Is it OK to be white? Isolated instances aside, when has it not been?
Much like sexism, having someone point out that you, as a person of European descent, may have benefited from the pre-existing way of things is hardly persecution.
The AFL and NRL recognising the significant contribution of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander footballers with dedicated Indigenous rounds? It’s not “reverse racism”.
What about a national day dedicated to raising awareness about the considerable disadvantages that Indigenous people still face in regards to things like health and education? Nope.
Pharmaceutical subsidies to help address genetic predisposition and soaring diabetes rates among Aboriginal people? Not really.
No longer being able to tell racist jokes that may have been considered “funny” when you were growing up? Please.
In the case of Pauline Hanson – who recently failed in an unnecessary attempt to have the Senate pass a motion declaring in part that “it’s OK to be white” – having people call you out on your constant efforts to divide society into “us” and “them” cannot be equated with discrimination.
Yes, people like Ms Hanson and Sydney’s shock jocks have a right to free speech.
However, that doesn’t exempt them from criticism of their blatant dog-whistling, or questions about how responsible it is for them to use their platform in such a way.
When asked for specific examples of anti-white racism, supporters often provide vague examples of an Islander boy getting picked ahead of their cousin’s friend’s son for the school rugby team, or a deliberately inflammatory page being removed from Facebook.
They also complain that if they celebrate “being white” – whatever that is – it’s automatically considered racist.
Really? Who’s picketing the Beechworth Celtic Festival in Victoria’s north-east? Is anyone calling for the Dutch Australian Society in Wollongong to be shut down? And who exactly complains about a bit of Oktoberfest?
Any reservations about Australia Day, meanwhile, tend to be more to do with the appropriateness of the timing, not the occasion per se.
There is a big difference between celebrating the culture and customs of your ancestors and putting yourself beside a mish-mash of extremists whom another politician fond of using the divide and conquer method might declare to be “very fine people”.
Indeed, “it’s OK to be white” has long been a catchcry of the white supremacist movement globally.
For many people around the world, they don’t even have the luxury of knowing exactly where their roots lie due to the horrors of slavery and large-scale dispossession.
In Australia, Indigenous people are still dealing with intergenerational fallout after families were ripped apart as a result of decades of official government policy.
Our nation may have finally granted them full citizenship and made strides in the reconciliation process through things like the national apology and land title reforms, but there’s a long way to go.
Recently, migrants from Africa and the Middle East, many fleeing real persecution, have endured accusations and even public abuse about their religion or customs, as well as the involvement of a minority in crime.
In some places, young people have been further marginalised by misleading reporting of incidents involving “new” Australians.
Some media outlets have shown themselves willing to scream about “African riots”, but when large groups of Anglo-Saxon youths fight on a beach it’s painted as merely a party that got out of hand.
Sadly, despite the broad success of multiculturalism – not just in metro areas, but in many regional centres – Australians have sometimes exhibited a fear of the “other”.
From the slaughter of Indigenous tribes by some settlers and the widespread vilification of Irish and Chinese miners during the gold rush, to the long-running White Australia Policy and scare campaigns about an impending takeover by Asians, as a nation we’ve had our low points.
Of course, there’s reason for hope, too.
Today, Bendigo’s links to Chinese culture play a central role in the town’s annual Easter Festival.
Initially ostracised by some, the post-war Italians and Greeks who came to areas like Griffith in NSW and north-east Victoria helped lay the foundations of a booming food, wine and coffee culture that’s the envy of many around the world.
Having an appreciation of other people’s customs – and defending their right to maintain them – in no way denigrates your own.
Similarly, acknowledging the wrongs of the past and striving for a more equitable society – for everybody – doesn’t mean it’s somehow not OK to be white.
Our children will go on to revel in what African and Middle Eastern cultures have to offer.
And perhaps their Indigenous friends will one day have a literacy level and life expectancy like their own.
But wouldn’t it be better for our nation if we all – whatever our background – did our best to not make them wait.
Matt Crossman is a Fairfax journalist.
