Would you say Melbourne is the least racist city in Australia? (school, universities) - Australia and New Zealand - City-Data Forum

Trimac20 · 06-01-2012, 07:21 AM

I found it interesting that most of the attacks on Indians occurred in Melbourne, as I consider Melbourne probably the LEAST racist city in Australia. Not that I think the attacks reflected racism (not denying it doesn't exist), but haven't been to Melbourne about six times now, I just don't feel the same degree of racial tension as in Perth and Sydney. This might've not been the case in 1990, when Australia was quite different (watch the movie 'Romper Stomper'), but it seems the case now. Melbourne and Sydney are the most multicultural cities in Australia but for some reason I feel there's more tension in Sydney. For some reason I couldn't imagine the Cronulla riots taking place on say Brighton or St. Kilda beach.

I don't think Melbourne is THAT different to other state capitals: it has large swathes of suburbs with people with closed-minded attitudes. Nor would I say Sydney, Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide are very racist places, but true, I've never LIVED in Melbourne, but in Perth, even on a night out it's not uncommon to here people yelling things like 'go back to your own country' out of cars (I know some of that is just being pissheads but it's racist/xenophobic nonetheless). Maybe because of the greater presence of indigenous people, it's common to encounter openly anti-aboriginal views.

I wouldn't say I've been the victim of serious racism - most of it is just annoying name-calling or being presumptious, but I've witnessed a few nasty incidents and heard some somewhat racist views. I've met few people who are truly hostile towards other groups (although you see plenty of 'sink the boats', or 'f**k off we're full' bumperstickers especially in the outer suburbs).

Maybe I'm not familiar having no lived in Melbourne. Are suburbs like Dandenong, or Frankston, Sunshine known as being more racist? The western suburbs were surprisingly really multicultural, and there's a much bigger European presence here vs the British dominated WA, although we have a large Italian community.

minibrings · 06-01-2012, 07:48 PM

The only way to get a definitive answer is to be able to quantify racism... Which nobody can.

Trimac20 · 06-01-2012, 07:55 PM

^ true...to one person those 'f*** off we're full/sink the boat bumper stickers' might be refreshingly PC and show pride in one's country. It's common to demonize the worst immigrants to justify these attitudes. I certainly don't want any immigrants from third world countries who are ungrateful/cause trouble myself, but I don't know if they're the MAJORITY. Another would be horrified at it. I'm probably somewhere in between. Respect people's right to be indignant, but definitely detect a 'we were here first, it's ours' 'capture the flag' mentality.

Mhundred · 06-02-2012, 04:05 AM

Can anyone explain to me why indiains were being attacked in the first place? To my knowledge were they not mostly university students?

Where i'm from university students are usually well regarded foreign or not.

Trimac20 · 06-02-2012, 04:43 AM

^ Of all the assaults reported every year in Australia I somehow doubt that Indians are over-represented compared to their general population.

It's kind of like saying, thousands of white people are assaulted every year. Must be a bloody epidemic!

Any Indian who lacks the requisite reasoning power to believe such nonsense isn't welcomed/smart enough for our universities anyway. That's right, stay away, we don't want you.

Mhundred · 06-02-2012, 04:58 AM

Sorry i'm not too familiar with what you're refereeing to. What i though you were originally talking about was specific incidents involving Indian students being attacked and subsequently india issuing a warning to indians not to attend school in australia.

Trimac20 · 06-02-2012, 05:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mhundred

Sorry i'm not too familiar with what you're refereeing to. What i though you were originally talking about was specific incidents involving Indian students being attacked and subsequently india issuing a warning to indians not to attend school in australia.

No that was just a way to introduce the topic question, was whether Melbourne overall is the least racist city in Australia in your opinion.

Please, don't focus on the Indian incident that has already been discussed her. You may reference it in passing, but it'd be great if we could stick to the topic question.

other99 · 06-02-2012, 05:53 AM

I lived in Melbourne for a few years and I find it no less racist than Sydney or Brisbane. Anyway I also have discovered it is not that some whites are racist but some Indians here in Australia hold some racist beliefs.

Trimac20 · 06-02-2012, 06:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by other99

I lived in Melbourne for a few years and I find it no less racist than Sydney or Brisbane. Anyway I also have discovered it is not that some whites are racist but some Indians here in Australia hold some racist beliefs.

Asians of all nationalities can indeed be racist. There's also a lot of racism between nations like China and Japan.

What part of Melbourne did you live in and what sort of things did you see/hear?

other99 · 06-02-2012, 05:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trimac20

Asians of all nationalities can indeed be racist. There's also a lot of racism between nations like China and Japan.

What part of Melbourne did you live in and what sort of things did you see/hear?

I lived in the East and Western suburbs. I knew an white women who don't like Indians and know someone that thinks Melbourne is going down due to the increase in numbers of Asians moving there. I knew an Indian guy who thinks white women are sluts by the way they dress. However in Melbourne I find there was less racism targeted against Aborigines compared to some other towns and cities in Australia. In addition there are an few fringe racist groups yet they are very small in numbers like in the rest of Australia.