a sadness in the people and a sadness in the local indigenous people. As I got to know some of them over time I began to get a sense of the people and how much they loved this place. I found many good people who just wanted a fair go from a town that was almost responsible for creating the concept. What I also felt was a people who had been so neglected by their own leaders that they had nowhere to turn. Feeling no part of the white man‘s world the one place you would think they could find refuge was among their own but it could not be found. 

I still remember my first tour around the town with a local council representative driving past houses that were no more than shacks. I remember we turned down what my tour guide referred to as Crystal St, not that there is a Crystal street in Bourke that I know of, that was the name he gave it due to the amount of broken glass built up over the years that covered the road reflecting the sun’s rays in the late afternoon. In my naivety I asked what was being done to help not realising that I was looking at the help around me in the broken buildings they called homes. As I read this story today I found it hard to comprehend that nothing could have changed since then.

It has been some years now since an apology was made to indigenous Australians of the stolen generation on our behalf. An apology that was given to help heal the wounds of the past caused by the government of the day when they forcibly removed children from parents, an action considered necessary for the protection of some Aboriginal Australians yet it caused so much pain and suffering for so many.
So how has the apology helped the people of Bourke? Has it made the issues that face local aboriginal Australians any better? Has it really allowed people to move on? As I read though the story I could not help but think that there was something missing for these people, something more that was needed before they are able to move forward.

If the apology was considered necessary from our government for past deeds committed against aboriginal people I can’t help but feel that what is missing is an apology from their own Aboriginal leaders for the systematic abuse by previous indigenous organisations, individuals and leadership? Abuse that was going on as Kevin Rudd spoke the very words of apology and as suggested in this article still obvious in Bourke today. It is well documented and acknowledged that governments have got it wrong and carry much responsibility with numerous inquires pointing out the failures. But what of the failures of aboriginal leadership and organisations that have let their own people down?

There are many examples that have come to light over the years of federal and state funds squandered on projects that brought little or no benefit to people that were in need by their very own people . There are countless examples of some Aboriginal leadership who were abusing the very communities they served, and there are examples of leadership who not only knew of financial abuse, neglect even sexual exploitation including assaults on women and paedophilia but did nothing and I am not suggesting that has taken place in Bourke I have no evidence of that. But who from current Aboriginal leadership will stand up and apologise for past neglect and abuse of their own people? If it was necessary for our government to take responsibility for the misguided deeds of the past should it not be necessary for Aboriginal leadership to take responsibility for their own misdeeds?

Sorrow and forgiveness from within a family can be a powerful thing. Following a dispute with a loved one the admission of wrong and a full and unconditional apology can bring profound healing to that family, was that not the intended result of an official apology by the federal government to assist in that process? An expression of sorrow can invoke a strong and binding family relationship that allows that family to heal, forgive and move forward. Surely it is this very healing and forgiveness that is needed now in Bourke. The healing process may have begun with Kevin Rudd. We as a nation can now look back and admit that things should have been done differently. Healing for indigenous Australia also needs to come from within as an expression of sorrow giving people the opportunity to move forward. Until that time I cannot see how Bourke can move forward as my impression is that they feel they can’t trust anyone not even their own leadership. Where are they going to turn and how do they move forward?

What right to develop.

I have recently seen a number of stories about environmentalist decrying the growth of developing countries and the use/ destruction of their own natural resources. There is a moral, social and responsibility conflict in play with many of these situations and it’s being played out in developing countries around the world, especially in countries desperate for social and economic reform like South America, Africa and India.

Developed countries like Australia have for the past 200 years or so had the opportunity to develop their economies and revolutionise our way of life without any meaningful restrictions on what we could do or how we did it. We built dams, we flooded valleys, we dug up coal and uranium we built power stations and we displaced countless people to build the wealth of this country, rightly or wrongly.

Many developing countries now find themselves in a position where they too have the opportunity to build a modern and prosperous society and bring social reform, health and benefits to millions of their citizens.  Those countries like ourselves who now enjoy the social and economic benefits of that development over the last 200 years must be careful not to place the guilt or responsibility for our failures on other countries who simply desire the same benefits we now enjoy.

The guilt and responsibility for our own failure to protect, value and preserve our own natural assets, people and culture should not be placed on the shoulders of other countries. Counties and people who not only deserve the same level of wealth, health benefits,  financial security and living standards that we now enjoy but are most in need of that social renewal and financial security, things that come with such development.

I don’t know what the answer is and I don’t know what the right balance is but we must find it together as a world. I am very reluctant to simply stand up and say NO you can’t do that when no one ever said or had the right to say no and stop us from doing exactly the same thing. Do we have the right to doom millions of people who had no say in where they were born to continuing poverty, security threats and third world living standards by stopping them from developing and using their own natural resources because of our own shame?

And I have not even started on the issue of the amount of financial aid we are then obliged to give such countries keeping them just hovering in poverty unable to develop, propped up by us because they are unable to develop their own resources- that’s a whole new topic.

Don't make a boob of yourself you stupid tit.

 

I must admit that I am a bit bewildered by the reaction from some with regard to the Koshie comments made about breastfeeding. In particular the over the top aggrieved reaction displayed by some women. It seems however to be the most common method of proving this argument. Howling down someone who has an opinion different from yours so that they can’t voice it doesn’t make your point of view right or the other wrong. As far as I knew we still lived in a country with the freedom to hold our own opinions but it would seem that with this issue some opinions are free for some but not for others.

 

I have no issue with breastfeeding in public at all but neither do I have issue with the opinion that Koshie expressed (however poorly worded it may have been) or his right to express it. How is it that it is demanded of Koshie that he respect the rights of women to breastfeed in public whenever and wherever they want but there is no allowance for Koshie to have his right to an opinion. An opinion I should point out that is not against breastfeeding in public but simply expressing an opinion that for some women it could be done more discreetly. He has not asked for a ban, for it to be regulated or restricted he simply commented that some people could show a little respect for others around them -my god what a crime showing others some respect. The reaction regarding this is not proportionate nor is it warranted, it is bullying. 

 

There have been many who have used the “essential” basic human need argument for breastfeeding in public as justification for their venom. Come on, people show restraint every day with “essential” human needs. There are many in our society who need injections for life sustaining drugs for things like diabetes, is their need any less? I don’t see people injecting themselves on the spot all over the city in public, they manage the issue, they show some respect for the environment and people around them knowing that some may find it uncomfortable or off putting.

                                                                         

Most of us over 40 survived without on demand feeding in the past. I don't remember a time when I was young that if I was not fed immediately when out in public I would die of starvation. Is this essential human need different now in some way? Are children now prone to starvation in this strange new world? There is another issue at play here in my opinion. This over reaction by some mothers is more a reflection of the selfish “my rights” society we live in today. My right, my opinion, me, me, me. Get a grip people there is no me it’s us.

 

But it seems when it comes to children and women's rights debate and reason go out the window. God forbid that we would consider others feelings, that time is long gone now. That thought belongs to a time when we actually cared about the people around when out in public. A time when a person on the bus would get up and offer a seat to another person or a time when holding a door open was not a sexist act but a common courtesy. To day it is all about self and a reflection of the selfish "I want it now and I have rights" world that we live in.

 

Today when a child screams a child instantly gets. Parents don't know how to say no anymore. Parents are simply conditioning themselves and their children for the on demand selfish society we have shaped for ourselves over the last 20 or 30 years where no one else matters it’s all about my rights not you or your feelings.

The gift of a gift given freely.

I could not help but be drawn into the story of Simon Gittany the guy accused of murdering his girlfriend Lisa Cecilia Harnum by making her fall from the balcony of their apartment in Sydney. It would seem that he was a controlling and manipulative individual from evidence given at his committal hearing in Sydney this week. Why do people want to control other people? It seems that he did everything to control her life possibly so that he could have her for himself? I don’t know.

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/fiance-to-stand-trial-for-murder-over-balcony-death-20130118-2cy07.html

It made me think of an incident that happened to a friend this week. My friend had an interesting experience this week when a tiny visitor called in. When she got up in the morning and went outside to water the plants she found, hanging from the roof of the veranda a tiny brown micro bat.

It was fascinating the way people reacted to my friends Facebook posts and this tiny visitor. While common in the area they are seldom seen close up and the reaction to its presence was thought-provoking.

When she posted photos on face book the conversation was exciting as the comments started to flow. While my friend would never hurt it the first reaction from many was to make it a pet and catch it.

People are funny when it comes to wild things the first reaction for many of us is to control them, tame them make them our own. I guess this is so that we are able to enjoy them under a controlled situation. Maybe it is so that we are able to extend the enjoyment it brings us, so we are able to experience the event the next day or the day after that. Maybe it’s so that others can’t have them and we get to keep the experience to ourselves.

Over the day there was a flurry of text and photos and little updates. When she got home from work that afternoon she found the little bat still there sound asleep and another flurry of face book posts and texts appeared. Then later in the evening the final post to say that it had flown away and was gone.

It’s not often that we are given the gift to experience something special without looking for it, particularly something as exclusive and mysterious as a bat. For this little bat to make its home for a day in her house gave her a little insight into another living creature’s world not contrived not enforced but voluntarily, however inadvertently it came into her world.

Judging from the amount of Facebook traffic and the level of conversation generated and the number of photos the joy the event created was obvious and would be difficult to replicate under any other circumstances. It just goes to show that sometimes the simplest things can bring joy and you don’t necessity need to own them, possess them or control them to gain it.

Often people come into our lives just like the bat, unexpected. They are there for a while and we have the chance to enjoy them and gain a special insight into their lives and share something special sometimes even the people around us get to enjoy them. It may not last and we find one day it is gone but what it can add to your life is something that you can’t pay for, can’t be forced and sometimes can’t even be repeated. I am sure we have all tried to hold on to people when we shouldn’t at some point in our lives, we try and catch them and possess them I know I have and for that I say I am sorry.

It would seem that for Lisa and her family their time together has been cut short by someone who wanted to own and possess her instead of standing back and enjoying the gift.

Christmas.

It happens but once a year and that time is now

When people go crazy and grow to a crowd.

The shops are all filled with the trappings of joy

But deep down inside I know it’s a ploy.

There is no joy; it’s a retailer’s spin

There is no peace; it’s just all marketing zing

It’s not time for family and friends to join in

It a time for shops and banks to cash in.

Where did it go the Christmas of old?

Where did the child hood memories all go?

I don’t remember the crass commercial spin

It seemed much nicer for me and my kin.

When Christmas lights were nice and discreet

And not competition out on the street

Christmas seemed somehow just nice and sweet

And kids were just lucky to be given a treat

It’s all gone to hell this time of year

People and traffic blocking the streets

Kids can take back the gifts that they get

Without even a thought of the cost or the debt.

So as my Christmas turns into a dud and a sham

And I realise I didn't even get a nice ham

All I have for lunch is one tin of spam

I suddenly realise, Phil you’re just a grumpy old man.

Have a great Christmas everyone.