Speak out against racism

Lately the public discussion around differences in race and religion has grown ugly.  Ignorance, prejudice and hatred seem ready to bubble over easily.  People who might once have just thought in negative race related generalisations appear to be more comfortable speaking out and sharing those prejudices and biases.

“Don’t read the comments” my daughter says, “They’re just trolls”

But the comments give an indicator of what people are thinking and how the mood is shifting.

At the base of these behaviours is ignorance and fear.  Fear of the unknown or unfamiliar is easily turned into negativity.  Many people think that the fear is real and a negative response justified. 

Here in Australia our official terrorism alert level has been raised to high with reports of threatened “lone wolf” terror attacks planned against members of the public and a young man shot after attacking two policemen. Individual reports of racial harassment and abuse have increased.

On the plus side interfaith events have been held bringing different religious groups together.  Social media has seen positive contributions such as the Women in Support of the Hijab #WISH on facebook and twitter.

Our race discrimination commissioner Tim Soutphommasne wrote in a newspaper column that it is our values that define us and we must not let fear and suspicion triumph.  

Often it’s hard for us to see how to do that especially when others around us might be more vocal or more powerful.  I’ve   written before about the Australian campaign Racism –It Stops with Me, which has advice for bystanders on how to step out against racism in different ways.  

It’s an attempt to counteract the bystander effect that psychologists have observed.  It often leaves people doing nothing when they wish they had done something.

A recent “social experiment” by Macquarie University Muslim Students Association showed that most people in Australia DO react against Islamphobia.  In an truly heart warming way people respond in their own styles against Muslim Hate.  From “Leave her alone”, “Back off mate”, “Move along” to “No man, let him wear what he wants”, to “How dare you”, people spoke out.  People filmed the abuse on their phones. People stood alongside the abused, took their arms, moved them away.

Their values were demonstrated by their actions.

As Tim wrote, “We must remember that national security can never be divorced from cultural harmony and social cohesion. And we are always better placed to combat threats when we are united rather than divided.”