Racial Tension - TravelPUNK Backpacker College Student Budget Travel Message Boards!

chelseafc05 · 12-10-2005, 11:46 PM

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Scuffles have broken out after about 5,000 people, some yelling racist chants, converged on Sydney's Cronulla Beach amid fears of more violence there.

Two men of middle eastern appearance were seen being pursued and attacked as they tried to flee the crowd.

One of them was later escorted away by police, with blood streaming from his brow. As the second man fled, his short was torn by an angry group pursuing him on foot.

Earlier, a third man was also seen fleeing from a gang running after him.

Police have been forced to stop traffic on Elouera Road, which runs along the foreshore, as the crowd, also chanting pro-Australian slogans, spilled on to the roadway.

At least one man had been arrested over the unrest at Cronulla, Macquarie Radio reported.

Two men chased by the crowd were being protected by police who had moved in on Northies Hotel, on the foreshore, where at least one had sought refuge, it said.

Broken beer bottles scattered Elouera Road, with many in the crowd drinking heavily.

Mounted police and other units are maintaining a heavy presence at the beach after two rival groups used text messages to urge attacks on each other.

Some of the text messages encouraged people to carry out vigilante style attacks, and some message had racial undertones.

One of the messages had urged "Aussies" to take revenge against "Lebs and wogs". Another urged locals to rally at point on the beach to take retaliation against "middle eastern" gangs.

As the crowd moved along the beach and foreshore area, one man on the back of a ute began to shout "No more Lebs" - a chant picked up by the group around him.

Others in the crowd, carrying Australian flags and dressed in Australian shirts, yelled "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie ... Oi, Oi, Oi".

North Cronulla Beach, in Sydney's south, was the scene of two violent incidents last week - an attack on two lifeguards on Sunday and a brawl later in the week in which youths turned on a media crew.

Authorities have been calling for calm since those attacks, which are believed to have sparked the text calls for attacks between the two groups.

Premier Morris Iemma and Police Minister Carl Scully have warned people against taking the law into their own hands.

"Let there be no mistake - if anyone comes to this beach on the weekend with the intention of causing trouble, the police will respond with the full force of the law to maintain order," Mr Iemma said.

"It's time for everyone involved in this to just calm down."

Authorities had expected trouble after two violent incidents at the beach last week - an attack on two lifeguards on Sunday and a brawl later in the week in which youths turned on a media crew.

A series of text messages then began circulating, encouraging members of two rival groups of beach users to attack each other.

One of the messages had urged "Aussies" to take revenge against "Lebs and wogs". Another urged locals to rally at a point on the beach to take retaliation against "middle eastern" gangs.

As the 5,000-strong crowd moved along the beach and foreshore area, one man on the back of a ute began to shout "No more Lebs" - a chant picked up by the group around him.

Others in the crowd, carrying Australian flags and dressed in Australian shirts, yelled "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie ... Oi, Oi, Oi".

Authorities spent last week calling for calm, and Mr Iemma said he would amend the law so that thugs who assaulted lifeguards could face the maximum 25 years in jail.

The amendment would allow courts to consider it an aggravating factor if an assault victim was a volunteer.

"Those who selflessly give up their time to save people in distress on the beach should not be considered easy targets by thugs and hooligans," Mr Iemma.

"We are going to back them with extra protection that will ensure that judges take into account their status in the community when sentencing."

©AAP 2005

this has been brewing for ages for alot more reasons other then the assault on the surf lifesavers.......

apparently the beginning of US style Gang violence...

**omisan** · 12-11-2005, 04:09 AM

I ran into a couple of racist shitfucks south of Sydney... Actually, I found the run-in to be pretty funny, because they couldn't quite articulate why they hated Wogs, but just did... It was then I realized how Australia's probably the most American foreign country I've ever been to. Looks like you've got a shitload of ignorant trailer trash as well

**kingcrazylegs** · 12-11-2005, 01:08 PM

Most of the places I've lived there has been racial tension of some sort...

chelseafc05 · 12-11-2005, 05:55 PM

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Originally posted by omisan@Dec 11 2005, 10:09 PM
Looks like you've got a shitload of ignorant trailer trash as well

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Only a few in the group were actually neo nazi's/rascist. others were fuelled by alchol and heat, the rest were there to show support to the lifesavers. in my view this has been brought on by the growing amount of middle eastern gangs who choose not to associate with us, refer to us as "aussie wankers","aussie pigs" disrespect anzac day marches, sexually harassing women, chose not to live by our laws etc etc and still want to live here ... i guess it just finally pushed it to breaking point

and naturally comes the revenge attacks

Quote:

Overnight other gangs of youths embarked on a series of revenge attacks across other beachside suburbs, with one man suffering stab wounds and 22 others arrested across the city.

In one apparent retaliatory strike, a 23-year-old man was stabbed in the back outside a golf club at nearby Woolooware.

Two cars carrying a group of males, described by police as being of Mediterranean or Middle Eastern appearance, approached the man at about 10.30pm AEDT.

UP to 50 carloads of youths smashed up more than 100 cars in the south-eastern suburb of Maroubra with baseball bats and other weapons. A 23-year-old man was injured in the attacks.

Officers were forced to shut down some roads, which were littered with empty bottles as alcohol fuelled anger on the streets.

A group later made its way back to Cronulla for a retaliatory strike, where men of Middle Eastern appearance are reported to have bashed a local man unconscious.

**Somnambulation** · 12-11-2005, 11:39 PM

Yeah I saw this on the news tonight. The rioters looked like a bunch of surfers, pretty surreal. From talking to many Aussies its pretty apparent that Austrailia has some serious racial problems.

Qwardian · 12-12-2005, 12:14 AM

How long before this is made into a mad for american tv movie?

why cant we just all get along?

**omisan** · 12-12-2005, 01:02 AM

Yeah, it's a terrible cycle...

But I'm not referring to all the rioters as racist shitfucks - I know it's just a certain percentage. I'm talking about actual Westies I met

**bellelass** · 12-12-2005, 06:43 PM

why cant people just chill out and have a beer?

well. muslims dont drink. alright, thats out.

How about a big national smokeout?

**Legitikick** · 12-12-2005, 07:21 PM

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Originally posted by bellelass@Dec 13 2005, 02:43 AM
How about a big national smokeout?

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I'm there.

**MeTurk** · 12-13-2005, 04:59 AM

I just saw this last night, I was fairly shocked but now that I think about it there's no black people in Home and away OR Neighbours!

Quote:

in my view this has been brought on by the growing amount of middle eastern gangs who choose not to associate with us, refer to us as "aussie wankers","aussie pigs" disrespect anzac day marches, sexually harassing women, chose not to live by our laws etc etc and still want to live here ...

That's what they say here too, Irish people are two faced though most of them would never be racist to someones face, unless their friends.

**elfmaiden** · 12-13-2005, 08:57 AM

Yeah it's not very nice to see at all. Everywhere seems to be getting more vocal as this HUGE world of ours grows so much smaller. Everyone is in each others space seems to be an impossible feat to imagine everyone gettin' along.

It's pretty crazy when you think about the big picture and possible solutions. Gets hard on the head!

Jenn

**voyd** · 12-13-2005, 09:30 AM

Well, I'd heard about the gang problems there for a while now... Not sure why they tend to be mostly Middle-Eastern there - cuz here in the States, Middle-Easterners are not known for gang affiliation or violence. But, what's a wog?

**omisan** · 12-13-2005, 09:58 AM

Wog = middle eastern person

It's funny how you bring up the lack of colored folk on Neighbours and Home and Away. That was a pretty big issue listening to the radio and the news while I was there, and people (many of them white) were bitching that those shows aren't representative of how multicultural Australia has become. It seems the people who aren't on the uneducated/ignorant side of the line are pretty damn proud of how much of a melting pot Oz is.

I think what I found most interesting/impressive is how assimilated immigrants tend to be there compared to the US... Yes, there are definitely ethnic enclaves and heterogeneous portions of the population, but for the most part, I found that more immigrants in Australia considered themselves Australian than immigrants in the US consider themselves American.

Remember when it was like that Stateside?

The scourge of political correctness has made us want to classify and sort ourselves by our ethnic origin - and I'm all for maintaining cultural identity and pride that way. But it also winds up creating division and unnecessary tension when we hold on to it too hard. That's my theory, anyway.

**voyd** · 12-13-2005, 10:22 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by omisan@Dec 13 2005, 11:58 AM
Remember when it was like that Stateside? * The scourge of political correctness has made us want to classify and sort ourselves by our ethnic origin - and I'm all for maintaining cultural identity and pride that way. But it also winds up creating division and unnecessary tension when we hold on to it too hard. That's my theory, anyway.

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When was that, 1491, lol?

Really, PC-nese was just a band-aid for much deeper racism that has existed since slavery and before.

The Chinese were legally BANNED for 60 YEARS from entering this country from 1882 until December 17, 1943 with the Chinese Exclusion Act.

Meanwhile, 120,000 Japanese-Americans were interned for years in WWII. Multi-generational assimilated Japanese who HAD previously considered themselves very "American" - got themselves a VERY rude awakening.

The Supreme Court didn't reverse anti-miscegenation laws until June 12th, 1967 after a long 8-year court battle. It was viewed as gay marriage is today - an abomination.

And Jim Crow laws, anyone?

So, PC-nese didn't CAUSE racial divisions in this country. They have always been here since the very inception. PC-nese has just been a weak new attempt to heal those old wounds.

**omisan** · 12-13-2005, 10:34 AM

Well, politically speaking and racial policy-wise, the US has always been absolutely fucked, but I'm talking about the mentality of the people. I remember in the early 80's we were so proud to have a "melting pot" society... or perhaps I was watching too much PBS.

I think PC-ness in the early 90's made shit worse. People started saying, "The US is not a melting pot, we all have our own identities and cultures, and if you assimilate, you're just giving in to the man..."

During WWII, I had Japanese relatives interned and their attitude 'til the end was "Damn you, I'm an American, too." Now their grandchildren are quick to remind you that they're Japanese-American. Like I said, I'm all for ethnic pride and all that, but the over reliance on labels and ethnic classification only ends up leading to more division, IMO.

It's becoming more and more like that all over the world, it seems. I'm very proud of my heritage(s), but I'm more likely to claim myself as a citizen of the world first, or even as an American, than pigeonhole myself as Japanese or Iranian. Then again, I'm probably brain damaged from too much booze and have hopeless dreams of inclusive society!

**bellelass** · 12-13-2005, 12:19 PM

You know, before I spent a lot of time overseas I sort of envied people who had an "ethnicity"... You know, the cool traditions, the food, the clubs on campus devoted to being part of your ethnicity. But me? I was just. Whitey.

Then I lived away from America for a while and now I dont really feel like that anymore. I know Im American, that I am proud to be one (bush and etc notwithstanding), I will always be American, and I think I have a pretty good handle on what all that means. yeah this went way off topic into me being a fruitcake.....

Oh and nix my previous comment about sitting down and having a few beers. Seems part of the problem was having a few beers too many....

**bookofkels** · 12-13-2005, 06:40 PM

^ how did you get an email about some uprising in Australia, i thought you where american??

**The Monsignor** · 12-13-2005, 06:50 PM

Ok, having just resarched the lifeguard attack, I can't find anything to say that the kids were anything other than local hooligans...

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Teen charged over lifeguard assault
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * December 07, 2005

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * A TEENAGER has been charged over the assault of a lifeguard at a Sydney beach.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Detectives arrested the 18-year-old Bankstown man at Petersham, in the inner-west, shortly before 10am (AEDT) today.

* He was later charged with one count of affray and one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm in company.

* The charges relate to an alleged assault on two lifeguards at North Cronulla Beach, in Sydney's south, about 3pm (AEDT) on Sunday.

* The lifeguards were taken to Sutherland Hospital with lacerations and bruises caused by several blows to their heads.

* The man was granted conditional bail to appear in Sutherland Local Court on January 19.

* Surf lifesavers say the attack was carried out by a gang of youths who regularly visit Cronulla to harass locals and beachgoers.

There are several other sources, but none of them say much different (not from what I've found)

I'm not sure how this could be linked to the racial violence that they're having in Australia now... maybe someone could clue me in?

I'm American, I was born of immigrant parents, I'm still American...

I also feel that the new PC swing of the 90's is not the cause of the remaining tensions that we have in the U.S., rather it's the symptom of the continued capitalization of race as an issue that has been made in American politics... People like Jesse Jackson, for example, make a career out of telling their own people that they will not be able to make it on their own without laws designed to give them a leg-up, so to speak... to me, that's like telling someone they're not good enough (as if they have some sort of handicap to overcome)... To me, that seems to perpetuate the problem, not work towards a solution...

but that's just my opinion..

travelguy · 12-13-2005, 07:05 PM

bookofkels, yes i am american. i posted this to see what people think. by the way i side with the Australians on this one. you push a people too far they will defend themselves.

**The Monsignor** · 12-13-2005, 08:14 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by travelguy@Dec 13 2005, 08:05 PM
bookofkels, yes i am american. i posted this to see what people think. by the way i side with the Australians on this one. you push a people too far they will defend themselves.

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again, I'm confused... where's the 'push'?

I havent seen anything that leads me to believe that there's the same issue in Australia that they have in Europe, even...