Racism in australia?

Question

can you give me some ideas 4 a debate for racism in schools.

question is: Racism is not being defeated in Sydney schools.

thx a heap

Answer 1

People have too many pre-conceived, wrong notions about races which 'anti-discrimmination' laws can not dispel

ie - the Asians are the nerds, the Lebanese start fights, Islander people aren't academically bright the white jocks get drunk every weekend.

Stereotypes have invaded society on a very personal level - tv shows like Summer Heights High only increase the segregation of races  - the 'Jonah' character being a classic example.

Being of Asian descent myself, in high school teachers often assume that my family came from a village, whereas in real life they were scientists who lived in an apartment in the city.

If teachers themselves can't dispel the notion of stereotypes, then students are no where near being able to do it themselves.

Answer 2

I will tell you something for free.Racism is not the sole domain of white people.It is in all people.To many times in yahoo answers you see the Question,Are Aussies Racists? Well many of us are.Be they White,black,yellow or red.Buddhists,Christians ,Jews and Muslims.

We are all Australian.

But I feel this question is always aimed at the Anglo(skips)Australians.Frankly I am sick of it!

Answer 3

Wow.What a random and interesting question. I'll star this as interesting. I'll check in later to view the answers.

Answer 4

Well at most Sydney schools, the lebs get too agressive (like involved in gangs, drugs violence etc) then we automaticly hate lebs for this reason.

Answer 5

are you affirmative or negative??

Answer 6

Racism is prominent and will probably always be especially in a multi cultural society. Anyone can commit racism. I have been the target of racism in schools - like being left out because i don't have a certain background. Overall my school i would say deals with it well but everyone has groups and most of the groups have the same natioanlity and really i have friends who are different nationalitys and in some ways they are very culturally different and its hard to have alot of stuff in common.

Answer 7

Are you for or against?

While I don't think racism will entirely be defeated I think schools have less racism than the wider community.

Some racism is based on fear and ignorance because we don't really know what people from other races or cultures are like.

In schools everybody is forced to work together so they get to know one another as people. In school my daughter had friends from a variety of places and cultures that perhaps normally you wouldn't choose or have the opportunity to befriend.

BTW we love 'Jonah' from Summer Heights High, we have the DVD and are often heard quoting him. "Rangas are everywhere Miss". Lol

Answer 8

australia's very multicultural, and that of course doesn't work well. many different cultures put together in one place, there is bound to be on going issues that will never stop because everyone is different and everyone has different opinions and everyone is racist (it's human nature). So i a place like a sydney school there is no way to stop racism, but you can discourage it so it is only a smaller issue.

Answer 9

Well I don't know.... I'm so full of many different races that I couldn't hate just one of them I'd have to hate all of them equally.

I tell my kids that people are like smarties - they are all different colours on the outside but they are the same on the inside...

I grew up in a household still raging against the Japanese from the 2nd world war - in a part of Australia that was actually under attack... not to mention what the war in Vietnam did to our family.

In grade 4 my best friend was a vietnamese girl - and when my parents found out I was banned from being her friend... it hurt me so much to tell her why I wasn't allowed to be her friend anymore - and consequently all my school friends abandoned me, which just made it seem all the more unfair...

I vowed from then on when I grew up I wouldn't let that happen ever again.

In the many years that followed I have noticed that sometimes the racial prejudice is started by "the other side of the fence"... eg one fellow who I always had trouble remembering his name told me that it was because all of his race"looked the same" to people of mine... I was in shock - I just thought his name didn't suit him... lol... I thought he looked more like a John than Garry... I don't why he just did... but he had obviously come up against this before and labled me for completely the wrong reason... I just had a chat with him about it and we sorted it out pretty easily...and laughed about it for the next 3 years that I work with him...

I think it boils down to respect the others basic right to exist and practise their own culture and beliefs... but it takes both sides to participate and this is foreign to human nature... we are cliquey by nature, but by education we should all be trying to just respect others in the beginning...

Good manners requires of us to consider the other persons feelings. If we all practised good manners then I believe we would not have this problem - or crime.... if we are to be considerate of others feelings we could never speak down to them, or steal from them, or call them names or think that they are more or less than they present themselves as....

It would be nice if a little more integrity and honour - and plain old fashioned good manners would be reinstalled into our education by schools and at home.

Just my thoughts and ramblings...

Peace

Answer 10

I'm not trying to condone racism, but you have to understand that it has existed since the dawn of time.  Look through any history book you care to nominate, and the dominant power of the day has always 'mistreated' non-/second-class citizens.  India has a caste system that racially vilifies people of their own ethnicity.  In the inestimable words of George Orwell... "all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others".  No form of religion (Christians slaughtered Muslims in the Crusades)... no form of Government (think of American slavery)... no form of monarchy/ogliarchy (think of the Boxer War) has ever managed to stamp out racism.  Yet someone has the audacity to suggest that the education system is failing?  What makes a teacher superhuman enough to stamp out racism when entire countries have failed?

Like I said... I don't condone racism.  But you have to understand that 'racism' is buried deep within the human psyche.  We are 'pack animals'; and we naturally 'group' within our own parameters.

For anyone to think racism is not being defeated in developed countries, take a good hard long look at Africa or the sub-continent; where racism is rampant.  India and Pakistan.  Palestine and Israel (anywhere and Israel for that matter).

As long as humankind can find a reason to justify their 'mistrust' of another... whether it be the colour of their skin, the faith they follow, whether they eat pork or drink alcohol... as long as you can distinguish between what is acceptable and what is unacceptable about another human being, there will be racism.

Racial intolerance starts in the home.  When people finally get it through their (collective) thick heads that it takes many, many musical instruments to make up an orchestra (and that no one instrument is any more [or less] important than any other), then maybe there will be hope for the human race as a whole.

I'm an E-flat and you're a C-sharp.  Doesn't mean I'm any better than you... just different.  Sometimes we work brilliantly together; sometimes we clash; but a composer needs all of us to make music.

If you haven't already read it, then I strongly suggest you reference Dr Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech.  To paraphrase... when 'man' "will not be judged by the colour of their skin, but by the content of their character" then humanity will know true harmony.

Good luck with your debate.

Answer 11

I thought maybe so, until I visited Malaysia and found that they are more racist than anyone I've ever met before or since. No wonder Singapore wanted to stay out of the federation.

Answer 12

There was an article in the Sydney Morning Herald from memory a week or so ago regarding the flight of Anglo kids from schools with a growing/majority muslim population perhaps if you can did this up it might give you some assistance