2016-12-19
Chris Johansen
Recent overt manifestations of racism in Australia (e.g. 'stop the boats, the resurgence of Pauline Hansons One Nation) and globally (e.g. Brexit, Trumpism, Euro ultra-right) has prompted me to reflect on changes in racial attitudes in WA since my 'utopian school days in the 1950s. I have experienced two distinct eras of living in WA, as I lived outside Australia during 1971-2006, apart from 5 years in Queensland in the 70s, which was then really a banana republic on Australias fringe. This presents an intriguing compare and contrast opportunity.
The innocence of youth
Bullying via the internet is a contemporary phenomenon among school students but bullying in the school yards of WA was very much alive and well some 60 years ago. Differences from the Anglo-way – looks, accent, food habits, etc. – allowed for clear targeting and type-casting. There was an obvious gradient from southern to northern European origin in bullying and discrimination in general, decreasing northwards roughly corresponding with fairness of complexion. Being of Anglo-Nordic origin I was not on the receiving end of any of this, and felt aloof from it, even though I began to think that this ethnic-based bullying was a bit over the top.
On the contrary, I became fascinated by these differences of ethnic origin – enjoying exploring all the exotic foodstuffs on display in the Italian and Greek grocery stores in Fremantle (e.g. then exotic items such as noodles, different cheeses, strange-shaped bread, olives, garlic and other strange looking veges, etc.). However, the vehemence of some of my school mates to these “different” kids must have stemmed from ingrained racist attitudes instilled by parents, who were themselves very much children of British Empire. This empire was indeed based on the very idea of racial superiority, providing justification for being “born to rule”, over lesser races. And the Anglo-origin inhabitants of WA then very much considered themselves as a faithful bastion of the British Empire, even though that empire was in the process of disintegrating with many colonies having just gained, or still fighting for, their independence.
While many people of Anglo origin were still coming to terms with the influx of European migrants in the 50s, the question of immigration from anywhere other than Europe simply did not come into the public consciousness. It would be as unthinkable and bizarre to consider immigration from Asia or Africa (apart from European colonials fleeing the newly independent colonies) as it would for immigration from Mars, Venus or Pluto. The White Australia Policy was still well and truly alive in the 50s.
In the 50s, I also seemed to be aloof from the “Aboriginal problem”. I was given to understand that this was a dying race, at an evolutionary dead end. Whatever of their genes had found their way into the “white” population would eventually be diluted to insignificance. In ordinary conversation, Aboriginals were spoken of in a derogatory manner, a manner possibly even unacceptable to todays 'freedom of speech proponents. I had no knowledge of the policy leading to the “stolen generations”, which was in full flight then. I had the idea that it was about rescuing children from living in squalor so that they could have a chance at a “civilized” life. We did hear about some conflict between the early colonists and the indigenous inhabitants, such as the “Battle of Pinjarra”, but this was presented as a glorious victory of the civilized over uncivilized savages. Only many decades later did I learn that most of these “battles” were indeed blatant massacres, justified by the belief in racial superiority.
But as a child perhaps I can be forgiven for not being too upset about all of this as I had no alternative terms of reference against which to evaluate what I was told. My “hey-wait-a-minute” moment with regards to the “Aboriginal problem” came around 1955-7, from a Methodist Church newsletter that I read each Sunday. Pursuing a theme of “Christian morality”, it published stories about Gandhis non-violent struggle against the British, the emerging civil rights movement in USA and the excesses of apartheid in South Africa; well before such stories appeared in the local media (which at that time was just “The West Australian”, “The Daily News” and the radio). Indeed, that was the first occasion I learned about Gandhi or Martin Luther King. I must have been so impressed about Gandhi, who effectively brought down the greatest empire the world had ever seen by non-violent methods, that it planted the seed in me of wanting to live in India, which I ended up doing for 16 years, and another 8 in neighbouring Bangladesh (once also part of British India).
Being exposed to these freedom/dignity struggles in other lands, it then dawned on me that Australian Aboriginals were in the same boat as these oppressed groups overseas. I thus became interested in the exploits of the likes of Charlie Perkins and the freedom rides to outback NSW. With increasing mass media attention being given through the 1960s to treatment of non-whites in apartheid South Africa and African-Americans in the USA, and the consequent social upheaval, there was a perceptible shift in the WA community in their racial attitudes – it was no longer simply a matter of black or white. This culminated in the successful 1967 referendum whereby the constitution was changed to actually recognize Aboriginals as human beings, in that they could now be counted in the census, and allowing the Commonwealth to override existing State legislation discriminatory against Aboriginal people. Frankly I was surprised, although pleasantly, at this result, considering the stereotyping of Aboriginals that I had grown up with.
By the end of the 60s, however, I was totally fed up with WA society. Due not only my realizations about the stifling ingrained racism and xenophobia, but also by the Vietnam war (which also had strong racial overtones – that yellow peril again) and the overbearing expectation to pursue the obvious societal goal of endless financial acquisition and consumption of stuff (there must be something more to life, I thought). So, in 1971 I emigrated from WA, only to resume residency some 35 years later, with only the occasional brief family visit in the interim. This provided me with an opportunity to see how societal attitudes to matters such as race, as well as other factors, had changed, or not, over time.
Multiculturalism on a roll
Although I resided elsewhere during 1971-2006, I did visit Perth every few years or so during that time, on holidays. One obvious change I noted was the increasing frequency of Asian faces in public places; there were Asians, mainly Colombo Plan students, around the university in the 1960s but they didnt dare venture too far off campus. And, into this century, even African faces! I began to think that the country was giving some due recognition to the rest of the human race, that blatant racial discrimination had had its day.
In the 70s the Whitlam government had officially laid to rest the White Australia Policy. Malcolm Fraser facilitated mass immigration of refugees from Indo-China, which led to further liberalization of immigration and refugee policy with respect to race. This was rather a surprise to me as I only knew him as an enthusiastic protagonist of the Vietnam War, and later as “Kerrs cur”. An overt racist backlash against non-white immigration, by One Nation in the 90s, had seemingly subsided in the noughties.
Regarding the “Aboriginal problem”, I was amazed at the Mabo decision and the subsequent passing of legislation on indigenous land rights. And Kevin Rudds apology to the stolen generations was also a pleasant surprise – an actual acknowledgement by a majority of the Australian population of past wrongs committed against aboriginal people (in spite of previous PM Howards protestations about the “black armband view of history”). Actually, in the 50s and 60s when it was happening, I had no idea that children were being removed from their Aboriginal mothers on racist grounds. Further, the idea of “acknowledging country” at the beginning of public functions today would have been unthinkable, if not a brazen insult to Her Majesty, in the 50s and 60s.
A reality check
However, as the years rolled by after my return to Perth in 2006, I realized that the apparent advent of multiculturalism still had long way to go. The Liberal-National Coalition have essentially assimilated the One Nation philosophy. They use it to maintain the fear factor, of a threat from “different” people, so that they can claim to be the ones best able to stare down that “threat”. This is most clearly manifested in the demonization of “boat people” that has been on steroids over the last 15 years. This has relied on racial stereotyping and creation of a “threat” from those “different” people of obviously evil intent.
Since 9/11, and now enhanced by the advent of ISIS (aka ISIL/IS/daesh), the words “terrorist” and “Muslim” have become synonymous in the eyes of many, not only in Australia but also Europe and North America. This has morphed into an issue of race as most Muslims are distinguishable by their race (Middle Eastern, North African, South Asian). The Australian Government seems content to let this perception develop as it makes it easier to demonstrate how they are protecting “us” from “them”. A telling example was when then PM Tony Abbott was shown on TV visiting Australian Federal Police (AFP) headquarters. On the table in front of them was a map of Sydney which the AFP officer explained as showing, marked in red, the areas where terrorists haunt. Those marked areas happened to coincide with where most Muslim immigrant communities reside.
The nurturing of a “them” vs “us”, with “them” being Muslims, environment is encouraging fundamentally racist types, such as the “Reclaim Australia”, “Australian Liberty Alliance”, “One Nation” crowd, to come out of their closets. The Liberal-National Government doesnt seem to mind if their own MPs, e.g. George Christensen, speak at their rallies. And in government ranks there are members (e.g. Cory Bernardi) well known for wanting to “ban the burka”, and indeed all things Muslim; quite content to merge the words “Muslim” and “terrorist”.
From personal contact I know that many Australian Muslims now fear abuse in public places, hesitate in donning traditional dress, take steps to increase security around mosques, fear police visits, face job discrimination, etc. There was an article in Green Magazine a while back by Dr Mehreen Faruqi, a Greens NSW MP of Pakistani Muslim origin, who provided an example of what she has to face, regularly. She once tweeted that she was enjoying sites on the Brisbane River with her daughter. An immediate tweeted response was “Before your husband blows it up?”
And the “Aboriginal problem”? That 1950s attitudes to aborigines are still alive and well in a sizeable portion of the community came in the persistent booing of otherwise renowned AFL footballer Adam Goodes during the 2015 season. It was in protest to his overt expression of aboriginality by doing a short Aboriginal dance to celebrate his kicking of a goal.
Recent discourse about indigenous recognition in the constitution is also revealing large pockets of deep-seated prejudice against Aboriginal people, with arguments coming forth similar to those expressed for the 'no vote for the 1967 referendum. Indeed, WA produced the lowest 'yes” vote in the 1967 referendum and has shown most reluctance in acceptance of indigenous land rights. The WA Government remains intent in closing down most remote Aboriginal settlements, on their own land. There has been no progress, and usually regression, with respect to Aboriginal incarceration rates, deaths in custody, closing the gap, etc. Recent polling indicates that support for very basic recognition of Indigenous people in the Constitution is declining, now at 58%.
The resurgence of “One Nation” in the recent Federal election suggests a further embedded racism in society, even though this was part of a general “protest vote” against the major parties, including The Greens. The change from “swamped by Asians” to “swamped by Muslims” seemed seamless.
An interpretation
In any society there will always be a fringe group espousing xenophobic nationalism, so One Nation et al. are here to stay, popping up in one form another, claiming that we are being swamped by something or the other. The only thing that society can reasonably do about this is to essentially restrict them to their boxes so that they dont blatantly intimidate or harm others. But for the rest of us there is an underlying racist/supremacist streak that still clearly remains in WA society. This can be, and has been, readily exploited by conservative political parties, using the fear factor to demonstrate that they are best suited to 'protecting the community.
I have been immersed in, and generally fully accepted into, non-Anglo communities for the last half century – a tremendous privilege. But even to this day I become aware of my own attitudes, mannerisms and phrasings that betray my supremacist upbringing. Its something like trying to defy a genetic predisposition.
Having lived in South Asia on and off for over three decades has given me some insight into racism/supremacism. The region has been indelibly affected by the 200+ years of subjugation under British colonialism. The fundamental tenet of colonialism is superiority of the occupying race over the occupied. To this day the resultant inferiority complex apparent in South Asia, which occasionally expresses itself as a superiority complex, still manifests itself. Until the present, people there regularly complain that problems with “the system” are due to the British. But I point out that the British left 50+ years ago, so why dont you shape your own destiny? I estimate that it will take generations to overcome the feelings of inferiority inculcated by centuries of colonial subjugation. By contrast, in countries not colonized, like Thailand, that type of inferiority complex is not apparent.
In WA particularly, we also very much inherit the legacy of the British Empire. This was blatantly apparent in my school days in the 50s. Each classroom then had a globe of the world where teachers would proudly point out all of the lands coloured red, indicating that the sun never sets on the British Empire, even though it was then in the process of disintegrating. WA was always the most loyal of outposts of the Empire, perhaps the isolation reinforcing that loyalty. And, as pointed out earlier, a fundamental precept of Empire was racial superiority. Over centuries, this must make almost a genetic imprint, which would take further generations to erase. So, if I go away for another 35 years and then come back, would I expect to see much further advancement in attitudes towards race in Australia? Probably not, not until the legacy of the British Empire has faded into the mists of history (Hint: Step 1 – get rid of the monarchy).
Photo: The monochrome culture of the 1950s – Matilda Bay, Crawley. Credit: http://feature.thewest.com.au/nowandthen/