Such patronising crap is sicker than the racist jibes against Lebanese. It s initself a form of none too subtle racism. "Why some of my best friends are Blacks and Jews". Heard that one before??
And attributing the redneck mentality the hidden scourge of the "White Australia Policy" to saying sorry to Aboriginals is the worst form of cowardly racism which you wear on your shoulder and don't notice assuming others are as blind and ignorant.
The difference here is that the other Lebanese like the goevrnor of New South Wales Lady MAry Shahadie wife of former SBS chief and Australian Rugby player Sir Nicholas Shahadie did not benefit in any way from the actions of criminals within their community. You as an Anglo Saxon did. Killing and subjugating the aboriginals and taking away their land is why you are not in an English slum and that god forsaken country the rich industrial power it is today. So there is every need for youto say sorry.
The point here is, and it has valid economic ramifications for Australia is that the overt racism displayed by even the SBS media by violating the sanctity of their mosque in lakemba, is that even the courts failed to object to the ifnerences that rape in some way on this occassion was committed because of race. Even in Apartheid South Africa lawyers and judges were careful to confine their arguments and evidence to facts and the law.
A judge and a premier have paved the way for a retrial, a mistrial or at the very least grounds for appeal on the basis that the judge had erred, the premier and media interfered in the trial and in evidence (60 mins showing two happy well adjusted girls (rape victims) during a tv show, choreographed and paid for during a trial villifying the accused and adding without any resistance or challenge or rebuttal the race element which had no doubt inflamed anti Lebanese sentiment and deemed these men guitly.).
The outrage I feel is on balance feigned and the result of deep seated resentment orchestrated by the media tappinginto an already rich racist mentality.
There was never such outrage when Anglo Saxon young men raped tortured and murdered Anita Coby. One of them slit her throat whilst ejaculating into her. They got something like 20 years?? But being smiths and Joneses their communities never suffered. The media are not out hunting the 100,000 or so illegal British immigrants within Australia. They instead are more interested in demonising the Taliban, Iraq and Saddam Hussein then intersperse their visual footage with minarets and snapshots of women with veils in our suburbs.
There was no hue and cry when Australia discovered they had imorted, protected and nurtured nazis from Lithuania dn other places into good Australian citizens. In fact of the bias and government strategy of demonising these Lebanese has any substance it is with the different standards applied by John Howard to the two cases.
In the case of the Nazi he allowed the man to be protected under Australian Law and referred to the Constitutional rights he had at law in Australia. However in the case of the Lebanese, the appeals which are part of the process before even being launched is being attacked. The 'guilt verdict' of a jury as racist and feeble minded as their media being unsound is being called justice. The quotes from the Premier of NSW is lik that of John Howards. "Justice has been done". Has it.
In West Australia we se now the Mickleburg brothers were wrongly convicted inspite of their pleas of innocence. Why?? the force was run by a corrupt chief commissioner whose death only prompted his officers to speak out. Previously a premier there as in Queensland were found to manipulate the corrupt chiefs of police to set up opponents and others on fictitious charges.
New South Wales is no different. The countless number of precedents and records of police bribery, verballing, murder, drug dealing, pimping and the Askin governments involvement in gambling, prostitution and the rest is legend. It is a culture we tolerate as a society and have come to accept as acceptable behaviour till it bites us in the bum!!
If they are guilt as charged then let them have the law come down on them. Not the emotions of a lynch mob. On the one hand we accept the gay mardi gras on the other we condemn gay priests for doing exactly what gay people do. But there is a form of McCarthysm there. You cannot question it too deeply.
We have to always be cautious of rape allegations. Not four years ago two young white anglo celtic law students claimed their tutor the head of a respected college at Melbourne University had fondled their breasts. It was only after the man's career had been destroyed they had acted and decided to review the comlpaint and settled it behind closed doors. The girls had been less than honest.
I have yet to see the media demonstrate that ssacrosanct institution of demcracy the way they have here by interviewing all of Scotch College or Melbourne Grammar or standing outside one of the large Cathedrals after service on Sunday with cameras thrust in the faces of the faithful everytmie a white christian woan or man has killed their child or ask christians how they feel about the disappearance of Jayden Leskie or the police or judges about their decision not to prosecute anyone over that infamous death inspite of evidence??
We will lose our markets and students from some countries will stop coming here. Already the vast number of our law degrees are held as suspect by Asian and European cuontries and institutions. I now understand why.
