Don’t tell me these louts from the Moomba brawl are victims

IT didn’t take long for the thugs who went on a rampage through Melbourne’s CBD to be portrayed as the victims.

The twin perils of abdicating responsibility and embracing victimhood are having devastating effects on segments of society, particularly youngsters who’ve been indoctrinated in regressive Left ideology that tells them they are downtrodden and will forever be marginalised in their new homeland.

Playing the victim has become the default position for miscreants who absolve themselves of all culpability and cry racism whenever authorities, reluctantly and belatedly, attempt to hold them to account for their behaviour.

One member of the notorious Apex gang even appeared on the

ABC

to object to the strong language used to condemn the rioters. “James” admitted being in the city during the fighting but denied any wrongdoing or any knowledge of the Apex gang being involved in criminal activity.

He went on to recite the usual platitudes about racism and lack of opportunity to explain the increasingly violent conduct of young men fortunate to be given asylum in a peaceful and prosperous country.

“There were two groups involved in this incident in the city but they (are) only targeting one group, the Apex group,” he said.

“It’s racist.”

The young man was clearly well versed in victimhood, pointing to a variety of societal ills including “lack of school, no jobs … lack of employment” before labelling Premier Daniel Andrews’s condemnation of the gang as “offensive”.

James came to Australia aged eight and despite doing well at school, dropped out without finishing his VCE.

He has been a member of the predominantly South Sudanese Apex gang since he was 14 and, not surprisingly, has been in trouble with the police.

Of course, he’d blame racism for his lack of job opportunities rather than his propensity for lawlessness and lack of education.

One can understand James’s viewpoint, given he’s spent years hearing from community leaders and self-loathing Australians about how ethnic and religious minorities will never be fully embraced by a country that is inherently racist.

The “progressive” ideologues who try to divide us on the basis of colour and creed do great damage in the name of cultural sensitivity.

The bigotry of low expectations is condemning many in migrant communities to life as leaners, under-achievers and worse.

It’s convenient to blame poverty, racism and lack of opportunity but one must look beyond socio-economic factors.

Abundant opportunity coupled with a generous safety net are two of the reasons Australia is such a uniquely cohesive society, and attractive to migrants.

If a migrant can’t make it in Australia, they won’t make it anywhere. There are few countries as welcoming and tolerant, and even fewer that provide as many pathways to success for newcomers.

The wonderful thing about this country is that, unlike many parts of the world, any able-bodied person can be successful with just a modicum of effort, intelligence or ability. If you’ve got all three, the world is your oyster.


Waves of migrants from Greek, Italian, Vietnamese and Indian communities have shown how much can be achieved in just one generation, despite language barriers.

South Sudanese migrants do face significant challenges, given that many arriving in Australia have understandably low levels of literacy compared with other migrant groups. According to Sudanese Australian Integrated Learning, which provides services to the community, only 12 per cent of South Sudanese women are literate, which makes it more difficult for them to learn English.

And four out of five Sudanese entering Australia say they have “nil or poor” English language skills.

As difficult as that is, it doesn’t justify youths and young men, the majority of whom are proficient in English, choosing a life of jobless criminality instead of contributing to the country that granted asylum to their family.

Particularly concerning is the lack of respect for the laws of the land as well as for the authorities, particularly police — but mention that indisputable fact and you’re likely to be branded a bigot.

Even Salvation Army Major Brendan Nottle was called racist for daring to raise the issue of gang-related violence perpetrated by African and islander youth.

For too long, those in authority have tiptoed around the problems of violent ethnic gangs, for fear of causing offence.

Even after the Moomba riot, police were trumpeting how “restrained” they had been in responding to the mayhem.

“I thought ... our police exhibited excellent restraint when they were being absolutely taunted and provoked by these individuals,” said Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton.

I would imagine patrons forced to run for their lives as gang members used cafe chairs as weapons would have preferred a little less restraint and a few more arrests.

Meanwhile, the State Government has responded to the unrest by announcing $2.1 million for a Community Harmony Program to run forums and sports programs and fund mediators. That’s precisely the type of indulgent waste that achieves nothing useful.