jamesnixon.com
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ON DELETING A FACEBOOK FRIEND ...
One Of My Friends Sent One
Of My Friends A Personal Chat Attack
Yes, I deleted you from my Facebook account after reading the attack you made on a very close friend of mine.
You are not only just plain wrong, you are completely wrong.
This lady I have known for nearly twenty years. She lives in Dubai and gives a full time job to an Indian woman. Not employing someone for a couple of hours a week, as I do, she got this lady a Visa, feeds her, clothes her, treats her as one of her own family, flies her home for holidays and shares a roof with her. Plus she pays her five times the money she could make in her own country. Five times.
She is most definitely NOT a racist. She plays sport with, and coaches, young women from a diverse number of countries. She ferries kids around Dubai in her car of all races ... she, as I, and most Australians I know - care little for the colour of a person's skin, their religion or their background. We judge people by their acts and deeds ... most notably by asking ourselves "Is this person a bullshit artist?"
To be known as a 'Bullshit Artist' is the worst thing ... in Australia.
To be 'Fair Dinkum' is to be revered. It means: trust worthy, a man of your word, someone who does what they'll say they'll do. Someone who sticks up for those less fortunate, and who sticks up for a mate. As I have done by responding to you.
As two of the one million Australians who live overseas, (in our case we can't get work in our chosen profession in Australia); we are Australian expats. Economic refugees who have to go overseas to find work. Both of us lost our jobs four days after the September 11th attacks; along with the employees of 28 airlines that immediately went broke around the globe.
We come from a city, Melbourne, that is totally cosmopolitan - where multiculturalism started in the 1850s and continues today. Our city was born of people who strived to get there. They are still striving to get there. Unlike Sydney and Hobart, whose convict past has led to many 'colourful' families; ALL of our families chose to come to Melbourne. We included Americans (who first taught us gold mining and sealing), Chinese and all manner of Britains, Great and otherwise.
After the second World War we took the largest number of Jewish camp survivors in the world, and were the drop-off point for 100,000 German engineers, Italian labourers as well as labourers from 28 other European countries who constructed the Snowy Mountains Scheme between 1949 and 1974. It's the reason why Melbourne has the most diverse population of any city on the planet. And the best restaurants.
Our cafes are italian. We have been brought up to revere real Italian coffee. So much so that, after the GFC, 800 starbucks stores were closed in Australia - mostly in Melbourne. Only poofs put vanilla in coffee ...
Our taxi drivers are always the latest immigrants - currently Somalians. But before that Indians, Sri Lankans, Pakistanis, Lebanese, Cambodians, Vietnamese, Greeks and Italians.
Per head of population, we give homes to more refugees than any country on earth, and - with the Kiwis - have lost more of our sons fighting other peoples' wars.
The lady you offended's heritage is from Europe, believe me, she grew up being called a 'wog' - so your taunts don't hurt her. You couldn't pronounce her surname, (I can't).
Her point, in response to a tasteless joke I made; was to quote an English comedy duo, The Two Ronnies:
"Why can't Packies play footy?...
Cos every time they get a corner they put a shop on it!"
(http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Packie Derogatory term for Pakistani, also used widely toward anyone of Indian/Asian decent especially Muslim. Commonly British usage).
You wrote:
"I am sorry to send this directly but I had no other choice. I am à British born Indian. I am sorry to say but your joke abt pakistanis came across as tasteless and old fashioned racism. Not all pakistanis own corner ships you know? (and I am not Pakistani either)...but I condone any Kind of hurtful or tasteless jokes. Its sad that such rubbish still goes on. We live in a globaliszd world and if some people dont accept that then.....*sigh*...its sad.
Its when someone reads things like what you wrote makes one sadly believe that most Australians are racist. Not everyone of course....but stereotypically Australians are seen as racist. "
... and so on.
1. I disagree. You had another choice. You could have sent me an email. We're friends. You could have asked me to clarify what she was on about.
2. You jumped to suggesting, inter alia, that she was a racist. And that most of my countrymen are.
Well, as I said above, I disagree vehemently that she is a racist - far from it. But I have to agree with you. I think ALL Australians are racists. I think ALL Maltese are racists, ALL English ( of ALL colour and background); ALL Vietnamese, ALL Bahrainis, ALL Saudis and certainly ALL Emiraties. I can't speak of other places, because these are the only places I have lived.
"What's the difference between a tourist and racist?" is a question I ask my new FOs.
The answer? "Three weeks".
As a new immigrant, try getting a phone connected in Saigon, Dubai or Melbourne and you'll soon become a racist - trust me.
I think ALL people are racist. Believe me, until you have heard Vietnamese talk of Indians, Chinese, Japanese and Koreans; you haven't heard 'Blue' language! And the stuff I heard being sprouted about Italians by Maltese, by Bristolians about Greeks ... and so on. That is the lot of xenophobic people who have never travelled. Who don't own passports. Or, worse still, who do travel (British soccer hooligans) - and shouldn't.
A lot of it comes from ignorance, but some is justified. Research: The Rape Of Nanking and you can understand why Chinese don't go out partying with the Japanese. Same for the Koreans. They have been invaded 2,000 times they say (Chinese, pirates and border skirmishes mainly) ... but the only two times they remember are when the Japanese stepped ashore.
But not Helene.
I am sad that you wrote what you did, I thought you were a journalist.
I don't know where you did your training, for I was taught that "We are nothing but trained observers". *
It's very easy to criticise people, but much harder to accurately observe them. "Why did she say that?" Is a valid response ... is she making a joke, or is she a racist? A quick email to me would have elicited that she is most definitely NOT a racist, she's making a harmless joke.
If she was a racist - (luckily none of my friends are) - then we'd take her down together.
I hope that you understand why I took you off my friends list; I can't be your friend if you think Helene's a racist. And I can't be your friend if you stoop to pigeon-holing a race, Australians, as racists.
That, my ex-friend, is being racist.
Sunday 14th April 2013
* H.L.Menken
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