Sydney Riots

[yertle-the-turtle]

Racial violence erupts in Sydney
Police confront youths at Cronulla Beach, Sydney
There were angry confrontations between police and youths
Thousands of young white men have converged on Cronulla Beach in Sydney, Australia, and attacked people of Arabic and Mediterranean background.

Police and ambulance officers were pelted with beer cans and bottles, and an ambulance was attacked.

Several people were injured in the alcohol-fuelled violence, and at least 12 were arrested.

The authorities have condemned the outbreak of racial violence as "not the Australian way".

By Sunday night, the violence appeared to have spread to a second beach suburb, Maroubra, where men armed with baseball bats reportedly attacked cars.

And police said a man was stabbed in the back in south Sydney in what media reports said appeared to be further racial violence.

The clashes follow assaults a week ago on two volunteer lifeguards at the southern Sydney beach, reportedly by youths of Arabic and Mediterranean backgrounds.

Mobile phone text messages began circulating after the beatings, encouraging people to retaliate on Sunday and employing racial slurs.

'Not Australian'

Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Goodwin said innocent people had been targeted.

"The behaviour that's been seen down here at Cronulla today is nothing short of disgusting and disgraceful," he said. "It's certainly not the Australian way."


Sections of the media took this issue far too far, and one can only surmise that the way these issues was dealt with on talk-back radio amounts to incitement
Keysar Trad, Islamic Friendship Association of Australia

The area's Mayor, Kevin Schreiber, accused the mob of looking for a fight.

"As mayor and as a resident of Cronulla, I'm devastated by what has occurred on our beachfront," he said.

"It is the actions of a few, but let's not kid ourselves that people didn't come from far and wide to participate."

The president of the Islamic Friendship Association of Australia, Keysar Trad, accused the media of whipping up racial tension.

"Sections of the media took this issue far too far, and one can only surmise that the way these issues was dealt with on talk-back radio amounts to incitement," he said.

Sydney has many beaches, but Cronulla is one of a few that is easily accessible by train and is often visited by young people from the poorer suburbs of western and southern Sydney.

Area residents accuse the visitors of being disrespectful and of sometimes intimidating other beach-goers.

 

[AchtungBono]

I think that is just disgusting!!

Australia is truly a beautiful country and its ethnic diversity is what makes it so special. Its such a shame that there are people even there who show no tolerance for others different than them.

I hope these riots will not be as horrible as the Paris ones.

 

[Earnie Shavers]

It's the single most fucking disgusting thing I've ever seen in this country. I'm dead tired, I'll write more tomorrow.

 

[dazzlingamy]

I agree Earnie. I saw it on the news tonight and i thought WHAT THE FUCK?! I love being a multicultural society, and even though sometimes there are problems, there are problems with EVERY society.

I heard tonight there was a big blockage of people in front of a mosque in Sydney or something. I mean COME ON. This is just stupid, its just young people, bored shitless trying to stir up trouble. I hope they all get big fucking fines and 2 weeks in jail to calm the hell down! I mean, saying 'hey let us aussies get the masos, serbs, lebbos etc etc' its like DUR 90% of them were born in australia too, and you act like they arn't...

gah, i cant properly put into words what im trying to say, but i think its stupid to all of a sudden have this big racial divide over NOTHING!

 

[Halifax]

What makes me even more disgusted is that every middle eastern person spotted is beaten in sight! Heck, even police and the ambulance crew are given blows and flying bottles!

Like dazzlingamy, I truly love being in a multicultural society (I’m Vietnamese-Australian, I got no choice), and it pains me to think that this incident will add more fuel to the “down with multiculturalism – up with assimilation/white Australia policy” crowd.

In my view, we’re probably in for one of the biggest racial crises in Australian history.

 

[yertle-the-turtle]

Presenting John Howard's take!

Australians racist? No way, says Howard
By Anne Davies and Stephanie Peatling
December 13, 2005


THE Prime Minister, John Howard, has played down claims that racism fuelled the weekend riots, putting him at odds with the NSW Premier, the Police Commissioner and many community leaders.

"Mob violence is always sickening and always to be unconditionally condemned," he said. "Attacking people on the basis of their race, their appearance, their ethnicity, is totally unacceptable and should be repudiated by all Australians, irrespective of their own background and irrespective of their politics."

But he said the riots were primarily a "law and order issue".

"I do not accept that there is underlying racism in this country. I have always taken a more optimistic view of the character of the Australian people. I do not believe Australians are racist."

But the Premier, Morris Iemma, condemned the weekend riots as "un-Australian". "What it showed on the weekend was the ugly face of racism in this country," he said.

"There is no way this disgraceful behaviour will be tolerated anywhere, not in Cronulla, not in Maroubra , not anywhere."

The Minister for Police, Carl Scully, said there appeared to have been an element of white supremacists inciting the weekend violence, and that their attitudes had no place in mainstream Australian society.

"Those sort of characters are better placed in Berlin circa 1930, not Cronulla 2005," he said.

Mr Howard rejected suggestions that his stance on Iraq or the recent emphasis on the threat of "home-grown terrorism" could have contributed to the weekend tensions.

"It's impossible to know how individuals react, but everything that this Government has said about home-grown terrorism has been totally justified," he said.

"To suggest that one should remain silent on something like that, knowing what I know, because that might antagonise somebody else is a complete failure of leadership," he said.

But one of Mr Howard's backbenchers, the Liberal MP Bruce Baird, whose south-eastern Sydney seat takes in Cronulla, blamed the riots on simmering racial tensions that finally spilled over following the September 11 attacks, the Bali bombings and the gang rape trials.

"I think there's been increasing emphasis on terrorism and our security," Mr Baird told ABC radio.

"There has been high-profile rape cases in Sydney, and of course the Sutherland Shire itself is very much an Anglo-Celtic enclave … I can understand at one level people's frustration because they all feel that the beaches belong to them and it is a Sutherland Shire thing and when anybody disturbs the equilibrium, given all the events that have happened since September 11, I just think that's the match that sets alight the fuel."

The Federal Opposition Leader, Kim Beazley, also played down the racial motivation of the riots.

"It's just criminal behaviour," Mr Beazley said. "Australian multiculturalism is alive and well. Just take a look a few weeks ago [with] the response to Australia's World Cup win."

The State Opposition leader, Peter Debnam, reiterated that the Government's soft approach had failed. "Local communities know public order has been breaking down for years - but not according to the Labor Government. That is the problem."

I'm sorry but I don't think you can start anything like that without any underlying resentment of some sort, no matter how stupid it is. To deny there's a problem only makes it worse.

 

[verte76]

I have a cousin in Australia. I'm really sorry this stuff is going on there, it's ugly.

 

[SummerLily]

So sorry to read about the riots!

So. California is facing the possibility of huge rioting over the next few days due to the probable lethal injection of ex Crips leader Tookie Williams.

It is all now in the decision of Gov. Arnold Schwatzenegger.

Prayers for Los Angeles are needed now!

God bless.

 

[Calluna]

The Herd's song, '77%' came to mind as I read this article.

 

[financeguy]

It is rather curious that countries like the United States and Australia have White Nationalist movements. Can anyone shed any light on this phenomenon?

 

[Irvine511]

It is rather curious that countries like the United States and Australia have White Nationalist movements. Can anyone shed any light on this phenomenon?

wait until europe starts to reach levels of diversity comparable with that of the US and Australia.

then it will start to make sense.

 

[financeguy]

wait until europe starts to reach levels of diversity comparable with that of the US and Australia.

then it will start to make sense.

That is not my point. Parts of Britain, France and Germany already do have levels of diversity comparable with the US and Australia. Australia and the USA were not originally white countries so White Nationalists in those countries appear to defy logic and commensense.

Europe is originally white so White Nationalism makes some kind of sense. Not that I support it or anything.

 

[Earnie Shavers]

Presenting John Howard's take!

No thanks.

 

[Irvine511]

That is not my point. Parts of Britain, France and Germany already do have levels of diversity comparable with the US and Australia. Australia and the USA were not originally white countries so White Nationalists in those countries appear to defy logic and commensense.

Europe is originally white so White Nationalism makes some kind of sense. Not that I support it or anything.

no, you really can't compare, yet, the US to Europe. the US is roughly 70% white; the most diverse country in Europe, the UK, is still 90% white. many American cities are have majority non-white populations, and i believe California is now officially a state without a majority racial population (i.e., no one racial category holds 50% or more of the population).

White Nationalism, and/or white separatism, advocate not genocide or necessarily that white people are superior to other races. they simply want what might be known as a "white homeland" where people are all of caucasian descent. however, what is, i think, unique to the US (and perhaps Australia) is that it is the langauge that arises when one lives in a multi-cultural society that gives birth to some of these movements. white nationalism is sometimes decribed as a reaction by whites who believe they are disenfranchised by the rise of liberal multicultural ideologies based around tolerance and inclusiveness. i also think it differes in that, in Europe, white nationalism is almost a redundancy -- nationlism in Germany, France, the UK, etc., works under an assumption of whiteness, at least as nationalism is traditionally understood. because in the US race is divorced from nationalism -- to be a bit patriotic, one of the best things about the US, imho, in that patriotism is different from nationalism because the nation is predicated upon being from many nations, and therefore many ethnicities, religions, and races -- the term "white nationalism" comes into being because those who are white wish to live separately from other races.

 

[anitram]

wait until europe starts to reach levels of diversity comparable with that of the US and Australia.

then it will start to make sense.

What about Canada?

The UN declared Toronto the most multicultural city in the world (surpassing NYC, interestingly). And we do not have comparable elements here, at least not that prominently.

 

[Irvine511]

What about Canada?

The UN declared Toronto the most multicultural city in the world (surpassing NYC, interestingly). And we do not have comparable elements here, at least not that prominently.

even on a whole, while Canada is closer to the US in diversity than in Europe, the US is still more diverse.

i really don't know for certain, though i'm pretty sure there must be some racist "white power" elements in Canada, but i have heard that it is the lack of a palpable Canadian identity that often makes Canada attractive to immigrants. it is easier to retain the culture of the country of origin than in the US where there is a powerful, and often successful, cultural assimiation expectations due to a strong sense of American-ness. i am told that the question of what it means to be a canadian is still preoccupied with defining oneself apart from the noisy neighbor to the south, and as such, it's a little bit more DIY. where the US might be described as a melting pot, i have heard the phrase "mosaic" used for Canada -- it's the lack of a strong sense of national identity and core set of values (and in the US, these "values" are thrown at us every day by politicians using them as excuses to invade countries and such ... i mean no judgements here) that allows people to retain their old identities instead of forging new ones.

i would also say it's new. we've had racist pressure groups in the US for 150+ years, where as cultural diversity is newer to other cities in both Canada and the US. perhaps you've learned from our mistakes?

 

[Irvine511]

What about Canada?

The UN declared Toronto the most multicultural city in the world (surpassing NYC, interestingly). And we do not have comparable elements here, at least not that prominently.

and these white nationalist groups are hardly in NYC. or LA. or SF. or DC. or Denver.

they tend to be in the south or, like, Ohio.

 

[trevster2k]

Here in Canada the majority of the population lives right along the US border or fairly close to it. And Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver account for a good chunk of those people. Those 3 cities are as multicultural as any place in the world. Regarding our national identity Irvine, yeah, Canada had always been challenged with that. We don't pledge allegiance but hockey, yeah, that is bascially our public identity, and we know we aren't Americans. I think our identity is that we have no identity. Anyone of any faith or culture can stand up and say I am Canadian yet not fit any cookie cutter conception of Canadian. Our motto is peace, order and good government whereas the US is life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Canadians love Canada but we have so many political problems and divisiveness amongst the West, Ontario, Quebec and the Atlantic provinces. We ain't perfect either.

As for the rest of Canada, there are small ethnic groups in the other cities but the rest of Canada has dumbass racist idiots all over the place, believe me, I have had to listen to their ignorant comments time and time again. I call them polite racists, if no one who can be offended is around, then shoot away. I have heard the word chink many times in my presence and then they say I didn't mean you. Yeah, thanks, you meant my dad or my grandparents. I have told off more than a few people in my day. They are just ignorant people with tiny minds and a poor upbringing so I pity them more than anything.

Discrimination comes in all forms not just racial, look at the teasing people get for braces, glasses, pimples, weight whether heavy or skinny,sexual orientation, clothes, etc. It is one of humanity's greatness weaknesses, in order to make ourselves feel better, we have to make others feel smaller. And it is so easy to go along with the crowd instead of stand up against what you know is wrong. Which is why I love these message boards and the internet because we all have a voice and no one can judge us on appearance.

 

[Earnie Shavers]

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national...y-its-own-rules/2005/12/12/1134236005956.html

Can Alan Jones be charged under one of the new terror laws? Would make my year.

 

[Irvine511]

Here in Canada the majority of the population lives right along the US border or fairly close to it. And Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver account for a good chunk of those people. Those 3 cities are as multicultural as any place in the world. Regarding our national identity Irvine, yeah, Canada had always been challenged with that. We don't pledge allegiance but hockey, yeah, that is bascially our public identity, and we know we aren't Americans. I think our identity is that we have no identity. Anyone of any faith or culture can stand up and say I am Canadian yet not fit any cookie cutter conception of Canadian. Our motto is peace, order and good government whereas the US is life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Canadians love Canada but we have so many political problems and divisiveness amongst the West, Ontario, Quebec and the Atlantic provinces. We ain't perfect either.

As for the rest of Canada, there are small ethnic groups in the other cities but the rest of Canada has dumbass racist idiots all over the place, believe me, I have had to listen to their ignorant comments time and time again. I call them polite racists, if no one who can be offended is around, then shoot away. I have heard the word chink many times in my presence and then they say I didn't mean you. Yeah, thanks, you meant my dad or my grandparents. I have told off more than a few people in my day. They are just ignorant people with tiny minds and a poor upbringing so I pity them more than anything.

Discrimination comes in all forms not just racial, look at the teasing people get for braces, glasses, pimples, weight whether heavy or skinny,sexual orientation, clothes, etc. It is one of humanity's greatness weaknesses, in order to make ourselves feel better, we have to make others feel smaller. And it is so easy to go along with the crowd instead of stand up against what you know is wrong. Which is why I love these message boards and the internet because we all have a voice and no one can judge us on appearance.

very interesting post.



canada looks so nice these days ... and, riots aside, so does Australia.

 

[VertigoGal]

It is rather curious that countries like the United States and Australia have White Nationalist movements. Can anyone shed any light on this phenomenon?

well see way back in the day after all the natives were died out, they needed *someone* to work the plantations...

seriously, it's just uneducated rednecks in a time warp for the most part. many people may be subtley or not so subtley racist because they fear certain minorities endanger their jobs and also what they see as their american way, but that doesn't equate to a widespread white nationalist movement per se. if you look at history, irish, germans, italians etc were not considered white when they came to this country. i think it's the "there goes the neighborhood" thing more than some sort of nationalism concept like you're more likely to find in europe.

i see underlying racism relatively often unfortunately, but i don't think there's a significantly present white nationalist movement (don't know the stats though). i guess in a country of 300 million with every ethnicity you can imagine, you'll get stuck with a few crazies.

 

[A_Wanderer]

I find it interesting that the foreign news services seem to be playing it up as a one sided racist attack. Now these surfie fucks who attacked innocent people on the basis of race, police officers and ambulances show what the mixture of alcohol, mobs and self-righteous rage can do. The reprisal attacks by the Lebanese are also indiscriminately racist attacks, so busting up cars. stabbing and beating with bats is portrayed ambiguously on some media outlets (*cough* SBS World News) while the Anglo violence and thuggery is explicitly spelled out. Some of the international reports that I have read have not shown the initial event before the utterly inecusable violence or stated the event that started it which was the beating of the lifesavers and the ongoing harrasment of others who used the beach specifically girls and women.

 

[VertigoGal]

^yeah I was just thinking that after reading the articles posted in the other thread on this. neither is acceptable, and it's probably inaccurate to describe this as simply white nationalism rather than racial violence from two mobs.

 

[melon]

but i have heard that it is the lack of a palpable Canadian identity that often makes Canada attractive to immigrants.

I would say that Canada's attractiveness boils down to a more practical level. It is considered much easier to legally immigrate to Canada than it is to immigrate to the U.S.

Melon

 

[anitram]

I would say that Canada's attractiveness boils down to a more practical level. It is considered much easier to legally immigrate to Canada than it is to

And the government just drastically increased the number of legal immigrants we will be taking annually.

 

[Angela Harlem]

Seems some in the news and political arena have forgotten Macquarie Fields. And curious that no mention that the initial instigator was the revolting attack on the lifesavers.

 

[trevster2k]

And the government just drastically increased the number of legal immigrants we will be taking annually.

Yeah, we need this as our birth rate is barely at replacement levels. Unfortunately, our human resources policies don't match our immigration policies in that we want the best people yet many aren't allowed to work here despite being trained as engineers, physicians or scientists. They end driving a taxi or working in a factory OR end up leaving for the US. That 's one thing that pisses me off is all the damn different provincial qualifications for different careers, jeez, just one standard for the whole country, save a lot of money and headache.


I agree with the reporting of the riots in Australia, it goes both ways. Violence by either group is wrong and should not be tolerated.

 

[anitram]

Unfortunately, our human resources policies don't match our immigration policies in that we want the best people yet many aren't allowed to work here despite being trained as engineers, physicians or scientists. They end driving a taxi or working in a factory OR end up leaving for the US. That 's one thing that pisses me off is all the damn different provincial qualifications for different careers, jeez, just one standard for the whole country, save a lot of money and headache.

Just getting your qualifications in any field is ridiculous.

I work with two women who were MDs in China. Their problem in Ontario is twofold. First, they need to pass the relevant medical licensing exams. This in itself is a long and tedious process, and immediately many immigrants give up because they simply cannot afford to stay home and study for a couple of years. Who will support their families? So they fall into the trap of taking any job to feed their kids, even if the job is far beneath their actual qualifications. Second, the ones who are lucky enough to study and pass the exams still need to secure an internship, and this is nearly impossible. The numbers of internships and residencies available are determined in great part by the spots available in medical schools, so in effect you may be left with no extras, or a tiny handful.

It's bureaucracy and short sightedness at every step.

 

[Angela Harlem]

Yeah, we need this as our birth rate is barely at replacement levels. Unfortunately, our human resources policies don't match our immigration policies in that we want the best people yet many aren't allowed to work here despite being trained as engineers, physicians or scientists. They end driving a taxi or working in a factory OR end up leaving for the US. That 's one thing that pisses me off is all the damn different provincial qualifications for different careers, jeez, just one standard for the whole country, save a lot of money and headache.


I agree with the reporting of the riots in Australia, it goes both ways. Violence by either group is wrong and should not be tolerated.

This is precisely like Australia. I had 2 Indian neighbours and one was a biochemist and one was a doctor. She became a stay at home mum when they moved out here and he drove taxis to support them. The lives they left behind were so vastly different to the ones they got out here. They maintained they'd not swap it for anything, but immigrants do give up so much sometimes to gain what they missed initially.

 

[A_Wanderer]

CNN Reports

Anti-Arab rioters smash cars, windows in Sydney

link

Must be a lot of self-loathing because this was done by "men of Middle Eastern appearance"

So when Arab yobbos go on a rampage against Anglos it is gang violence, other way around its racism, if people use the racism angle they could at least use it consistently

A decent piece in The Australian

Tim Priest: Blame race riots on police force neglect

THE headlines in Sydney's main newspapers in the wake of Sunday's riots had similar themes: "Our disgrace", "Day of shame" and so on. And indeed, to any even-minded citizen, Sunday was certainly not one of the Harbour City's better days. Let's not mince words: the behaviour of the rioters at Cronulla beach, as political, police and community leaders have insisted, was disgusting and disgraceful.

But the events that unfolded in the Sutherland Shire reminded me of the lyrics from the song Gravity by British band Embrace a few years ago: "It's been a long time coming ... and I can't stop now."

That song encapsulated the mood and the agenda of everyone who gathered at the beachside suburb. This was to be a day of protest unlike anything we have witnessed in Sydney before.

I ventured down to Cronulla and watched the scenes unfold from about 11am. I watched as groups of young men walked to the beach carrying cartons of beer and drinking freely as small groups of police walked around. They obviously had no instructions from senior police to curtail and deter the always volatile mixture of alcohol and public gatherings.

That was the first big error and probably the most telling. The second mistake was the inability of senior police in command to read the crowd and to anticipate its mood. Sure, I saw any number of earnest-looking police commanders earlier in the day, all armed with the obligatory mobile phone and clipboard. Later I saw them safely ensconced in the command post located above the surf club.

It reminded me of the old British army model, of the generals gathered on horseback on hills many kilometres from the battle, watching the front-line troops fight but removed from the emotional and physical atmosphere that often gave the telltale signs that disaster lurked nearby.

link