Tuesday 2 June 2009

Don't Generalise

"I would say this is an opportunistic fight. It could have happened to any individual of any nationality."











Another Indian student was attacked tonight (though I'd like to point out that this having taken place in Frankston was probably not so much a race thing as a Frankston/wrong place wrong time thing, awful as it is.)

"Many Indian students tell me they are often attacked by lumpen elements and drug addicts, mostly at night on subway trains. There is nothing systematically racist about these attacks. There are other reasons as well.

"Economically, these are tough times. Jobs are disappearing, and people are frustrated. Some of them might do crazy things."

"This is not a racist country. Every country has one or two racists."

Headlines like "Australia, land of racists" is just wrong, not to mention insulting. Australia, like every country in the world - sadly - is not exempt from racism. "Australian cultural fabric is one of the most multicultural in the world with over 200 nationalities comprising one-quarter or 5.3 million of the estimated resident population of 21 million as June 30, 2007, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics." Unfortunately, despite this, Australians can be xenophobic, close minded and territorial. Yes, we're less than proud of the Stolen Generation, or White Australia, but we're moving forward.

"I speak on behalf of all Australians when I say that we deplore and condemn these attacks," Rudd said.

Indian students aren't the only ones expressing outrage about these attacks; Australian students are equally - if not more - appalled, not to mention just a little ashamed and absolutely disgusted. It's been the topic of conversation and even when I went out tonight for a friend's birthday, someone asked me if I'd heard about it and how much it sucked. And before we get all "the Victorian police are racists too," there are a couple of things to note: there were thousands - no one knows exactly how many - of people protesting at Flinder's St Station on Sunday, cutting off traffic, and as with a mob, things get out of hand. It may have started peacefully, but at some stage people starting throwing things and causing damage, which is when police had to try and keep some semblence of order.

I'm not saying this isn't ugly and atrocious, all I'm saying is, let's try to keep some perspective.
Going through the reports, it amused me to think of how many Indian students are bashed up on Delhi Metro, the Indian capital's new rail network, and how they never make news. In late 2008, after an increase in crime on Delhi Metro, the authorities started a 24-hour customer care and complaints cell. As many as 71 offenders were fined or punished in one month for crimes ranging from sexually harassing women passengers to bashing and mugging lone male passengers at night. None of these attacks made headlines, but an Indian student being assaulted in Melbourne, tagged a racist threat, results in a media feast.


In fact, I have encountered the worst form of discrimination, and most varieties of it, in my own country, India, where people are discriminated against on the basis of almost every difference: race, cast, class, gender and sexual orientation. So it is indeed puzzling that news about Australia being racist is reaching epic proportions in countries that can hardly claim to be any better. After all, charity begins at home. And so should social reform.

The Melbourne train incident was a brutal attack, which to the credit of both the Indian and Australian governments is getting immediate and much-needed attention.


But it is also being blown out of proportion by media in Australia and overseas, creating more of a fear among Indians living in Australia, and those living in India and contemplating moving to Australia.





















And let's face it; Melbourne may or may not be one of the world's most liveable cities, but in terms of nightlife, I wouldn't call it one of the safest. Just last week a man who stepped in to break up a fight was followed and killed, only blocks from where I live in college. There have been countless calls for more police force at night, mainly due to drunken misbehaviour and violence, and this man's brother sums it up when he says "Melbourne was once the world's most liveable city, a place where you could walk the streets without thinking you might not get home without being involved in random violence. What happened to that Melbourne? Melburnians are sick to death of the violence sweeping the city and it is a really good opportunity for Mr Brumby and the powers that be to give police more power to apprehend and arrest people who choose to be violent. They need to take responsibility for this as leaders of the community."

The Queensbridge Hotel - yes, the one and the same as the Glow in the Snow party I went to last year - has become notorious for alcohol-fuelled violence and outbursts. This kind of thing is all too common.

My parents freak out about this kind of thing (so I'm hoping they haven't heard about the above, and I'm not going to tell them.) And the truth is, they've installed some of that fear in me. I don't like to travel by myself at night by public transport. Trams are OK, if it's the route to and from college. So it's really not just Indians who may now feel threatened. More than anything, perhaps, it is a Melbourne problem, a culture and attitude problem.

"From all reports of the assaults they seem like crimes of opportunity, or drunken violence, the sort of thing that hundreds of Australians suffer every week. And while there is undeniably a racial component to the attacks, it seems more ancillary than motivational. After all, having decided to stab an Indian bloke in the head with a screw driver, because you're a bit of a loser, you're hardly likely to restrain yourself from throwing in a few racist taunts because it might hurt his feelings."

As much as I hate to quote the Herald Sun on this...violence never sleeps in Melbourne. This is Melbourne at night: 'anarchy.'

Then there's the "chk chk boom" girl, who I saw on the Chaser's (yay! they're back!) last week:


I'm torn here because, come on, she's really taking the mick. She made the whole thing up. And come on, tell me it's not funny. On the other hand, she's drawing on stereotypes that aren't exactly flattering. Is wog racist/offensive, or have they reclaimed the word?

x
JAG

7 comments:

Tina Nandi said...

argh. this kind of thing makes me so mad! i wish it would just stop!
we're all people, people!!!

Sharanya said...

I know..it's REALLY wrong to generalize. I hate it when that happens. As if violence is the answer to ANYTHING in the world. Makes me sad.

Asmita Nandedkar said...

I agree with you. Sometimes people just want to thrive in the moment. Racism is at its max in India. I live in America and I've been through my share of racist comments but it happens. People sometimes lose their minds, but you have to keep you sanity. Hell, atleast you are given the right, in a foreign country to voice out your opinion and orchestrate a protest. Shit, do it in India, lets see how many days they last. I am sorry that people are generalizing. Its not good. Not all good.

Makes me mad. I am more ashamed.

Just a girl said...

Some interesting comments in the Melbourne is better than Sydney group:

"Melb is no longer looking like the better city if all the stabbings and racial abuse in the streets continues. What has happened to the open minded city i love."

"i think these r racial assaults ...Police already detained 18 Indian youths for "breaching peace" in Melbourne as thousands of students held a massive peace rally against recent attacks on their community, even as a fresh case of assault was reported on a taxi driver from india. Massive students ve been shaken by a wave of racial assaults, including on 25-year-old Shravan Kumar who is battling for life in a local hospital, blocked the busiest street of the city, demanding justice. The protest, however, was called off early Monday morning after the protesters accused police of "ramrodding" them to break up their sit-in. but i think their effort will be useless...nobody gonna take it seriously... thts what i think. this shouldnt be happening especially in this city."

"i agree with the police in that I don't think the attacks are racially motivated.
however that is not to say that there isn't a racial element to it.

i'm sure if I walked around the middle of melbourne by myself in the middle of the night showing off my nice new ipod that someone would try to mug me for it regardless of my ethnicity.
I used to do that when I was a kid in Sydney and I would always have people coming up, having spotted what I had, and asking for money.

I since wised up and learn't not to show off anything that I might have that's expensive.

If you look like you don't have money then people usually don't bother you.. and if you look like you do have money then they will..

My advice to anyone who feels a little unsafe travelling the streets at night would be the following..

* don't carry much money around and if you do have to then put some of it in your sock or somewhere concealed.

* don't show off any expensive gadgets or jewelry that you have.

* always walk in brightly lit areas near other people (if there arent people around then near a main road where cars are passing)

* don't travel in train carriages by yourself, always try to find a carriage with a diverse group of people on it (usually closer to the front of the train)

I think the police are taking the issue more seriously now and I hope that they catch the bastards who are doing it."

Such! said...

Hey I know what you mean when you say 'What happened to the city I love?'
I live in Mumbai, and you have to be here to comprehend what the chaos contains.
I love Mumbai, but with all the love there are glaring things I can't ignore.
And then there is this thing about generalization. No no! There are somethings that one cant explain properly I guess. I hate violence, terror to the core of my being. I hate casteism and female discrimination which has seeped into the core of my country. I probably cant explain how strongly i feel about it.
If it were not Australia but England or US, my reaction would be the same towards them, because they are INDIANS, MY FOLK! How can i not feel like that?!

And like I said earlier, I know not everybody is like that. But everything said and done I think the Aussie state could have handled it much better.

Arielle said...

Aw, I saw Clare the racist Australian Internet celebrity on Videogum! Did she really make it up? I thought that was actually what happened. I mean, a rather racist account of what happened, but an accurate account.

Just a girl said...

Yeah, she made it up. Funny though.

I'm impressed you've heard of her, I didn't realise she was such a "celebrity." And I probably wouldn't have heard of her if I hadn't watched the Chaser's War on Everything.

x
JAG