I have a utopian ideal. I am pretty certain I am not alone in this. Mine is couched, sometimes overridden, sometimes decimated, by my cynicism. I have been referred to as both cynical and jaded. I sometimes describe myself as an optimist with a health dose of cynicism. I wish there was reason to be otherwise — perhaps this is the basis for my utopianism. More times that I would like to recount in recent weeks, any utopian outlooks I have have been quashed. The current politicking about refugees is beyond description. I literally fled from Australian in the wake of the Tampa situation in 2001. …

#essentialism #othering #politics #racism

The ‘race riot’ in Sydney on Sunday November 11 and the continuing aftermath is something I am sure many people have an awareness of. I was horrified though perhaps I should not have been given the promotion of race baiting that has essentially been government ‘policy’ since the ‘boarding’ of the Tampa by the Australian navy in September 2001 and the negative portrayal and stereotyping of refugees that intensified and continues to this day. As I hear more detail from friends and relatives who are witnessing first hand, or have friends suffering at the hand of the apparently…

#racism #whiteness