Harry Connick Jr. Hates Racism. Australia, Not So Much.

The skit was a group of mostly NON WHITE persons impersonatoring a musical band by changing their skin colour (over done, yes) to look more like the original act is incidental to the impersonation’; it doesn’t make race the joke. The only possible ethnic commentary angle was that the person playing Michael Jackson – who is ethnically Indian – coloured his face white, a reference to the late entertainer’s fading skin colour. If there hadn’t been a Red Faces judge from the old slave-holding, black-lynching American south or if they had of changed their skin colour, worn dreadlocks and tea cosies on their heads and sung a reggae song, there would have been no ‘race’ controversy. Australia never developed blackface theater to perpetuate racist archetypes so we failed to realise that there is sensitivity to a near-paranoid state about white-black relationstthis and blackface. What we are quility of is cross-cultural misunderstanding, not racism by the performers or the audience that enjoyed the sketch.

 

Mark P neglects to say "Australians as a whole protested this murder, and refused to send troops" probably because the average Australian's response was apathic to say the least. I'm surprised he hasn't used the "slavery card", a tactic I see used on many blogs. Yes, every school kid in Australia and America is aware of slavery and the civil war in America, a deepfully shamefull thing that was addressed and not forgotten. It appears very few are aware of Australias shamefull slavery of the Kanakas, as no Australians fought to free their slaves, they simply discarded them when they could find no more use for the practise. Australia's use of slaves lies unaddressed and ignored and yet people such as Mark P accuse others of denial. I am personally glad of all this furore, it could have been solved with a simple "Gosh, we are embarrassed this happened", but Australians in their thousands are hitting the net, and ironically defending their racism with yet more racism and exposing their true national character. This is not to say that there are not Australians who understand the damage of racism in a increasingly globalized world. In fact a recent poll showed that 40% of Australians believe there is a racism problem in Australia. If we were to judge from Mark P's comments, eradicating the willfull ignorance of the other 60% will take time, but like slavery these are obselete ideas that will serve as a reminder of the depth of depravity humanity can attain in ignorance.

 

I am an American who has lived in Australia since 1972. In my opinion racism is rife in Australia, and I feel well qualified to comment because I have experienced it first hand. In the town that I live in we have asian tourists who come to harvest fruit. The general consenus is that "they don't spend enough money in town" and "they shouldn't be allowed to drive". I have heard comments such as "they are filthy dogs" and "they are less than human". It is little wonder then, that a "Blackface" act is acceptable to the average Australian, I'm surprised that there were no references to cottonpicking. Perhaps this is due to cultural differences. After all Australia was a convict colony, and survived on a social structure that depended on a heirarchy, Govenors,Troops,Overseers,Trustees and finally convicts. As such the system relied on restriction of individual freedoms based on inequality. How can such a culture understand the American principles of liberty, equality and fraternity, and that these values sustained armed rebellion against elements within and without their own society, Americans prefering death to oppression.

 

Mike Spence, you are an idiot, and if anything, YOUR article sounds pretty racist, or not really racist but you are putting Australia down. For gods sake, they werent picking on the Jackson 5, they were doing a tribute. Whats so wrong about recognising a persons colour, its just because your country is still guilty about how awful and racist you were back then that you sook about any country that recognises anyone of colour. Yeah, why dont you go back to what your country does best, invading and bombing countries. I dont know why we are allies with you, I cant stand your country. Aussie Aussie Aussie!! Oi! Oi! Oi!

 

As an Australian I cannot believe all the controversy created by a skit on a tv show. It was not intended to cause offence to anyone. Most Australians do not know the history of 'black face' as it is part of American culture and history. This is why 80% of the people surveyed in the newspaper poll did not find it racist or offensive. American tv portrays Australians negatively all the time, American actors trying to put on an Aussie accent and looking like Crocodiles Dundee or Steve Urwin going around saying “mate and crikey”. Although I cringe at such stereotypes because no one that I know goes around looking like that or talking like that, I do not get offended by it. Also the people who took part in the skit were all non-anglo including one dark skinned person of Indian background.