Karnal wrote on May 7
th, 2016 at 12:24pm:
Mr Hammer wrote on May 7
th, 2016 at 11:19am:
A couple a years back the Indians in a neighbouring suburb (Harris Park) chucked on a big demo that went all around the world. It was about how they were being assaulted and racially abused. Aussies got the blame for it when it was the bloody Lebbos. That's a jolly old area. Karnal loves it.
I was in India when this was headline news. When I told people I was Australian, they paused slightly, before they smiled and said what a great country I came from. Shane Warne, Bindi Irwin, kangaroos, etc.
And polite silence on the topic of the first bulletin in every news episode.
I discussed the issue if I met people who were interested, but what Indians who haven’t been to Australia don’t understand is the multicultural nature of the cities. They think of Australians as white sahibs and memsabs, and it’s hard to convince them otherwise.
But while a while a narrative of white colonialism underpins this view, Indians have a different idea of racism, or "racialism" as they call it. Racism in India is tied up in the caste system and its ideas of Aryan supremacy. Mein Kampf is sold at every railway station bookstall - not for Hitler’s racial thesis, but its references to Aryan people.
The politics of race have changed since Mein Kampf, as have the demography of Australian east coast cities and Indian ideas about their place in the world.
But if you ever want proof of an.underlying racism towards Curries, look no further than the posts of Mr Hammer.
Homo is one of the few posters who defends the Cronulla riots and the attacks on Curries that occurred on that day.
Homo regularly gets his Curries confused with his Pakis, including his own next door neighbour.
This is a simple mistake to make in a city like Sydney where everyone comes from everywhere. Still, you’d think self-professed racists could at least try to get their races right.
I think we've compared notes on this before, Karnal.
I was also in India during this time. Before I left, I'd actually had a chance to view the Channel 9 camera tapes of a certain night in Harris Park.
I'd dearly love for you to see them some time
![Cheesy Cheesy](http://www.ozpolitic.com/yabbfiles/Templates/Forum/default/cheesy.gif)
Perhaps being a woman (are you really?) prevented locals from asking you what they
really wanted to know.
As an Australian man lobbing into the centre of town on an Enfield, after the obligatory chat about how bad the roads and bus drivers are, and how wellI did to escape death by Tata the question came up
every single time.
They weren't shy to ask me at all. I was often surrounded by groups of men. Not at all aggressive, but seeking the truth, seeking answers. They felt almost betrayed because in their hearts they thought that Aussies were good people.
When I told them that in fact the aggressors were mostly Lebanese and some Islanders, they almost cried with relief knowing their feelings about Australians were not misplaced.
Now dear Karnal, I'm not saying Australians are not racists, but our racism is generally overt but very shallow and rarely takes the ugly form of racism that leads to the sport of 'Curry Bashing' so loved by your Lebanese neighbors.