On Australians Confused About Racism, Harry Connick Jr.
Here’s a classic case of Americans trying to impose their cultural values elsewhere. This was an Australian programme intended for Australians.
We don’t have that horrendous history with black people that you have, and hence the whole blackface thing doesn’t strike most of us as “racistâ€Â. Sure, we wouldn’t do that in the US, but as I said, this ain’t the USA.
What most of you don’t understand is that the humour in this piece was the fact that Michael Jackson tried to shun his black heritage and worked endlessly to make himself “whiteâ€Â. It is a tragedy, but also laughable for its sheer absurdity.
It strikes me as intersting how so many of you people have made racist anti-Australian comments too. Nice one, folks! Fight “racism†with racist hate… pathetic.
Australia isn’t a racist country, tho like all nations there are dark pockets here and there. But when we look at how, even in 2009, there’s so much of an issue over race in the USA, it’s hypocritical to criticise Australia where race relations are generally good, from the USA where people are still routinely categorised as “blackâ€Â, “whiteâ€Â, “hispanic†etc cetera. Over here, we’re all just “Australiansâ€Â.
0
On Still Fresh And Funny In Australia: Blackface
Here's a classic case of Americans trying to impose their cultural values elsewhere. This was an Australian programme intended for Australians.
We don't have that horrendous history with black people that you have, and hence the whole blackface thing doesn't strike most of us as "racist". Sure, we wouldn't do that in the US, but as I said, this ain't the USA.
What most of you don't understand is that the humour in this piece was the fact that Michael Jackson tried to shun his black heritage and worked endlessly to make himself "white". It is a tragedy, but also laughable for its sheer absurdity.
It strikes me as intersting how so many of you people have made racist anti-Australian comments too. Nice one, folks! Fight "racism" with racist hate... pathetic.
Australia isn't a racist country, tho like all nations there are dark pockets here and there. But when we look at how, even in 2009, there's so much of an issue over race in the USA, it's hypocritical to criticise Australia where race relations are generally good, from the USA where people are still routinely categorised as "black", "white", "hispanic" etc cetera. Over here, we're all just "Australians".
0
On Australians Confused About Racism, Harry Connick Jr.
Oh, the aborigines have historically been treated very badly, no argument there. But race relations between black and white Australia are still generally good despite this. A sharp contrast with the USA.
Ours is a history of underprivilege and discrimination, not abduction and forced slavery. Therefore the resulting dynamic is different. It is therefore inappropriate to apply American values to an Australian context.