whitewind Posted August 9, 2012 It's good that the page has been taken down; maybe they won't change their views today, but if enough people say "that's enough; what you are doing is wrong" then this will eventually have an impact. You have to say something, even if all you say is "that is very wrong". You have to make a stand somewhere, okay it's not much but it's a start. Luckily there were people who were brave enough to stand up and say "homophobia is wrong" and things have improved - slowly but surely. One day, gay marriage - the next, indigenous and non-indigenous Australians will stand together. Hopefully, not in that order. But you can see from that we still have a long way to go - and we won't get there if we don't tell the racist pricks that they're wrong. And I'm prepared to do it a thousand times if one day it works. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
qualia Posted August 9, 2012 i often hear the phrase "i don't agree with what you say but i'll defend to the death your right to say it" well why not force these pricks to go to the middle of alice springs and hand out their handiwork, see if they're willing to defend to the death their right to "free speech". 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
whitewind Posted August 9, 2012 Look, it's very easy to forget racism is happening if you don't see it every day - and I have rarely seen racism against indigenous Asutralians - not because it doesn't exist, but because of the circles I spend time in. So I forget how bad it can be. I was shocked when I went to see some rellies in Brisbane, some of whom are cops (ouch) and they are the most racist pricks I have ever met. I had heated arguments with them (not talking anymore, largely cause I'm a long-haired hippy who's in to plants = as almost as bad as Abos, in their book - their word not mine). One of their problems is that they're not the brightest of the bright, they are in a cultural situation which says its okay, and they have seen some really nasty shit happen in indigenous communities. Basically, the only way you will get through to them is by hammering through the message that it's not okay to continue to think like that, and it's going to take years (possibly never, in the most hardened cases). But keep hammering away and something will start to break, somewhere. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
qualia Posted August 9, 2012 Basically, the only way you will get through to them is by hammering through the message that it's not okay to continue to think like that, and it's going to take years (possibly never, in the most hardened cases). absolutely, and i'm not saying we should stop trying to enlighten people theres only one race. what i am saying is this popular outrage is pointless, and certainly the petition to have the page taken down has been shown to be futile. the problems remain, and will take a lot more than taking down an internet page to fix. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
