[Melchior]

This is very disturbing. I am an Australian in Chicago, and I used to live at Maroubra Beach. I am familiar with racial tension between "Anglos" and Lebanese. I spent 8 years as an adolescant growing up near Bankstown, in Sydney's west (could we please fix the thread title spelling error btw).

As an adolescant I harboured what I now recognise as fear-based racism towards what I perceived to be an aggressive Arabic community. A threatening situation or two created a perceived basis for such a fear, but I am not proud to have harboured those feelings. "Spot the Aussie" was a joke "game" played when visiting Bankstown for example.

Consequently I understand what the mentality of the original Cronulla mob may have been. For the beach suburbs have a seige mentality towards the "blowflies" that come in from Sydney's west. The "Bra Boys" as quoted above, are a very territorial group of Surfers in Maroubra, who have been known to get violent in the surf at "invaders" but this is not limited to RACE, but subculture. An Anglo who cuts in on a local's wave can be the target.

It just so happens, that the divisions of Sydney's geography are racially drawn, and so what is a subcultural issue, can quickly become a racial issue.

Adding to peoples frustrations is that many Lebanese youths associate with American hiphop culture - including the race rage slavery has left us with. However, the Lebanese were welcomed into Australia as war refugees, not taken there as slaves, so a responsive anger towards a perceived unjustified anger is the response. (If anything, the convicts were the slaves equivalent.)

Racism sucks. I can't believe my former home town was under seige only last night, I have friends and family whom I am now concerned about. Some live in Maroubra. Others live in Cronulla. This is distressing news to say the least.

[ 12-13-2005, 03:03 AM: Message edited by: Melchior ]