2005-12-14
Entry tags:
Cronulla
For those who haven't heard, Australia has had our first race riots. Last weekend, violence broke out in a Southern Sydney suburb as resentment between Lebanese and Anglo-Saxon communities turned to violence.
Why this happened is a long and complicated story. White Australians formed an ugly mob and unprecedented violence and intolerance surfaced. The racists among us told hold of the opportunity, and I'm saddened by what happened. I'm not, however, shocked. The writing has been on the wall for some time, with ongoing problems within the Lebanese community, and the resulting main-stream anger perpetuating resentment and aggression.
This newspaper article does a good job of explaining a complex part of the situation...
Isolated and angry
A range of social, economic and cultural reasons lie behind the alienation of second-generation Lebanese Australians from the mainstream, report Cameron Stewart and Amanda Hodge
( Read more... )
Why this happened is a long and complicated story. White Australians formed an ugly mob and unprecedented violence and intolerance surfaced. The racists among us told hold of the opportunity, and I'm saddened by what happened. I'm not, however, shocked. The writing has been on the wall for some time, with ongoing problems within the Lebanese community, and the resulting main-stream anger perpetuating resentment and aggression.
This newspaper article does a good job of explaining a complex part of the situation...
Isolated and angry
A range of social, economic and cultural reasons lie behind the alienation of second-generation Lebanese Australians from the mainstream, report Cameron Stewart and Amanda Hodge
( Read more... )