In the Television and DVD series World at War in Episode No 19 titled 'Pincers', an American soldier who also happened to be a Jew tells the story of invading Germany and on one occasion being hassled by a German woman civilian.
Trying to push her along he explained to her he was a Jew and she wouldn't want anything to do with him. Her response staggered him: "But you are a white Jew."
Waleed Aly, lawyer, commentator, columnist, The Project, and radio host, who has never hidden that he is a Muslim by birth and religion, and celebrated as the reasoned voice of Islam, "But you are one of us" (as it were).
It was at odds therefore to read a recent column of Waleed Aly where he undertakes to unpick the polite racism of Australia's educated middle class claiming it is much worse than ugly tirades that go viral on YouTube.
Waleed Aly describes this polite educated middle class racism as:
"Like the racism revealed by an Australian National University study, which found you're significantly less likely to get a job interview if you have a non-European name. The researchers sent fake CVs in response to job advertisements, changing only the name of the applicant. It turns out that if you're surname is Chinese, you have to apply for 68 per cent more jobs to get the same number of interviews as a Anglo-Australian. If you're Middle Eastern, it's 64 per cent. If you're indigenous, 35 per cent.
"This is the polite racism of the educated middle class. It's not as shocking as the viral racist tirades we've seen lately. No doubt the HR managers behind these statistics would be genuinely appalled by such acts of brazen, overt racism. Indeed, they probably enforce racial discrimination rules in their workplace and are proud to do so. Nonetheless, theirs is surely a more devastating, enduring racism. There's no event to film, just the daily, invisible operation of a silent, pervasive prejudice. It doesn't get called out.
"It's just the way things are; a structure of society."
In essence, this 'structure of society' is at issue. So what is this structure of society and is it racist or is there some other explanation or explanations.
Alternatives to the racist card
Japan for example, has the most restrictive nationalistic laws anywhere in the world, but somehow you never hear about the Japanese being racist. What's that all about?
Attend any Christian Church in Australia and you'll more than likely find people groups from around the world. One congregation where my wife and I worshipped one time, there were people groups from the Philippines, Scotland, Europe, New Zealand, South Africa, France, Canada and regularly students from Japan on exchange.
There was no racist card there, illustrated by the church's elections to various positions of responsibility. Like all people groups, there are those individuals who have talents in finance, service, administration, hospitality, pastoral care, transport and the like. Their surnames were like a Who's Who of internationalism.
Missionaries coming from out-of-Australia are now representatives of people groups from around the world. I'm involved in mentoring young Christian writers who are published in Christian Today. Some of these young writers are from Asia, Africa, Europe, England, Middle East, North America, New Zealand, South Africa and shortly South America. The former editor is from Taiwan and his wife is Korean.
Modern Australia was founded by the English, its institutions and governance was a direct correlation to Westminster and when mass migration occurred after WWII from a devastated Europe, these people desperately wanted a fresh start, a new life and a peaceful world for their children.
It was neither assimilation or multi-culturalism, rather becoming part of the fabric of the nation and "doing one's bit" for their new communities where a fair Law existed for all. Just look at the newsreels of the time from the Snowy Mountains Scheme where innumerable people were interviewed. On their minds where the big three: Economic. Family. Justice.
If anything, as study after study has shown, that it's the second and third generation of those who have made Australia their home, that have themselves become part of the 'fabric of the nation'. The ANU study reasserts this - in that - by the second generation immigrants have established their own networks. Our young writers from across the world have also illustrated this - in their respective high profile employment positions.
The question therefore, what is it, to cause Waleed Aly to claim that polite racism of Australia's educated middle class (I'm one of them) is much worse than the ugly tirades that go viral on YouTube.
All around us
It would seem to me that racism has little if anything to do with this at all. Look around you, there are non-anglo-saxon names in every commerce and industry, private and Government, courting office at every level, including our various Parliaments at all levels – Federal, States and Local.
Does any of us really think that an Australian with a university degree, migrates to a nation where English is not their first language, and without any previous correspondence, rolls up for degreed Class A employment, competing with those home spun well qualified applicants, get first preference? This takes time and it's not racism.
Recently, through an intermediary (networking), I secured an employment interview (in accountancy) for a new immigrant accountant. The job went to someone else. It wasn't racism.
The great fear is that we get racism and other 'ims' in reverse. My three adult daughters have secured professional employment – but what if their qualifications and interviews were put aside because the employer felt pressured to employ -
- a new immigrant
- or a male
- or someone gay
- or indigenous
- or someone from a State whose employment figures are dire
- or someone from a particular religion
- the list goes on and on.
There appears to be a great deal of confusion between discrimination, racism, religion and these politically correct 'isms. These issues need to be called-out for what they are, moreover I am more of the view common sense 'free speech' is at risk.
Dr Mark Tronson - a 4 min video
Chairman – Well-Being Australia
Baptist Minister 45 years
- 1984 - Australian cricket team chaplain 17 years (Ret)
- 2001 - Life After Cricket (18 years Ret)
- 2009 - Olympic Ministry Medal – presented by Carl Lewis
- 2019 - The Gutenberg - (ARPA Christian Media premier award)
Gutenberg video - 2min 14sec
Married to Delma for 45 years with 4 children and 6 grand children