Israel/Palestine
In reply to the discussion: A lesson in remembering that Israel could learn from Australia [View all]oberliner
(58,724 posts)I AM AN AUSSIE, so from that starting point you can frame what I am about to say.
I have lived and worked in many countries, am married to a Papua New Guinean lady and was brought up in a 1960's western cultural tradition.
Perhaps, with that background, I can see some things others cannot.
As a schoolkid, I lived through UK prejudice against Aussies. They used to stand around me in the schoolyard and poke me in the ribs and say "speak Kranz!".
They would then fall about laughing when I said 'you pathetic Pommy bastards' or some such phrase with a rich Ocker accent that I learnt to drop quite quickly.
But I did manage to get in a few apt quips about the Poms performance at cricket and tennis at the time - especially when Rosewall beat the Old Dart contender in 1970, which we were allowed to watch on the only TV in the school.
I have seen what appears to be racism from both Highlanders and Coastal people in PNG.
Never trust the Motu', said my Hagen taxi driver. 'Never trust the Highlanders', said my Hanuabada friend.
But I am sad to say racism against people because of their colour or ethnic background is very apparent in parts of Australia.
http://asopa.typepad.com/asopa_people/2012/01/i-can-tell-you-racial-prejudice-in-australia-is-real.html