Australians, is it true that......???

Show all answers

Batako

G'day,

First of all... to the ppl that you know, they have absolutely no idea what racist is until you come and live in a country where you are a minority and treated like 2nd class citizen all your life, no matter how good you try to be. You will always be the scapegoat of everything that gone wrong in the country.
I know this because that's how I have been treated in the country where I originally come from. I am an immigrant and have been living in Melbourne for over 16 years and never regret the move at all. I do not have Anglo-Saxon appearance, I speak English with an accent and I still feel like I am born in this country all along. My neighbors are combinations of immigrants and true blue Aussies and we are getting along very well. Racism will always be there in any country, but I definitely do not feel it here.

Unfortunately I do not know many African-Americans in Melbourne. However the one that I know enjoys his living in Melbourne very much. He told me how he finds that ppl accepts him better here than in US.

Hope this helps. Come and visit us for a holiday so you can see and hear yourself how good/bad you will be treated in Australia before immigrating here for good. Welcome to Australia :)

The_Mouse

Mate, we don't care what colour you are. IF you treat us with the same respect we treat you, you are welcome to this country.

There will be the odd idiots who are bigots and will ruin it for you - but DON'T think this is true about all Australians.

Just be mindful that Australians have a rather sarcastic sense of humour. DO NOT be overly sensitive to comments. Sometime people will say things to you that might sound like they are abusing you or picking on you but it actually mean they like you. When you are with friends and they call you a "bastard" - it means that they are your mates and have accepted you as a close friend. (If someone call you a "bastard" but is actually angry with you - you will know the difference)

Nicole

I'm not sure who you have heard this from, but I don't think it is true. I think Australia is a very multicultural country, and that in general people have grown up in a multicultural environment, so most people are very accepting and inclusive of all people.

To answer your specific questions. I personally (and I think I am a good representative of most people) would of course help you with directions if you asked me. I like to think that Australians are very helpful and friendly to everyone. Inter-racial relationships are normal here. Everyone is from somewhere else, there are many mixed couples of mixed races who I know, and there is no negative view to my knowledge.

Racist people are viewed very badly in Australia. Although there are some racist people, as there is anywhere, I think that the average person looks down on racism, and are not racist themselves.

I think if you ever come to visit, you will find Aussies very friendly.

skattered0077

im an Australian woman, married to an African-American man and we spent time in Australia and recently moved to the US...

believe me when i tell you that we experience far more prejudice in the US than in Australia...

my husband never had a problem with anyone, woman loved to talk to him and he was often given free stuff when ordering food or shopping at stores...they honestly fell over themselves to help him...it was funny to watch really...

Australia has a huge multicutural society and many people are in inter-racial relationships so there is no problem with that...you will of course find people that do not date a certain heritage of people but that depends...i myself never was interested in white men...never dated one, never wanted to....

Australia is a great place to live, you get idiots all over the world, but in Australia my experience is they are few and far between...

lucy loo

Most Australians are friendly and open minded as long as you are too most people will help you. We do get the occasional racist just like anywhere else. Australia is a multi-national country, inter- rational marriages are very common and most people don't even notice. We're pretty laid back about everything here.

cosmick

I think you'll find that the general attitude here racially speaking is probably better than in the US. We all know that in some parts of the US black people are still very much (feared?) looked down upon as second class citizens. The only thing is that there are not that many afros actually living in Australia. there's a few now but as recent as 20 years ago the only afros you'd meet here would have been visiting British or Americans. Australia was built on white slavery (convicts) rather than black. You are most likely to be met with curiosity rather than racism but your American accent will really help break the ice.

So come on over. The water's fine. :-)

Mrs Ed

It's funny that peopel mention that we are racist. Like nearly everone else has said, you will get your racist people that like to have a go about Aboriginals, asians and lebenese people in our country, but the majority of us are pretty laid back andd our general view is that if you live in our country, you are welcome to do so, but please, live peacefully and recognise there are many different cultures and races in our country. I live on the east coast of NSW where there aren't many so called 'coloured' people in our town, so if you were to come to someplace like where we are, people would me more interested in you, than be reacist towards you. I went to the US 5 years ago when i was 17 with my school. We were let loose around Hollywood boulevard for a few hours and we found it very intimidating. Of course we got lost and had trouble finding our way back. Did you know that every single so called 'white' person didn't give us the time of day, but a really nice black couple actually took the time to show us where we were and how to get back. They even walked back woth us and gave us a mini sightseeing tour!! So i personally have no hassell with black people. You seem to do it tough in the US, So come on over, i really dont think people will care much!! And dating... well you seem nice, but im engaged! Good luck!

Elizabeth

I can only agree with all the other answers.
You get racist idiots and fools everywhere, unfortunately.
Australia is no different to the rest of the world in that respect.
I like to think we are a nation of people who live by the code of, if you treat me well, I'll treat you the same way.
Come on over and see for yourself. I'm sure you'll love (most of) us and our country.
Sounds to me like you might like to reconsider who you have in your circle of acquaintances. Are they expressing their own racist views under the guise of what Aussies think and say?

midnight.wildfire

that's not true. some people, yes, but they are the rare few (ie about 1 in every 1000). I think that you would be accepted, just like any other person. There are also chances on dating, as well, just like every other Aussie.

If you do move down here, beware of the flies in summer. =)

mannliz

Australia is no different to other countries,yes we have racists too,but definately nothing like the good ol USA.There are thousands and thousands of inter-racial couples,the best thing to do would be come for a holiday and see for yourself.

swimeveryday

No. People are people wherever you go. Always some rotten eggs in the basket, but people are generally the same everywhere.
In fact, Australians have one of the most open, cosmopolitain, diverse populaces of any country in the world. They have to be good to one another-they are too far removed from most of the world not to be.

Sonya B

I just got done having a wonderful experience with 6 Aussies. I am heavily active in our local Rotary Club, we did a group study exchange with their country. They spent 5 weeks here in Michigan and Canada learning our ways of living, our job force and our families. We talked about many, many subjects and racial issues was one topic. After some lengthy discussion, it was my conclusioin that every country has some "prejudices" or "views" however, most people are excepting of any healthy relationship. These Aussie's were a life changing experience for me and my family.....

Paul W

I was born and raised in Sydney and the surrounding areas and I had mates from all cultures and races and I think on the whole people from Australia don't mind where you are from as long as you treat them as you would expect to be treated. Aboriginals were not so well treated in the early days, but that's then and this is now people are a lot better educated and understanding of other peoples cultures. I would never turn anyone away if they stopped me on the street and if I had the money I would throw them a few bob to get something to eat if they were down on their luck. Don't believe everything you hear, go find out for yourself, I'm sure you will fall in love with the place and with the people and maybe find yourself a wife too. "I love a sun-burnt country, a land of sweeping plains, of rugged mountain ranges of droughts and flooding plains".

fanta

you are joking with this kind of question arnt you
what do you think us Aussie are we are just normal people we have our good our bad like any other country if i was you i would believe 1/2 what you see and nothing you read and don't Liston to people that don't know us

wtg_ib

you asked me for directions i would give them most people will
dating will not work sorry im married

Serena

I've heard from one of my relatives that he was treated badly in the US because of his colour,but he would never presume that all Americans were racists just because of his experience.
99.99 % of Australians are not racist,and they are absolutely fine with Africans/African-Americans.If they saw you on the street,they would help.If you asked for directions,they would help.
Inter-racial relationships? No problem.

Australians don't care what shade of skin you have.They care about what type of person you are.

waltzsingmatilda2

Hi, don't know what you are getting at?
Black,yellow,red,white we all belong to the human race so why choose a colour?
I have had many Cars over the years All colours all drive the same.
It tells us in the Bible that Jesus love the little children ALL the children of the world.red and yellow black and white ALL are precious in his site,so who are we to choose? Waltz

â€¢ Koala â€¢ uÊop É¹Çpun

Racism is everywhere in the world - don't worry about it !
You will be accepted for who you are not what you are.
I dated a few African Americans in NZ a while back - no complaints there <grin>
Cairns is short of men between 22-45 yrs - 50 females to a male if you want a good starting point on the dating scene!
Best of luck

Enter Your Message or Comment

User Name:
User Email:
Post a comment: