Robin Williams actually started all the fuss. He was on the David Letterman Show, and at 4:01 on the video he talks about Australia. It only takes a couple of seconds before he hits the nail on the head.
This goes on for a bit (4 minutes roughly back and forth). He denotes the redneck nature of the people (probably not all of them), the potential for some to drink their own piss, and decribes Australian Rules Footabll as a scene more likely to be found in Caligula than a sports arena. Then he plugs his film Happy Feet 2 (yes the kids will get more animated penguins soon). Then he gets in a dig on Prime Minister Rudd.
Well the Prime Minister of Australia didn't take kindly to the description of his country.
"I think Robin Williams should go and spend a bit of time in Alabama before he frames comments about anyone being particularly redneck." - Prime Minister Rudd
You know, Alabama isn't the greatest place in America when it come to historical (or likely current) events. But I think Prime Minister Rudd thinks Australia's shit doesn't stink.
They are the nation that turned the image of Snow White into a slut. They embarrassed Harry Connick Jr. with their rip-off version of the Gong Show (Hey Hey It's Saturday), which featured a beloved (among Australian Whites only) group called the "Jackson Jive" - 5 White Australians in blackface (interesting how this video got removed from Youtube after it got thousands of hits).
They promoted anorexia with their Australian Miss Universe choice - Stephanie Naumoska. Plus it's the nation where their movie execs (at least one publicly) felt the need to insult Oscar Award winner Forest Whitaker, first on his looks and then on his ability to act and be accepted by audiences.
But let's not forget, most of all, that Australia is a nation renown for their abuse and racial intolerance to the indigenous people of Australia, the Aborigines. In fact they are so well known for it that more than a few of the music entertainers from the nation (that are internationally known) BECAME popular for songs denouncing the racist attitudes in the nation.
Does Alabama still have problems? Sure does. But Prime Minister Rudd, if you don't want Australians called rednecks I can easily come up with a few more salty and far more accurate names to use instead.
8 comments:
As found at Black & White Blog, where I am a co-author.
anonymous Says:
April 1st, 2010 at 5:39 am e
re the jackson 5 skit - perhaps you should check your facts. The lead singer was a Sri Lankin-Australian plastic surgeon!He was proud to have dark skin!
http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/hey-heys-jackson-jive-explain-why-we-did-it/
Out of the six of us, only one is Anglo-Celtic Australian. I’m Sri Lankan-Australian, there’s an Indian Australian, a Greek Australian, an Irish-Italian Australian and a Lebanese Australian. We’re all Australian.
Anon,
So if I understand you correctly, it's ok to diminish people of color with blackface, because part of the group is non-caucasian? So under that reasoning you could make fun of the Irish potatoe famine because one of the members has Irish descent. Or you could mock Jesus if anyone in the group is Chrisitian. Or why not do a fun jest aout the Jews and the Holocaust is anyone is a Semite.
The fact is that behaviour that disrespects and belittles a group of people solely for the color of their skin is not excused because you have a somewhat mixed group.
By the way, are you going to try to justify any of the other facts I presented? Are you going to try to justify the current prejudice and disrespect of the Aborigines?
As found at Black & White Blog, where I am co-author.
JorgeT Says:
April 2nd, 2010 at 9:06 am
Sure,
Australians have a few individual examples of racism - but they never had slaves, for over one hundred years. Like America. I think Australian’s still come out on top.
Jorge,
Just because they never called the treatment of Aborigines slavery does not mean it is not equivalent. Are you trying to deny the continied prejudice and disrespect of Australian Aborigines?
I never said America is perfect. I never said that we don't have racists. It's a sad malfunctionng of the brain that affects people across the globe.
But we have made strides to correct the situation. And considering that America has a population of 1/3 that is people of color from across the planet, I think we do pretty good dealing with every race, religion, nationality and so on. Not great, good.
But I find it hard to believe that a nation that continues, in the 21st Century, to persecute it's native population could be called top of the list compared to almost anyone. It's not the old South Africa, nor America back in the 1800's, but it's far from equal.
As found at Black & White Blog, where I am co-author.
JT Says:
April 2nd, 2010 at 12:18 pm
Get your facts straight dumbass! Your comments prove how ignorant Americans are of the world. HEY HEY its Saturday began in 1971 AND the gong show only began in 1978,(and its a variety show not a talent show) so who copied who?. The Jackson Jive wasn’t all white many of them were Indians, Lebanese and Pakistanis (still didn’t make it right, I know). So I suggest you get your facts straight dumbass. Learn about other countries before you invade them. Abu Graib, Guantanamo Bay, bombing of innocent civilian - even after the election of Obama. Australia is not perfect but it’s better than America with $10 trillion deficit and rising dollar. Your entire country is screwed.
JT,
Let's stick with the issues I directly was speaking about. The treatment of Aboriginies and the nature of Australians to disrespect people of color (even when they are not from Australia). Politics is seperate.
I stand corrected. It is not a Gong Show copy. The Gong Show copied it. And the show in question was a special. Ok, and how does that change the disrespectful nature of the Jackson Jive? Or how some Australians persecute and disrespect Aborigines? A prejudice that continues right now?
Why is it that I notice a focus on 1 aspect of serveral items I spoke about? Why is it that you, JT, have dissolved the commentary to a personal attack? Is it that you want to distract readers from the issue I am presenting? Is it that you have no counter to the points I made (other than about which show was on television first, which really doesn't matter).
You interject your political views in a discussion that has nothing to do with politics. You seek to incite me and my readers. Why do that, unless perhaps you want to move off of a topic that you expect to lose? It does not incite me, it just tells me that my general overview about some people is correct.
JT Says:
April 3rd, 2010 at 2:38 am e
Look Australia is not perfect but the government is spending of billions of dollars trying to reduce the gap/disadvantage between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians; there was also a apology to the aborigines by the Prime Minister in 2007.
Blackface is not okay (I never said it was). But I don’t think their intention was to degrade or disrespect African-Americans and they were all remorseful afterward. The truth of the matter most people around the world don’t know what blackface is and its happened before - In Turkey, Mexico, UK(Papa Lazarou), Japan etc. again it doesn’t make it right. We made a mistake but in context, if you go to India and many Asian countries there are thousands of swastikas, in these countries the swastika represents peace purity and good luck, coloured in south africa means mixed race and thong in Australia mean slip flops while in America it means a g-string.
What I disagree with Is that you Americans seem look down on other countries and act as if you alone are morally superior to the rest of the world. There is a lot in American culture in which people around the world find offensive, yet it is OK for Americans to insult the rest of the world but not okay for the rest of world insult America. I am sorry for calling you a dumbass but the fact of the matter is that Americans are self absorbed and that the world doesn’t/and will no longer revolve around the United States.
JT,
I accept your apology.
I do not expect Australia, America or any other nation to be perfect. Racism and other forms of prejudice is an international fact, sadly, but I believe in shining the light of day on it helps to diminish those with such thoughts.
To correct part of what you stated, in India and other parts of Asia the symbol is not a swastika - though it does look exactly like it. The image was taken and perverted by the Nazi's, changing the meaning of the symbol for most of the world. And the flipflop shoes are still called thongs in the U.S., as are the underwear/bikini's.
Perhaps blackface is not as world rejected as it is in America. But America has made no secret of our aversion, whether to other Americans or anyone else. And more than just Americans find it disrespectful and offensive.
Lastly, America is a (perhaps the) world leader. As much as any country might not like that, it is a fact and has been for better than half a century. We help, and have helped, every nation in the world at some point. Our money, and freedom, both comfort and inspire multiple nations.
Along with that position and authority comes pride and yes a degree of arrogance. Not unlike the British before us and the French before them. No doubt the Ancient Greeks were the same. Not an excuse but a fact. That doesn't make us morally superior, just bold enough to stand in front of anyone and state exactly what we think - where some would just sit quietly.
But look through this site, and my blogs (www.blackentertainmentblog.com and www.mvass.com), note that I have the same mindset and passion with my own nation as any other. I treat Australia no different than America. I'm not looking down, but rather treating you as an equal.
And as for the last statement, which is political, I will simply say that to large extent the world does revolve around America, that is a fact. It will likely continue to do so until the day we no longer exist. And on that day, looking at the world right now, what nation will provide more freedom to it's people, and in varying degrees others, than mine?
Post a Comment