Forget the race card, the bastard are playing the whole fucking pack

This was my rant in Green Left Weekly last week, that I never got around to posting here last week. There is a new one out, which you can read here.

Also, I know have an official, proper column in Green Left. It is called "The Machete"*.

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Forget the race card, they're playing the whole deck

Well, it is only February and one thing is certain: a federal election doesn’t have to be called until as late as November 2013, but the Tony Abbott-led Coalition smells blood and, as far as they are concerned, they are in election mode.

This means if you are dark-skinned, downtrodden or desperate, you had better look out. You are right in the Coalition’s firing line, and just behind them is a desperate Labor government (led, for now, by Julia Gillard) eager to play the futile game of blunting attacks from the right by joining in.

Abbott is in election mode. If you are dark-skinned, downtrodden or desperate, watch out.


This is such a well-worn path. If you had just come out of a coma you’d been in since 2001 and seen the headlines, you’d think: “Shit, when's the vote? I can’t afford any more AEC fines.”

The farcical hysteria around an Aboriginal protest at the Tent Embassy in Canberra on “Australia Day” shows the big party politicians will leap on any opportunity to stoke racist prejudices and fears.

The protest by a small number of Aboriginal people and supporters outside a restaurant, which was asking Abbott to come out and address them over his comments the embassy should “move on”, somehow got spun into a full-blown “riot” after police panicked and dramatically dragged Gillard and Abbott out of the restaurant and bundled them into a car.

No one was arrested, there were some scuffles with police (who violently attacked the protesters) and nothing was broken. If that was a riot, how they hell are they going to respond if, at some point in the future, a single rock gets thrown or one window broken?

The shock jocks would have Abbott on air, insisting this was far worse than the Reign of Terror after the French Revolution, which, as anyone who's read history knows, was also initiated by Gillard's office.

Abbott even took the opportunity to denounce the protesters as “unAustralian”. This has got to win an award for redundancy.

On January 26, a day which marks the start of the invasion of Australia in which Aboriginal people faced systemic extermination, Aboriginal people were protesting the racist polices they are still systematically subjected to.

In other words, they were protesting to reject Australia as it exists.

After all, the next day, some of them went to Parliament House and burned the Australian flag. That is surely a clue that the people Abbott directed his “unAustralian” jibe at were never exactly aspiring to win any “fair dinkum Aussie” award.

These are people who have had enough of the Australia that exists — one in which 25% of the prison population are Aboriginal despite making up only 2% of the population. An Australia in which more than 400 Aboriginal people have died in police custody since 1980, without one police officer ever being brought to justice.

The obvious response would surely be: “If we are unAustralian, can we go to unAustralia now please?”

The Coalition is bent on exploiting prejudices, fears and insecurities in the community in the hope we’ll forget that the last time they were in power they introduced polices such as WorkChoices that screwed all working people, wherever they were from or whatever the colour of their skin.

Buckle in for a year in which the major parties try to avoid talking about real solutions to problems such as rising housing prices and job cuts by playing race card after race card.




'You're just some racist who can't tie my laces, your point of view is medieval.'


* This is a lie. I would like it to be true, but my column is called "Carlo's Corner". Better a corner than no corner, I guess.

Racist cartoon reveals denial problem

My article first published in this week's Green Left Weekly.


Racist cartoon reveals denial problem


The day after the January 26 protests by Aboriginal people and supporters gave the media the sensationalist images of Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Liberal leader Tony Abbott fleeing under police protection, the Herald Sun's Mark Knight captured the image with a truly hilarious cartoon.

Gillard is being led into a car by police, chased by an angry mob of Aboriginal people, faces contorted with rage, waving their fists in fury. The PM quips: “Geez, if the Aboriginals had've put up a fight like this in 1788, we might not be bloody well here celebrating Australia Day…!”

It is one of life's truisms: jokes about genocide just never get old. I don't think I've laughed so hard since I read that famous comedic tract Mein Kempf.

Aboriginal people failed to stop an invasion that resulted in the extermination of possibly 90% of the original Indigenous population, and now they get angry? It is really quite funny if you stop and think about it.

Fucking hilarious.



The cartoon says a lot about the systemic denial at the heart of any discussion about Aboriginal people in Australia.

First is the denial of what occurred at the protest outside The Lobby in Canberra.

The cartoon shows an angry mob surrounding Gillard and Abbott, protected only by police. But look at the pictures and footage depicting their dramatic exit.

How many angry protesters, bearing down on them, do you actually see? In most you can, at best, spot a couple of protesters in the background, looking on.

It is a long way from the scene painted by Herald Sun attack dog Andrew Bolt, who wrote on January 27 that Gillard was forced to “run for her life”.

The protesters were actually calling on Abbott to come out and address them over his comments that the Tent Embassy was no longer needed. Abbott and Gillard refused to talk with the protesters.

I just hope I never face any threat to my life more serious than Gillard did on January 26. I am yet to hear of a single case of anyone being killed by a robust discussion.

More significantly, the cartoon denies the very real Aboriginal resistance to European invasion that, in many places, lasted decades. In the wars fought across the continent from the late 18th century and well into the 19th, the invaders lost a bit more than one shoe.

Denying this resistance strips Aboriginal people of their real history and reduces them to passive victims.

But there is a very revealing twist to the question of denial. This cartoon, by making a joke of the invasion, actually acknowledges it took place.

Even this racist cartoon in a Murdoch tabloid is forced to accept that Aboriginal people had cause to resist invasion, even as it mocks their failure to defeat it.

This is a product of modern Aboriginal resistance, which has forced White Australia, however reluctantly, to confront the fact the nation was founded on dispossession and genocide.

The only reason this point is even acknowledged — amid self-congratulatory celebrations of how “unique” we are because, unlike anywhere else in the world, we have beaches, enjoy cooking food on hotplates, are fond of sport and don't mind specially brewed drinks with intoxicating properties — is because of the ongoing Aboriginal protest.

And a key symbol of Aboriginal resistance and demands for sovereignty is that institution Abbott is so keen to consign to history's dustbin: The Aboriginal Tent Embassy, which celebrated a remarkable 40 years of existence on January 26.

The argument is resounding loudly through the media that the images from the January 26 protest have “damaged the Aboriginal cause”. But the only reason the media is even discussing the Aboriginal cause is because of the protest.

The Tent Embassy confronts denial with the reality of ongoing dispossession and systemic oppression Aboriginal people face — and the determination to resist.





"Terrorists dressed in uniform under the protection of their law. Terrorise blacks in dawns of fear, they come smashin’ through your door". The Drones cover Kev Carmody's true story of the cold-blooded murder of Davi Gundy, a 32-year-old Aboriginal man shot in his own home.

Survival Tips for Zombie Invasion Day (Or "How the bigots abuse the proud act of binge drinking")

Tomorrow, January 26, marks the anniversary of the arrival of the English to steal, rape and murder. It is all the English have ever really been good at, so I guess it makes some sense to mark the occasion - no one has ever celebrated English cookery day.

There are really only two things of any note the English have given the world. One is genocide and the other is cricket.

And at least something interesting happens during a genocide, so if we must commemorate the legacy of English colonialisation, we might as well plump for the destruction of one of the oldest civilisations on the face of the Earth.

Particularly if the alternative is celebrating Ricky Ponting.

And, so, the flags are already out in force - Union Jacks proudly sitting in the top lefthand corners to commemorate the strong bond between the average Australian and the English aristocracy.

It is a day on which, increasingly, the flag and "Aussie pride" are the means for the expression of the powerful undercurrent of extreme racism among sections of the population.

Open expressions of such racism are still considered a bit beyond the pale in polite society. This is a legacy of powerful anti-racist movements, in Australia and globally, during the last half of the 20th century.

Significant gains were won - The US were thrown out of Indochina, apartheid was defeated in South Africa and, in Australia, a majority voted in a referendum to agree to recognise Aboriginal people as humans, not fauna.

"Australia Day", therefore, provides a defensive cover for those whose response to a society screwed over by a lunatic, parasitic corporate elite willing to destroy all life on Earth before having a loss recorded in the accounts is to blame people slightly lower on the social ladder than them on the basis of race.

The flag and expression of "pride in our country" are the defensive cover behind which aggressive racism is increasingly expressed.

To complain about this is to be, by definition, "un-Australian". How can you possibly oppose the Australian flag? How can you seek to stop people expressing pride in *their own country* while *in their own country*?

The organisers of the Big Day Out discovered this when they tried to ban the Australian flag at the musical festival in the aftermath of the 2005 Cronula riots.

The simple explanation by the organisers was the flag was being used as a hate symbol, an aggressive expression of racism. Which it was.

The outcry over this decision ("ban the Australian flag???? In Australia???") proved the defensive value for racists of using symbols of Australian nationalism.

No one mistakes the meaning of an angry white man waving an Australian flag aggressively in the face of someone with dark skin or wearing a hijab.

A crowd drunkly shouting ("singing") "Waltzing Matilda" while staggering down a street are potentially more than just a nuisance to a lone Indian student.

But, respond in the logical way the BDO organisers did, and you are spitting on the Anzacs who fought and died at Gallipoli.

So behind this defensive cover, there is a real offensive to legitimise open racism, make it more acceptable and part of the mainstream.

At the moment, racism is standard operating for the government and state (refugee policy, NT intervention, discriminatory policing targeting Muslim youth), but it is cloaked behind a formal rhetoric of opposition to racism.

In many ways, the angry racists are responding to this hypocrisy. They can see it is bullshit.

They can see the actual *content* of Australian nationalism, the actual *content* of celebrating a day that marks the beginnings of *white* colonialism.

The official message is "inclusivity and diversity", but anyone can see the implication is this is a white person's country. If that was not the implication, the day would not be held on January 26.

For those that think the implication is a good thing, the hypocrisy grates. Why not express it openly? Why be so ashamed of it?

And so you get the feelings of pride - of "taking back the power" from the weak, mealy-mouthed liberal elites - that so obviously accompanies the growing use of symbols of Australian nationalism as symbols of race hate.

For those doing this, it is a stance against hypocrisy. "Political correctness", the bugbear of the bigots, is hypocrisy personified.

It is carrying out racist policies, while denying the right to openly express racism. (Or sexist or homophobic policies, etc etc.)

This is why you can never defeat the extreme, open racism - finding increasing expression in Australia - without targeting the system.

Because a system based on racist policies produces racist ideas, even if it officially denies them.

Of course, in the short-term, we all have to survive tomorrow - a day on which the proud and dignified act of being drunk is hijacked by bigots, and twisted to their own sick purposes.

And believe me, there is nothing that makes Carlo Sands angrier than to see binge drinking misused in a such a way.

The following statement, which accurately portrays the reality of Australia Day and provides invaluable tips for surviving it, was released by the Facebook group Fuck off, Xenophobes - we're full.

I publish it here, on my blog, so that for *the first time* it can be enjoyed in combination with the tasteful and attractive google ads Carlo Sands proudly offers at the top of the blog. Check them out!


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Survival Tips for Zombie Invasion Day

Zombie invasions: usually confined to the realms of video games and horror movies, they are an actual phenomenon that occurs about once every year here in Australia. In order to avoid causing panic amongst the population, this annual day of terror has been given the less threatening name of ‘Australia Day’, a day which most sensible citizens choose to spend in the basement.

The zombies themselves are many, but they are easy to spot. For example, they usually congregate in groups, dress themselves in Australian flags and shout profanities. Their primary sustenance seems to be beer - unlike traditional zombies, they don’t eat brains, a fact which has been linked to their own deficiencies in this regard. Nevertheless, they are still quite dangerous, and have a penchant for attacking people who make eye contact with them and/or are of non-Anglo-Saxon appearance.

While most government agencies recommend that citizens stay indoors and wait until the ghouls have passed out from excessive alcohol consumption, there are some who brave the outside world and help maintain some semblance of order amidst the anarchy. If you are one of those courageous souls, here are some guidelines to help you survive the most dangerous 24 hours of the year:

1) Ensure that you have a basic knowledge of martial arts, in case a zombie requests you to “kiss the fuckin’ flag”. A swift kick to the balls of the antagonist is efficient, completely defensible in court and very, very satisfying.

2) Carry a can of kerosene and a cigarette lighter at all times. Setting an assailant’s flag-cape on fire is an effective distraction and will allow time for escape.

3) Keep a boombox on hand wherever possible, along with a CD of traditional Indian music. This “foreign shit” is known to enrage zombies, who generally prefer the foreign shit from America. Play CD loudly until zombies are driven away - if this doesn’t work, resort to heavy weaponry.

4) Summon the Pied Piper of Hamelin and get him to play ‘Waltzing Matilda’, ‘C’mon Aussie C’mon’, that terrible ‘True Blue’ song or a simple ‘Aussie Aussie Aussie’ chant, and dance off in the direction of a cliff. Alternately, he may choose to take them back to his magical kingdom to be zombie slaves. We’re not fussed.