The well-known phrase “I’m not racist, but…” signals that we don’t want to be seen as racist, knowing it’s not okay, but if we look within, we’ll find traces of it there. It also tells us that we are often unaware of the racist attitudes that lie within us.
In the Goulburn Valley, there have been waves of immigrants making it their home, the British being the first, followed by people from all over the world. As each wave from a different ethnic group arrives, the immigrants most likely will face some racism, but as the future generations learn the language and settle into their new home, they become accepted, and the racism against them subsides.
But what of the First Peoples, those that were here for many thousands of years before the British invaded the country? About 235 years have passed — many generations — and the Indigenous people continue to face racism every day in their own land.
So, what is racism? There are a number of definitions in dictionaries, revealing that it is quite complex and not easy to define.
The Cambridge Dictionary defines it as “Harmful or unfair things that people say, do, or think, based on the belief that their own race makes them more intelligent, good, moral, etc. than people of other races.”
Aboriginal musician Phill Moncrieff said, “Racism is never really seen; it’s only really felt.” We all like to be part of a group of like-minded, friendly people who share our opinions. We can be unaware of the presence of someone who may be present who finds our opinions offensive. We are often unaware of the effect our words have on others.
The friend of a young Aboriginal woman told a racist joke, realising her friend had no idea of how hurtful this was to her.
First Nations leader Noel Pearson, in his opening lecture for the ABC’s Boyer Lecture, said, “We are a much unloved people. We are perhaps the ethnic group Australians feel least connected to.” He further said in the lecture, “Australians hold and express strong views about us, the great proportion of which is negative and unfriendly.”
We may assume racism is no longer a big issue. However, in an opinion piece in The Guardian Australia just before the Voice referendum, then Race Discrimination Commissioner Chin Tan wrote: “Australia will, fundamentally, be changed on October 14. However the cards fall in the voice referendum, one thing is for sure: our next urgent national priority is tackling racism. It is a tentacled monster that feels impossible to stay, and its venomous nature seems to have only mutated in recent times.”
In the lead-up to the referendum, a torrent of racist comments was released in the mass media, particularly social media; the negative result led to a feeling by many No voters that racism was now okay.
While racism is regarded as socially unacceptable, racism does great harm. It has been found that experiencing continuous racism affects a person’s mental and physical health and can lead to a failure to access mainstream services and resorting to coping mechanisms such as smoking, consuming alcohol or using other drugs.
First Nations multi-award-winning actor and writer Nakkiah Lui nearly quit school because of racist taunting and only continued because her mother insisted.
There is passive racism, too, of which we are all probably perpetrators, an example being when we remain silent when we hear a racist joke or derogatory name-calling. Other examples of passive racism are often subtle and include tone and body language that can be picked up and felt by victims of racism.
With a high percentage of people in our region identifying as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, we may be unaware of those present who may have Indigenous heritage and find our comments hurtful. It is not only those with Indigenous heritage who are offended but also their non-Indigenous family members and friends.
If we hear words spoken that we think may cause harm to a person present — whether labels, jokes or myths — we need to call them out. Inaccurate opinions and stereotypes should be challenged, and the suggestion should be made that a fact check is necessary.
Calling it out is not about being politically correct; it’s about not hurting the feelings of others. Calling out racism takes courage. It is not always easy, but it is always important.