How Pervasive Is Racism in Contemporary Australia - Essay Example

Racism in Australia Introduction Racism has no scientific basis. It is a social construct, with roots in the false idea that some people are superior to others because they are members of a particular race, or belong to certain ethnic or other types of group, and that others, not in that group are therefore inferior. Racist ideas are often based in a feeling of alarm, when confronted with people seen as being different in some way, but also includes such things as perhaps having different ethical values, customs, accent, points of view and religious adherence, or are perceived to do so, and produce negative attitudes. Context Racism can occur anywhere where people of different types come into contact. In general it comes from the majority group and is aimed at a smaller, weaker group Racism is unfortunately part of Australian multicultural society, and has been since westerners arrived in the 18th century. Riseman (2013) mentions the Great Chain of Being theory, a theological and hierarchical explanation of life on earth. God is at the apex; angels and demons come next; then mankind; men higher than women, followed by animals and the rest of creation. When Europeans first began to explore other lands they came to the idea that non-white people could be placed somewhere in between other humans and animals. Racism in contemporary Australia – how pervasive is it? This essay considers racism in contemporary Australia, its origins, the makeup of Australian society, prevalence of racism and its negative effects and ways in which this can be mitigated. The American Anthropological Association (1998) says the concept of race is a powerful idea used by societies “becoming a strategy for dividing , ranking and controlling colonized peoples.” It breeds ideas about superiority, discrimination and inequality, and influences relationships with others. It always reflects the assumptions, convenience and social values of the prevailing group. As stated by Marriner (2014) “The standards of the privileged majority, not the affected minority, will determine whether something is racist.” Victims can be seen as guilty because of non-conformity. After more than two centuries persistent racism shows that Australia has difficulties in accepting itself as a mainly immigrant nation. 47 per cent of all Australians are either born overseas, or have at least one parent who was born overseas ( Racism Noway,2013). This arrival of outsiders in 1788 began a period when aboriginal societies were gradually broken up, and a new nation grew, based largely upon migration. All Together Now ( 2013) has Australian citizens commenting ‘It is everywhere’ ‘It started in kindergarten.’ It does more damage than bullets.’ The report states that during 2012 one in eight Australians had to deal with racial discrimination, affecting especially against certain groups. Minear (2014) cites a government backed Monash University survey, ‘The Mapping Social Cohesion’ report , which found that more than one third of new arrivals were discriminated against. This is a deteriorating position. Fifteen years the friendliness of Australians was seen by migrants as being the best part of their migration to Australia. The Creative Spirits web site, speaking specifically about the aboriginal population, states ‘Scratch an Australian to find a racist.’ Early British settlers saw the native people as being uncivilised, and this idea persists to an extent. Living in a community exerts psychological pressure to conform to the norms of the particular society. Some individuals are able to change both the thinking and their behaviour in order to fit in with a group , while others find it harder. Racism can perhaps be classed as a form of such conformity. The person is saying to others ‘You are different, not conforming, and therefore inferior.’ The practices of such groups are considered the norm, and those with other cultural values, practices and ideas are expected to conform or be excluded. This type of racism advantages the dominant group, while marginalising and disadvantaging others. An imbalance of power within the country occurs, as when a white led Australian government took steps to remove many aboriginal children from their parental homes in the 1880s under the Aboriginal Protection Board (Skwirk, undated). Racism is prevalent in Australian schools. Taha states that 89% of those aged 13 to 17 had experienced racism. As with any racism it can be direct, such as speaking directly to the person concerned, or mocking them within their hearing, Graffiti is a more indirect form of racism, but hurts just the same. School staff may not be necessarily be directly involved, but should intervene if they know what is going on, and should not favour one group. The Federal Government launched a new programme aimed at dealing with it in 2013 ‘What you say matters.’ It can be seen that there is a need to change this negative situation. One way in which this can be done is by beginning while people are still young. According to Taha ( 2013) videos and information sheets have been used in schools. Their research had shown how, when shown images of a group of people from various backgrounds, there was a majority assumption that if people were not white they were not Australian. The Taha video report ( 2013) include the words of a government spokesperson who stated that there was already enough laws in place, but what was now required was education. He was perhaps referring to the 2012 National Anti-racism Strategy, but however well-intentioned will it actually prevent someone from being refused employment, or stop a child calling out a racist slur? Perhaps not, but at least rules and tools are there to be worked with. Fernando (1984) saw racism it as creating unnecessary stress, but also believed that it could produce feelings of hopelessness, and bring on depression. It affect’s individual self-worth, and can affect their social, educational and work, as claimed by The Conversation (2011). Marriner ( 2014) cites the Scanlon Foundation who found that 19 per cent of Australians ‘felt they were discriminated against because of their skin colour, ethnic origin or religious beliefs last year .’Those who came from a non-English speaking background were found to be those most likely to be affected, a rise of 12 per cent since 2012. Refusing to engage with certain people, or not employing people of certain races, can prove to be very difficult to prove and so to deal with. According to the Australian Federation of Employers and Industries ( 2014) such indirect racism :- Indirect discrimination occurs where an employer’s policies or work practices are the same for everyone but place a particular employee or group of employees at a disadvantage. Indirect racism, includes behaviours that some think are helpful, but which are actually harmful and degrading holds people back, labelling them as an outsider and undesirable (Morrisey, 2014). ‘Benign ignorance means that the person who is discriminating does not realise they are doing so, perhaps considering that certain remarks are just fun. What more can be done by the government? The practice of the non-racist ideal has proved difficult. Racism is in direct opposition to the principles of equality of rights for everyone, as set out in the United Nations’ Declaration of Human Rights (1948) Racism in Australia has at times been institutionalised and governmental. In 1901 an influx of non-Europeans migrants led to the Immigration Restriction Act, or 'White Australia policy' only rescinded in 1973. In 2007 the Northern Territory Intervention began, an apparently positive scheme to improve matters for aboriginal people in northern Australia. The Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission reminded the Australian government that any intervention must fit in with Australia’s international human rights obligations, as well as its Racial Discrimination Act of 1975, (Australian Government 2014). The Act made discrimination against anyone “on the basis of their race, colour, descent or national or ethnic origin unlawful.” (Australian Human Rights Commission, undated). Amnesty International had to intervene as the aboriginal people ended up worse than ever, and the Federal Government suspending the Race Discrimination Act to prevent its actions being illegal (Amnesty International, 2010). Marriner describes how the incumbent government has plans to weaken the Race Discrimination Act. Attorney-General George Brandis is quoted as declaring that ''people do have a right to be a bigot, you know. “yet the Australian Human Rights Commission ( undated) states that :- All people in Australia – no matter what their national, cultural or religious background – have a right to feel safe, respected and part of the community in which they live. The University of Western Sydney (2014) describes bystander anti-racism, dealing with racism directly as it is observed. This is something the government could promote. The writers define it as :- Action taken by a person or persons (not directly involved as a target or perpetrator) to speak out about or to seek to engage others in responding (either directly or indirectly, immediately or at a later time) against interpersonal or systemic racism. The onus of anti-racism action is taken away from those being targeted and those not directly involved can act whenever racism is witnessed. ensuring that racist action does not escalate, and minimising the harm done. The incident could be reported to someone in authority or to an anti-discrimination agency. Witnesses could also call upon the help of other witnesses. They could interact with the perpetuator, perhaps confronting them, but also by distracting them, interrupting or using humour. They could support the person being victimised and perhaps express their hurt feelings. Such actions require courage and motivation. They are more likely to occur if the bystander recognises what constitutes racism and if they are aware of the possible harm being done; if they feel a responsibility and ability to make an intervention , and if they want to change the ideas of the perpetuator. This is made easier if the declared norms of the society, including its government, are anti-racist, because this puts them in a more positive position. On the other hand there are a number of reasons mentioned as to why a witness to racism may not intervene. People are less likely to intervene if the social norm is relatively tolerant of racism, or perceived to be so. As well as bystanders the individuals being targeted often have to deal with the matter themselves. Global Issues in Context (2014) describe another aspect of this topic – racism in sport. The New South Wales Office of Sport (undated) admits that this happens across a variety of sports, but also cites ways in which it can be overcome, as in Racism. It Stops With Me, a strategy from the Australian Human Rights Commission ( undated) an intervention which asks all Australians ‘to reflect on what they can do to counter racism wherever it happens. The first step was admitting that a problem exists. The government and other bodies can make many plans, but it requires individual citizens to act positively if real affirmative change is to take place. Racism is often denied, everything from a child exclaiming ‘I was only teasing’ to a government claiming that historical racism was ‘Just the way things were then’. Nelson ( 2013) made a link between this kind of denial and government policies which, over time, have moved away from ideas about Australia as multicultural towards a focus upon harmony. The new right-wing Australian government of 2013 included in its manifesto a desire to have a bigger control over migration, a plan which could be seen as either making economic and social sense or as hidden racism. Nelson’s claim (2013) is that the denial of the presence of racism interferes with any possible changes, in particular when racism is institutional and systemic. Szoke (2012) the commissioner for race discrimination, saw the problem in relation to first peoples, whom statistics show experience much more racism than other Australians ( Dunn et al, 2008) as being caused by a minority:- Inherent in all of this complexity, there is inevitably a history of dispossession, a fear of difference and a damage that appears in different ways, at different times and with different impacts that we call racism. Szoke’s (2012) suggestion is that :- By promoting the positives of who we are as a country, we must ensure we address the negatives. Australia has actively encouraged migration over a long period, something it continues to do ( Australian Government , 2013). That Australia obviously a multicultural society is obvious, as promoted by its government, but much more needs to be done if that society is to live in harmony. What can be done by the individual Australian states? Some states have more indigenous people than others, 32% of them living in the Northern Territory ( Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2006), with Darwin aboriginals as 10% of its population. Elsewhere in the state they are one in two of inhabitants ( School for Population and Policy Research, undated). The total indigenous population make up 2.5% of the population of Australia, a minority. This makes them more likely to be subjected to racism, in the form of abuse, or in other ways which disadvantage them. Some states are attracting more new immigrants than others. According to the Australian Government ( 2013, page 4) three quarters of recent migrants settled in eastern states. Differences means that a one size fits all solution is unlikely to be fully unsuccessful. The majority of new migrants come from the United Kingdom, but many come from countries such as China and India, and most recently from other emerging groups ( Id , the population experts, 2011). For some of the people groups structures such as interpreter services, are already in place to help and support them. Individual states must keep up to date with who is coming into, or is already resident in, their territory, so that appropriate help can be in place, with regard to racism as with other issues . If people are to be full citizens of Australia they are entitled to equity, and in some case this may mean putting in some extra resources for a particular group, or in certain areas, under the principles of proportionate universalism. This means meeting need to the degree it is required, whether it is to deal with racism or other issues (The Marmot Review, 2010). This however will vary from place to place depending upon the makeup of local populations. States need not just to look at employment numbers, but to analyse these. Who is getting work and who isn’t? If it is clear that members of certain groups are being disadvantaged they need to ask why is this, and also ask “What can be done?” “Is it possibly due to hidden racism?” This could also extend down to school level with members of some groups being disadvantaged educationally because of their ethnicity, or because they live in remote areas, which might well apply more to indigenous people than others. State educators need to be aware of this and so be better able to deal with it. State authorities of course need to consider ways in which matters could be redressed, locally or state wide, taking into consideration national and local legislation. This may involve having to lobby central government with regard to providing for a more equitable society. The states have the advantage of local knowledge and local resources, and can operate on a smaller scale to meet local problems, this being less costly and complicated than producing a national campaign to deal with racism, but at the same time they should take advantage of national resources. To give an example of a racist issue, in the Northern Territory compulsory income management is a sore issue, with those involved only being able to buy goods from an approved list for a large proportion of their income (Gibson, 2012). There are those, and there are likely always will be, who need support and advice with regard to their spending patterns and budgeting, but in this case it is applied only to those who live in certain places as opposed to those most in need, and therefore affects the indigenous population disproportionately, which could be construed as racism. The National Welfare Rights Network (2014) describes how it applies automatically to all young people who live in certain places, whether or not it can be proved that they are unable to manage, with the numbers of those covered by the rules rising rather than falling. Issues such as these, which although perhaps originally well meant, part of an ethos benign ignorance which holds that white people know best, yet have turned out to be racist in that it disadvantages members of a particular racial group. In 1967 the country had a referendum which had a ‘Yes’ vote of over 90% to allow aboriginal people full rights ( About the 1967 referendum, 2012). This was a change from the Constitution of 1900 (Museum of Australian Democracy, 1900). In section 51 it stated that aboriginal people in any state needed special laws. In section 127 they were not even to be counted in any census. So definitely being treated as ‘non-persons’. The actual wording of section 21 implies though that, although national government had no right to make specific laws with regard to aboriginal people, the states could do so. The result of not even being included in the census meant that states could plead that they didn’t know how many people there were and so could not necessarily provide sufficient resources, especially when one considers that many of these people live in isolated places. The world has moved on. We are no longer in 1900 or even in 1967. Racism in whatever form is no longer considered appropriate. States must therefore consider all their policies and resources in the light of this. They are responsible for all people in their area, whatever their cultural or ethnic background. Conclusion Australians, as well as being fellow citizens, are all members of the human race, and have more in common than they have differences. Each and every one of them therefore has a part to play in respecting the rights of each other, but there will always be those who act in negative ways. Australia already has suitable legislation in place, but alongside this there must be a will to improve the situation among citizens and their government so that society can come together willingly, interacting, to and eventually it can be hoped that while recognising differences, matters will improve. References About the 1967 referendum, 2012, What is the significance of the1967 referendum? 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