Racism

Rachel:

I didn't really want to have to write about this, but after an incident that happened today, I feel like I have to. 

I had heard that Australia has been known for its racism.  The banker I was talking to before moving here said that his family were deciding whether to move to Canada or Australia and they decided on Canada because they were afraid of being discriminated against.  When we were on the plane coming here, we sat next to an Australian who told us not to live in Springvale because its "full of Asians."  We have heard other comments like this since coming here and newspaper headlines and tv news flashes have tinges of "non-political correctness." 

I selected this picture for my blog.  It was a message written on the sand after the Cronulla race riots in Sydney in 2005.  For those people who haven't heard about these, they were protests against non-white immigrants in 2005! That was 4 years ago!

Tonight I was coming home on the tram from IKEA with Kurtis and I overheard a lady saying something to the effect of "Speak English! You're in Australia and you have to speak English!" I turned around and this lady was yelling at these two Chinese men who were speaking in Cantonese or Mandarin.  She again repeated this and I yelled at her to shut up.  She again said something like this and other people in the tram were muttering about her.  

By this time, my stop had come and the Chinese men were getting off at the same stop. I stormed up the tram and began to tell her off by calling her an ignorant racist and that she is an embarassment to Australia.  She responded by calling me an American and that I should shut up.  To be honest, I was so enraged that I can't really remember everything she said to me.  I just continued to yell at her telling her that she is an immigrant to this country too and that she is a stupid racist.  

I had to get off the tram by this time and I gave her the finger as the tram drove off.  The two Chinese men waited for us to get to the sidewalk and thanked us and said not to worry about it.  I told them that they should move to Canada because no one would ever say that to them there. By this point I was so angry about what had happened I was almost crying and I told them that I am ashamed to be a white person when stuff like that happens.  I apologized to them that they had to hear that.

I am really disappointed in Australia.  I know not everyone is like that but the fact that racism is almost accepted says something about their country.  I don't think I could live here because of this.  

I'm not saying that Canada is a utopia where discrimination doesn't exist, but I know that no one in their right mind would say something like that on a streetcar in Toronto.  I am proud to be Canadian and I am proud that anyone, regardless of their race, religion, sexuality or gender is welcome to be a Canadian along with me.

I don't feel like having an Australian word of the day today.