Some observations about the Cronulla “race riots” of the weekend, at the risk
of going over the same old ground that the media has been rehashing daily:
- There’s an element of “mods and rockers” in all this, because most beach visitors
are non-locals who come in by train from the western suburbs to use the beach. - Cultural differences make for some bad feeling between certain ethnic groups.
For example surf culture and lower-class youth culture is very misogynistic, but
doesn’t have or tolerate the aggressively flirtatious style of young mid-eastern
australian men towards women. Partly this last comes from a belief within that
community that women who do not dress and act conservatively are inviting
sexual approach — which I think is something that community needs to address
head on. - There was a lot of talk about emails and SMS’s circulating in the “surfer”
community which had inflamed the “mob”. I’ve seen one of these emails and it’s
clearly been crafted in the Nazi-youth factory for these sorts of things: it’s almost
hysterical in its repeating of catchphrases about “Sons and Daughters of the ANZACs”
“defending our beaches” from “Lebs” who have threatened to “rape our children”. To
me this is deliberate inflammatory stuff from white power activists. - But the inflammation came from Alan Jones and his fellow radio shock jocks,
quoting a lot of these emails and sms’s on air with mock outrage followed by “but
this is how bad it’s got when…” and “I don’t advocate violence but…”. Especially
when most of the callers they’re giving a sympathetic ear to are advocating violence.
As has been pointed out on the “fibreculture” mailing list, the sedition laws
are now in place and the police have the power to arrest the Alan Jones of the world
for ” an intention to… (d) promote feelings of ill-will or hostility between different
groups so as to threaten the peace, order and good government of the
Commonwealth.” Somehow I can’t see them being used in this case.
John Howard, as with Pauline Hanson, is showing his mastery of “dog whistle
politics“, by praising with faint damnation, so to speak.