hookrider -- this is not about dishonoring, or asking you to dishonor, your great-grandfathers
re "Even today that still holds true here in the Deep South." -- it shouldn't; that is wrong, not defensible; should be confronted and stopped; frankly ridiculous it could still be so -- no excuses
hookrider, it is to your never-ending credit you have risen above the racism of your environment, and wow, yes all should be able to use the same door into most any establishment by now.
Racism on the rise in Australia: migrants report cultural shift
Cosima Marriner Sun-Herald senior writer Date April 6, 2014 Comments 84
Dealing with prejudice is a way of life for many Australians. Cosima Marriner and Natalie O'Brien spoke to a range of people about how they have risen above discrimination.
Targeted: Rebecca Kay has experienced abuse and threats since converting to Islam. Photo: Dean Sewell
It is being harassed on public transport, constantly being asked, ''Where are you from?'' when you've lived here most of your life, not getting a job interview because of your Middle Eastern-sounding name, or missing out on a rental property because of your skin colour.
This is how racism looks in Australia today - and it is becoming increasingly prevalent.
The latest Mapping Social Cohesion survey by the Scanlon Foundation found 19 per cent of Australians were discriminated against because of their skin colour, ethnic origin or religious beliefs last year - up from 12 per cent in 2012. It was the highest level since the survey began in 2007.
"Being Jewish is a big part of my life, and I am proud of it": Rabbi Dovid Slavin. Photo: Anthony Johnson
Experts attribute the rise in everyday racism to economic uncertainty, events like the surge in asylum seeker boat arrivals and the current political leadership that wants to weaken parts of the Racial Discrimination Act.
The government has sought to water down the act after conservative commentator Andrew Bolt was found to have broken the law in an article about ''fair-skinned Aboriginals''.
When Attorney-General George Brandis defended the proposed changes by declaring in Parliament that ''people do have a right to be a bigot, you know'' he gave the 30 per cent of Australians who feel uncomfortable with cultural diversity tacit approval to air their prejudices. His powerful assertion cut through the legalistic debate about scrapping section 18C of the act, which makes it illegal to offend or intimidate someone because of their race, colour, or national or ethnic origin.
Says Sikhs are still suffering discrimination in some workplaces: Bawa Singh Jagdev. Photo: Britta Campion
''Those off-the-cuff comments are more damaging than changing the legislation,'' says Monash University professor Andrew Markus, who tracks changing attitudes to immigrants and asylum seekers. ''The minutiae of the legislation is for the courts but the way the issues are discussed in public can be of immense significance.''
Deakin University's Yin Paradies says that although the Racial Discrimination Act has not not done much to stop racism, weakening it ''creates a kind of climate where people start to think it's OK to be racist''.
Writing for Fairfax Media, social commentator Waleed Aly has called the proposed changes to the Racial Discrimination Act ''the whitest piece of legislation'' he had ever seen...
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