The Scouring of the Shire

An email that I sent after reading about the Cronulla events:

What is going on in Sutherland? I have heard "The Shire" described as a white enclave but never expected this. I really want to make jokes about Hobbits not trusting swarthy men but from the look of some of those photos this has really got scary! I really hope this is being blown out of proportion by the media - the top 10 SMH stories were all on this!

The Redfern and Green Valley riots were a worry but that was just a bunch of discontented people vs police. When race comes into it it becomes a lot worse. I don't mean their motives, just that most police can defend themselves but it sounds like they're going for a whole race here.

Just a few days ago I was bitching to Steve (the other Australian philosopher here) about how the Young Libs were acting like brownshirts last election; I thought I was exaggerating a little. Then there was the racist Macquarie academic. Now this. Normally I'd dismiss this as just a feud between rival gangs (they are as bad as each other) but then I read that they were singing Waltzing Matilda and saw the photos of all the Australian flags and the "Snags - no tabouli!" sign. Fascism has to start somewhere...

Now, anyone who knows any history can see that it's not really appropriate for Anglo-Celtic Australians to complain about immigrants, that's why I loved the quote from one of the injured who told the reporter he's only half-Lebanese, the other half is Aboriginal!

And my reply to Cameron's post:

When I first arrived here in Indiana I was meeting mainly other internationals. Like you [Cam] in Japan, I regaled them with stories of Sydney's cosmopolitan lifestyle and impressed them with with the fact that I did know a few snippets about their cultures.

This made reading about Cronulla literally a gut-wrenching experience. Reading about race-riots at home while chatting online to my more melanistic mates just made my stomach turn.

And, I agree, Wikipedia News is just the icing on the cake. I'm all for admitting the mistakes of the past - I've told foreign friends in Australia about the White Australia Policy quite matter-of-factly while other white Australians have looked on, horrified at my honesty. It's just so much harder to live with when it's happening currently.

There's something about living among foreigners that makes pride and shame in one's country more acute. When Howard got re-elected having led Australia into an unjust, imperialistic war, when Vivian Solon was deported (etc.) I see now that what I felt was only an intense disappointment. There's nothing better to make you feel real shame than the thought, "What would I - could I - say if someone asks me about what is going on in the country I call home?"