Phew - thank goodness for Rincewind and Womble. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> I thought that I had bored everybody clean off the topic... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif" alt="" />
I decided to defend what I see as the "silver lining" of the dark cloud of Political Correctness because I assumed that everybody else would automatically attack it. I didn't expect that initially nobody would turn up at all. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif" alt="" />
Womble said "Respect should be earned" which pretty much nails it, and I've often said the same myself. To take the example that I quoted above about Australian Aborigines, part of the central problem is that many white Australians seem not to respect aboriginal people. We might admit that they've had a raw deal, agree that they should be treated equally in the law, or even feel sorry for them - but the all important ingredient of respect seems largely to be missing still.
Why is this? Well it's probably because we still have very negative stereotypes involving crime, drunkenness, etc. And why do we have these stereotypes? Sadly, perhaps because there is still some truth in them. Our jails are disproportionately (geez that's a clumsy looking word <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> ) stocked with aboriginal people, and drink is still a major problem in aboriginal communities. There are still enough excuses for us to withhold our respect. At least that's what we tell ourselves.
But apparently we do need to be told that it's not OK to look down on Aborigines en masse, and that we need to remember some of the relentless repression that has kept them as an underclass for 200 years. We need to be reminded that a little more leeway and generosity of heart is required from the rest of us who have so much. Unfortunately, to an aboriginal person it can be as irritating to be fawned over by some wishy-washy PC cause-monger than to be looked down on by a racist. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/sad.gif" alt="" />
But in the middle of all this, I would still say that there is a place for government to say "Give the Aborigines some respect you bastards, or we'll cuff you round the ears".
