Are Aussies Racist?

Luke.Walton · #1 10-14-2009, 04:41 AM

Hey guys,
As an Australian I obviously know about the "racist" skit on an Aus TV Show recently (Hey Hey It's Saturday). I also know that it made international news, as I have seen clips on American TV shows.

Opinions?

username n/a · #2 10-14-2009, 04:48 AM

I'm sure there's racist people in Australia, but saying all Australians are racist isn't cool.

Luke.Walton · #3 10-14-2009, 05:06 AM

Yeah, from what I heard, some reports were saying things like Australia is backward when it comes to dealing with racism issues. That's basically it paraphrased from what I have seen/heard.

Mark Latimour · #4 10-14-2009, 05:17 AM

My experience is that Australia is less racially tolerant than Australians like to think it is . That said, that can generally said about any country's people so I am not sure its uniquely Australian. With regard to the Hey Hey skit, I don't think it was an issue of racism, but rather an issue of Hey Hey perhaps not being as "pc" as it should have been on that occasion.

Disco_Gee · #5 10-14-2009, 06:24 AM

I think the whole thing was blown way out of proportion. Had there not been an American on the panel that night I doubt we ever would have heard anything more about it. I also think this country is far, far more tolerant than many. Especially ANY of the ones close to us (except maybe NZ).

Personally, I found the skit offensive... but only because it wasn't funny or original. Nothing to do with racism.

Phalex · #6 10-14-2009, 06:36 AM

I would say the skit was rascist. If it had actually been funny, I might be inclined to give it some leeway, but it really wasn't clever in the least.

Happynoj · #7 10-14-2009, 07:27 AM

The skit wasn't very funny. But is a bunch of white guys painting their faces black actually racist? If it had been a bunch of black guys painting their faces white, would there have been the same controversy?

Dr. Cheese · #8 10-14-2009, 07:35 AM

Is there a link to the skit? I have not been to Australia, but I know that like most settler colonies, racism has been an issue for Australia. Australians did commit genocide against the Tasmanians too which is a horrible crime. That said, I think the West would look very hypocritical if Australia is singled out for racism.

Phalex · #9 10-14-2009, 07:39 AM

Here you go Dr. Cheese: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMAyGewq37w

Mark Latimour · #10 10-14-2009, 08:04 AM

A little bit of context around the "skit" for those who won't otherwise get the context. Its occured in a show that has been off the air for 20 years, something like a Johnny Carson kind of variety show that has different segements. One of the segemnets is called "Red Faces" and it is where amatuer performers got up and did little acts to be judged by a panel of judges. The show is now doing some reunion specials and this act was actually one that was performed 20 years ago on the show so it was a reunion for the performers.

Now its also worth noting that the performers themselves are not "white", but from a variety of ethnic backgrounds, mostly from the sub-continent I understand. Its also worth noting that "blackface" doesn't have the same history in Australia that it does in the US.

That said, its extremely poor judgement in my view to have run the skit. That said, I don't think it was motivated by racism, but just poor judgement. I generally don't think you can call something racist by reference to it being offensive to a foreign culture. Not exactly the same, but its like saying that I am being offensive by allowing my girlfirend to wear a tshirt because that would be offensive in Saudi Arabia. Australia doesn't have the same history that the US does. That said, US history is not unknown in Australia and I fail to see how the producers and performers could have not seen the potential trouble that a skit like this could have caused (even if it was originally done some 20 years ago).

Whether Australians are racist is a far more general question, but one at which the answer must undoubtably be "some of them are".

Happynoj · #11 10-14-2009, 08:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr. Cheese

Australians did commit genocide against the Tasmanians too which is a horrible crime.

I don't understand what relevance this has to Australians being racist.

McHaven · #12 10-14-2009, 08:18 AM

I don't know about Aussies, but most Kiwis (New Zealand) I've ever met have had some real racist attitudes towards Maoris. Granted, I don't know the history between the Maoris and the white settlers.

bassguitar · #13 10-14-2009, 08:30 AM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_PFtBfqmZw

Harden the $%^@ up!

Mark Latimour · #14 10-14-2009, 08:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr. Cheese

Is there a link to the skit? I have not been to Australia, but I know that like most settler colonies, racism has been an issue for Australia. Australians did commit genocide against the Tasmanians too which is a horrible crime. That said, I think the West would look very hypocritical if Australia is singled out for racism.

Not too put too finer point on semantics, but when the genocide occurred it was before Australia was a country in its own right (its was a series of British colonies at the time and not a commonwelath) so strictly speaking it was the British colonials in Tasmania that were responsible for the genocide. That said, Australians should accept it as part of their history. Further, the indigenous people in Tasmania that were killed probably wouldn't want to be called Tasmanians as that blurs their identity with the colonials who killed them. It would be like saying that Americans killed the Americans living on the Mexican frontier during the drive west.

Dr. Cheese · #15 10-14-2009, 08:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Happynoj

I don't understand what relevance this has to Australians being racist.

I think having a history that includes completely wiping out a racially distinct people is pretty strong evidence of a culture that has a clear element of racism. We are not responsible for our ancestors, but we cannot claim only the good parts of our past either.

Mark Latimour · #16 10-14-2009, 09:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr. Cheese

I think having a history that includes completely wiping out a racially distinct people is pretty strong evidence of a culture that has a clear element of racism. We are not responsible for our ancestors, but we cannot claim only the good parts of our past either.

Its evidence of a culture "at the time" that has a clear element of racism. Its a very different thing to assume that the element of racism has been carried forward simply because it happened in the past. Evidence of me having been at McDoanlds 10 years ago is not evidence of me being in McDonalds today.

Phalex · #17 10-14-2009, 09:12 AM

So everyone is cool with the aborigines then?? In the states we acknowledge the whole sale slaughter of our aboriginal peoples. I got the impression that things were very different in Australia.

Mark Latimour · #18 10-14-2009, 09:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phalex

So everyone is cool with the aborigines then?? In the states we acknowledge the whole sale slaughter of our aboriginal peoples. I got the impression that things were very different in Australia.

No, IMO Aboriginal people on the whole are treated fairly poorly in Australia even today and there are certainly racist elements in "white" Australia with regard to indigenous people as well as other foreigners. No country is imune from rasicm. However if you were referring to my response to Dr Cheese, it was a logical point, not a statement of racism in Australia at present. However I don't think there are many people who deny the poor treatment of Aboriginals in the past by the British and Australian governments. I think the division in Australia isn't about acknowledgement but about whether an official apology should be issued and or compensation made. I am not aware of any large "denier" movement in Australia, but it could be that I have missed it.

Dr. Cheese · #19 10-14-2009, 09:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark Latimour

Its evidence of a culture "at the time" that has a clear element of racism. Its a very different thing to assume that the element of racism has been carried forward simply because it happened in the past. Evidence of me having been at McDoanlds 10 years ago is not evidence of me being in McDonalds today.

I don't think any people can move completely out of their past, even if the reaction is to denounce the past.

UnsungZeros · #20 10-14-2009, 09:27 AM

I'm not really seeing the racism in the skit. Yeah, blackface doesn't have a great history, but the actual content of the skit was not racist. Nor was it funny.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Happynoj

If it had been a bunch of black guys painting their faces white, would there have been the same controversy?

I'd say no...

For those of you not familiar, that's Dave Chappelle in whiteface. I can't recall any white people getting offended over this when his show was on the air, nor was I offended. His material was extremely funny.