Anti-racism

Why capitalism needs racism

The recent murder of Nitin Garg highlighted continuing violence against Indian students. It has led some to ask “Is Australia a racist country?” and put others on the defensive about Australia’s racist image. The ongoing Northern Territory intervention, which required the suspension of the Racial Discrimination Act, and the demonisation and persecution of refugees by both government and opposition politicians suggests that racism is alive in Australia. The following article is from the new and updated What Resistance Stands For, which Resistance branches around the country will launch in coming weeks. To find out more, order your copy, or attend a launch near you, visit www.resistance.org.au. 

Stop the Attack on Indian Students

Deputy PM Julia Gillard’s different reactions to two media controversies say a lot about the denial of racism in Australia. After performers on the television show Hey Hey It’s Saturday did a blackface skit Gillard was insistent that “obviously I think whatever happened was meant to be humorous and would be taken in that spirit by most Australians”. However, Gillard failed to see the humour when the January 5 Delhi Mail Today published a cartoon depicting a Ku Klux Klan type figure wearing a Victorian police badge saying: “We are yet to ascertain the nature of the crime.”

The cartoon referred to the January 2 stabbing murder of Indian university graduate Nitin Garg as he walked to his workplace: a Hungry Jack’s restaurant in Melbourne’s western suburbs. Gillard reacted furiously and said, “Any suggestion of that kind is deeply, deeply offensive to the police officers involved and I would absolutely condemn the making of a comment like that.” Both comments, and other statements by the government regarding attacks on Indian students, deny, and consequently refuse to deal with, the racism that exists in Australia.