Great unanswered questions of Australian History

[quote=“Gman, post: 830231, member: 112”]
I was watching a footy game and at half time they have the Oz Kick thing for kidsand usually the sideline reporter picks out the best kid and gives them a medal and they have a bit of a chat. This game any, and a black kid is picked, his name was African based, and the person watching it with me just goes, “fuck sake, that kid isnt even Australian, why is he playing our game”. I genuinely couldnt believe it. Nevermind the fact this 8 year old spoke with the same Aussie accent they did, but because he was black and had a foreign sounding name, he isnt considered Australian straight off the bat. [/quote]
I hate Australians as much as the next man and think they are the worst nation on earth but that conversation could have taken place on any GAA pitch in Ireland. They are not alone in the oul casual racism.

True enough horsebox. but I do think there it is more ingrained in them and culturally so. whereas here we seem to be trying to change things and its not acceptable the way it is there.

Fuck off ye pricks. Ireland is full. Stop the boats!

No way horse. I’ve heard and seen a few silly things in Ireland, but it is nothing compared to West Aussies, absolutely nothing.

It’s not just a bogan thing though. The football club I’m working for until Sunday is full of racists. They hardly know it, but they treat people differently. 2 guys asked to leave the club this year one white well off kid because he threw the rattle out of the pram for not making session side got granted transfer, the other a half Aboriginal half Irish kid wanted to go play country footy (where he’s pick up 4-500 dollars a week to play) was refused. Now I know from taking to the latter he wa doing it for young small family reasons, it was worth more money to him. No way would they let him go. They dropped him a couple of months earlier for being late (fucking late!!!) for a recovery session, while a couple of white boys have got away with murder. One particular guy came to the club mid season and 6 week in a row failed to turn up for testing with me. Now not turning in for testing is just ridiculous in any level of paid sport. But he got away with it cos he was good and white. It’s not enough to be good and black. You must be good, black and perfect.

Thats just my little corner of Perth. You multiply that out.

I’ve been around an I am a pretty good judge of character and alot of things I just smile at now, but if I happened to be at this club 10 years ago I’d have been fired for clicking someone. I see things in games and report on them or even discuss this and that and one of the coaches would say “Jesus, even you saw it”, in a slight towards me being from Gaelic and not “having a clue about AR”. I mean you get that from individuals everywhere to an extent, but the pre-judgement of everyone here is remarkable. And what’s ironic about it all, it’s probably the poorest level of general education I have seen or met in the western world. They don’t realise how ignorant and stupid thĂȘ are, most of them. I have met very sharp and honest West Aussies who would tell you the exact same.

The cops are the worst.

I tell you where it doesn’t exist and that’s at the Western Force. Been in for a few workshops and work experience and it’s a joy. But the vast majority Of people are not from WA

Kev I have no doubt that the Aussies are horrible, racist pricks but we have a problem in Ireland as well albeit not as big. We’ve only really been confronted with it in the last 10 years as we have no history of immigration and the attitude to some(mainly African and Asian) immigrants is fairly shocking at times. Not everyone obviously but a lot of the older generation here would be pretty racist in their views.

Where do you live?

I know integration has gone pretty well in Cork, alot of it to do with local sporting clubs and the schools who with help if local council made a big effort to create awareness if foreign cultures. I have read about and heard anecdotal stories of kids having International Day and getting kids up to talk about where they are from etc.

That is not happening here I can tell you.

We are 100 times more tolerant people horse. Absolutely no doubt about it. There is racism and discrimination, no doubt about it, but on a tiny level in comparison to Oz or the UK.

[quote=“caoimhaoin, post: 830354, member: 273”]Where do you live?

I know integration has gone pretty well in Cork, alot of it to do with local sporting clubs and the schools who with help if local council made a big effort to create awareness if foreign cultures. I have read about and heard anecdotal stories of kids having International Day and getting kids up to talk about where they are from etc.

That is not happening here I can tell you.[/quote]
I live in Dublin which obviously has the largest number of immigrants. I can’t comment on Australia as well as you as I’ve never spent much time there and I’ve no doubt they have a much bigger problem than we have but we have a problem alright. Was it @Mac who said he wouldn’t get into a taxi driven by a black man before? Loads of similar stories to that-half my friends would have the same attitude. All of my parents’ friends would be the same. There ain’t too many black people in Ireland working in management positions.

Hopefully it will be different for their kids-children would be a lot more accepting obviously and will be exposed to other cultures a lot younger than we were so I think integration will be easier over the coming years, particularly if there are programmes here such as the ones you mentioned.

There are different levels of racism from the overt kind displayed by your Ozzie colleagues in WA and then there is the more subtle kind which is quite prevalent here such as the “I’ve no problem with foreigners but I just don’t want them living beside me” attitude that quite a few people I know have.

[quote=“caoimhaoin, post: 830354, member: 273”]Where do you live?

I know integration has gone pretty well in Cork, alot of it to do with local sporting clubs and the schools who with help if local council made a big effort to create awareness if foreign cultures. I have read about and heard anecdotal stories of kids having International Day and getting kids up to talk about where they are from etc.

That is not happening here I can tell you.[/quote]

Kev, as part of the kindy programme here that have an international week and an indigenous Australian week

they are also taught indigenous Australian songs so things may get better

here is my personal favourite song

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xlnq_AFSqT8

[quote=“Horsebox, post: 830365, member: 1537”]I live in Dublin which obviously has the largest number of immigrants. I can’t comment on Australia as well as you as I’ve never spent much time there and I’ve no doubt they have a much bigger problem than we have but we have a problem alright. Was it @Mac who said he wouldn’t get into a taxi driven by a black man before? Loads of similar stories to that-half my friends would have the same attitude. All of my parents’ friends would be the same. There ain’t too many black people in Ireland working in management positions.

Hopefully it will be different for their kids-children would be a lot more accepting obviously and will be exposed to other cultures a lot younger than we were so I think integration will be easier over the coming years, particularly if there are programmes here such as the ones you mentioned.

There are different levels of racism from the overt kind displayed by your Ozzie colleagues in WA and then there is the more subtle kind which is quite prevalent here such as the “I’ve no problem with foreigners but I just don’t want them living beside me” attitude that quite a few people I know have.[/quote]

Ya I hear what you are saying. My parents and people of their ilk would say silly things as well, but when it comes to it that just ignorance. It is all about integration. My mother learned a great lesson from when my brother was working with all the Turkish building the Ballincollig by-pass. He was friendly with 2 lads in particular brought them up for dinner and she serves them bacon and cabbage. They were Muslims! One got apparently got upset.

But they made a laugh of it and I think she genuinely learned something from it.

I had a lad in my football team call Simon Zebo a black cunt or something one night in Minor football. It was pure stupid and just farmer ignorance. The same fella is no more racist than the man on the moon. He got a nice box in the mouth for his troubles too. I regret not using it as an example at the time for the other lads.

On Black managers etc, all immigrants take time to work up horse, thats just the nature of the beast. Immigrants do tend to work harder though, but that has often led to exploitation. It’s rampant here in wa.

I don’t think you can say we have racism issues based on silly predjucial comments from 50+'s. we’ll be ol, stubborn and ignorant as well some day. We’ll be upset about something else though

Plenty of space to explore in WA I suppose

[quote=“The Wild Colonial Bhoy, post: 830377, member: 80”]Kev, as part of the kindy programme here that have an international week and an indigenous Australian week

they are also taught indigenous Australian songs so things may get better

here is my personal favourite song

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xlnq_AFSqT8
[/quote]

That’s the really good side of Queensland. And it is happening somewhat, there is no doubt. Not here though.

I found in Far North Queensland where there is alot more trouble than in WA that the people got on alot better and the respect was high for Indigenious. The amateur club there would put Perth to shame for integration.

But in the other hand you have cunts like that politician trying to allow alcohol back into the dry towns. In these towns they have had 10 years if hard work to rid the communities of grog, and these greedy cunts (connections have been made back to this politician and the drink industry) want to fuck it up. There is alot if that bull shit.

Serious exploration here boy. Mines everywhere.