Posted on 12/20/2005 1:05:53 AM PST by Fair Go
AUSTRALIAN are not inherently racist, says Sydney's Catholic Archbishop George Pell.
The cardinal says its an encouraging sign that a newspoll has found three out of four Australians disagree with the Prime Minister John Howard's claim there is not (not) racism in Australia because a racist society would never acknowledge being racist. "A deeply racist society would not admit to being racist," Cardinal Pell told an ethnic media forum in Sydney today.
"A deeply racist society would never even allow the question to be asked and the answer to be published."
The recent race riot at Cronulla, in Sydney, and retaliatory attacks in other Sydney suburbs were not reflective of the broader public's attitude and thoughts, Cardinal Pell said.
"There are pockets of racism amongst us, there is no doubt about that, (but) a lot of racism is motivated by fear and ignorance and on an international scale I don't believe Australia is racist," he said.
"I hope this holiday season we will be able to show the world that we are well balanced, decent and peace-loving."
But quelling the violence was no easy task, he conceded.
"We don't want to overestimate the problem, but we don't want to ignore it."
New laws rushed through NSW state parliament providing the police with additional powers, including holding someone without charge and confiscating cars and mobile phones, would have to be monitored closely, Cardinal Pell said.
"I clearly support the new laws ... the message has to be sent to extremists in any group that they can't take the law into their own hands," he said.
"In extreme times there is a justification for curbing civil liberties but they will have to be watched closely."
Australians are good folk. So says a Kiwi.
Aussies I have met are good folks!
Mate, in the ANZAC spirit, we fight back-to-back. "Merry Christmas to the Bad Guys, and may they find his left hook before they find my uppercut!"
European Australians and Lebanese muslims are all members of the Caucasian race.
The problems in Australia are religious and ethnic, not racist. Besides, the words racist and racism are used in so many contexts that the word has lost its original meaning.
And the Aussies and Kiwis play the most entertaining game of cricket. Cheers
Well said. I find the term "racism" a much abused term often used to put another down.
> The problems in Australia are religious and ethnic, not racist. Besides, the words racist and racism are used in so many contexts that the word has lost its original meaning.
Like you, I believe the riots in OZ have little or nothing to do with race. They have everything to do with Law and Order and decent behavior.
It's easy for the world to paint Ozzies as "Racist" because this particular spat has involved predominently pink people bashing predominently khaki people for reasons few of us can comprehend.
It goes deeper. Worlds are colliding. And this is the fallout.
Me, I'm a Kiwi, and I support my Mates in Oz. And I hope they figure out a good solution soon.
> And the Aussies and Kiwis play the most entertaining game of cricket. Cheers
We do indeed! Cheers!
Glad to see the Australian people become so proactive at beating back the animals who have invaded their nation. They know what's at stake, let's hope they give their government a good message.
Au contraire.
The good cardinal is full of it.
The Nazis, the supporters of apartheid, and many supporters of Jim Crow were loud and proud about their racism. As were the ancient Romans, medieval and modern Japanese and Chinese and just about every other racist society I can think of.
What I guess he means is that a PC society that was secretly deeply racist would never allow the question to be asked, etc. Which doesn't even make much sense.
You are referring to very different times and very different places. To the Nazis, racism was a positive. To the Aussies it is a negative. The interesting thing about the Aussies is that in a survey 80% supported multiculturalism. Very different from the Nazis indeed. Of course multiculturalism means different things in different parts of the world. In Australia there are high rates of inter-marriage between different cultures and much integration. This is far removed from Nazi Germany. Make no mistake. The good cardinal knew what he was talking about.
I can think of a PC society that smugly rejects any suggestion of racism.
I still think the cardinal is full of it.
His whole point is that any "deeply racist" society would by definition be ashamed of that racism, and refuse to discuss it. Whereas the opposite is surely true. The more racist a society is, the less likely it is to be ashamed of it.
It is not what he means so we will agree to disagree.
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