Ref: ‘The Punch of a Racist’

“To call some one a ‘wog’ or an ‘Asian’ in Australia does not divide you from us ‘true Australians’, to use another undivisive term, it is simply a descriptive word. It is a difficult thing for foreigners to understand, but the fact that we use these ‘racist terms’ so lightly is because they have very little if no meaning.”

You have hit the nail right on the head Will - very well put. A lot of my generation and generations before me called people “wogs” “wops” “chinga’s” etc…it was just a way, maybe an extremely lazy way, of describing a non-Anglo person. Exactly as you have said - a description. The word only becomes offensive when it is used in a derogatory manner - even being called a ‘dirty dog’ when put in the context of certain situations, can be offensive.

It’s interesting that you brought up this discussion as I was listening to a ‘talk back’ program this morning on the radio (yeah, just like your nanna!! LOLOL) and a friend of ours who is a policeman called in. He was basically discussing how all these bashings are not racially motivated, they are motivated purely out of ‘violence’ and in the vast majority of cases, the perpertrators of this violence are carried out by ‘groups’ of males (meaning 2 or more) picking a soft target and bashing them - usually for no other reason than for kicks (pardon the pun). HE used his son as an example of being bashed a couple of years ago by 6 guys, just for his can of soft drink! So, go figure, what motivates these idiots? And that’s all they are - idiots & cowards, who if they were put in a one on one situation wouldnt even contemplate hitting somebody. I guess a lot of these Indian students are ’soft’ targets for idiots looking to start trouble. These students don’t give me the impression they are looking for trouble (and believe me, there are a LOT living in my area now), which I think, makes them attractive to a trouble-maker. I think the interesting thing to keep in mind too is that the media likes to ’stir’ the pot and will report things in a way that ‘leads’ people to form a certain opinion. I’m sure there have been just as many “anglo’s” bashed in the same period that these Indian students were…but hey, that doesnt make for as interesting a story, than if “Indian” students are being targeted.

Another thing while on this topic, that I only found out recently, related back to those riots in Cronulla a couple of years ago. The media lead us all to believe that it’s origins started when some “lebos” (note: descriptive, not derogatory context) bashed a couple of ‘life-guards” at Cronulla beach…and the ensuing retaliation, which we all read about in the papers at the time. What the bashings were really over (and it had nothing to do with race), was over ‘drug territory’. The Lebanese ‘gangs’ were trying to ply their trade on the beaches of Cronulla & Maroubra - these beaches have their own ‘gangs’, usually surfers. You have to understand, more so with Sydney beaches, is that they are ‘ruled’ by the ‘local’ surfers…even before the days of ‘wogs’ and ‘wops’, so if you were from another suburb eg. Bondi and came over to surf at Cronulla beach, you would get a bashing! It was this stupid ‘territorial’ thing where the ‘locals’ thought they ‘owned’  their ‘own’ beaches. It’s like kids who would travel in from the western sub’s of Sydney i.e. Blacktown and get a bashing just because they were a Westie! Silly! So anyway, these Cronulla riots had their origins over turf between the Lebo’s and the ‘Bra Boys (Maroubra boys) and the Lebo’s trying get in on a bit of the drug selling action, which the ‘Bra Boys’ were not too happy about. There is a DVD in the video shop about the Bra Boys (called, surprising, Bra Boys  )if you are interested in what this ’surfer’ culture is about..but yeah, that was what originally how the Cronulla riots came about…but hey, it’s more sensationlist to fly the ‘racist’ flag than it is to report on the facts.

There was something else I was going to write, but have forgotten now!! LOLOL

Anyway Will, I enjoy reading your blogs, they are very intelligent & thought provoking - and I hope you don’t mind my ‘comments’ - the sign of a good blog is if you get people thinking…blog on!

Simone

Thank you Simone, some really well written points!

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