Hexpletive

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Cross posted angst on my country

I'm really sick of over-privileged white men getting offended when it's suggested that they are not the absolute authority when it comes to matters of race and racism. I'm sick of the intrinsic racism in our society, and the way the blatant push by those in power to increase the level of racism is being ignored and downplayed. I'm sick of the fact that the parts of mainstream society that aren't ignoring that push are still not bloody doing anything about it. I'm sick of having whitefellas insist that they get to define racism from their position of social power while they ignore the voices of the people of colour throughout Australia. I'm sick of seeing well-meaning members of society use their horrified voices when discussing the latest revelation of poverty and community unrest in various pockets of Indigenous Australia, but not actually thinking about those of us who live side by side with them in the cities, and not actually taking any steps to help those of us who don't. I'm sick of having white folks argue with me about my racial identity. I'm sick of the media framing "Indigenous Australia" as something that exists only on a settlement in remote NT and is therefore out of sight and out of mind. I'm sick of the neo-White Australia crap being promoted by our government as the soloution to the hyped up "Islamic menace". I'm sick of seeing rich white men promote the interests of rich white men who promote the interests of rich white men while pretending they care about tolerance and diversity as anything more than buzzwords.

I'm generally sick of the current state of race relations in this current, and it makes me angry and tired all at once.

You know what else? I'm sick of the fact that, when I've had a gobfull of all of the things I just bithced about, I can't get away from it even for a minute. Because in this country, there is nowhere for a mixed race Wiradjuri girl living in the middle of Sydney to go where she can safely ignore it all. Such a place doesn't exist.