Defining racism

In a country the size of Australia, there will always be pockets of people who are racist, as racism is an expression of the racist's deep-seated insecurity, and, there are always insecure individuals. I am sickened when I hear of accounts where an Aboriginal person is refused service or asked to sit somewhere not of their choice, simply because they are Aboriginal.

However, I don't believe this makes Australia a racist country, any more than Australia is a rich country because we have many millionaires. Most Australians are not racist, but where true racism exists, it needs to be weeded out.

So what are the consequences of blaming racism for many of the problems Aboriginal people experience? I believe that casting racism as a major contributor to the problems facing Aboriginal people is demotivating. If people believe that they live in a racist society, then they have a ready-made excuse for failures and disappointments and are therefore less likely to be proactive in addressing the problems in their lives, thus keeping people locked into disadvantage.

Once in the state of disadvantage, special "Aboriginal-specific" programs are then employed in an attempt to address this disadvantage. The situation here in Australia is similar to that with race relations between Blacks and Whites in the USA. In his book "What's race got to do with it?" Black author Larry Elder states

[T]his incessant harping about the 'pervasiveness' of racism is not only wrong-headed, but downright dangerous. It diminishes personal responsibility and dupes people into thinking that their salvation rests with more government spending . . . Blaming racism is not just false, it is toxic. It keeps races wary of each other. Watch what I say. Watch for an innocent remark that might be construed as 'racist,' or 'racially insensitive.' Unfounded charges of racism cause us to emphasize differences, rather than our broad deep similarities.

And while focusing on differences may keep the Indigenous industry in business, it only broadens the gap.

So what is the solution? It is likely that racist attitudes are expressed by non-Aboriginal Australians as a reaction to the perception that Aboriginal people receive too many benefits not available to other Australians. Wrongly or rightly, this attitude does seem to exist. When Aboriginal people can compete in the labour market with other Australians (as many of them are already doing), then special services and incentives will less likely be needed, thus promoting the view that Aboriginal people are equal to other Australians.

Further, the view promoted by some activists that people who identify as Aboriginal Australians are culturally different, spiritually different, and have a distinctly different view of the world to non-Aboriginal Australians, and hence require different rules from the mainstream to live by, needs to be questioned. This solution is simplistic, but I believe it is a good start. There is enough good-will between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people; let's continue to build on that good-will.