The Sydney Morning Herald picked up a disturbing undertone in the current debate about recent homophobic bashings:
The bashing of Craig Gee, of Redfern, two months ago sparked outrage in the gay community, and a boil-over of tensions between the state's peak gay organisations, local police and Aboriginal groups after police reports described Mr Gee's attackers as Aboriginal.
Anger was also fuelled by the poster used to publicise the street protest, a "Reclaim the right … to be who you are" rally to be held on Australia Day in Harmony Park, next to Surry Hills police station.
The red, militaristic posters depict a phalanx of muscle men holding red flags on steel poles.
The images have been described as racist. The event's organiser withdrew the poster from public display last night.
Chris Lawrence, an Aboriginal Redfern resident who is gay, said the posters depicted "a sea of white gay men". He said coverage of gay bashings by a local gay and lesbian newspaper, the Sydney Star Observer, risked inspiring a racist backlash.
"Our concern is that the paper is beating the story up in a racial way and it risks reprisals against Aboriginal people who are homeless and frequent Oxford Street," he said. Mr Lawrence said he had never been abused for his sexuality in 16 years in Redfern. "The only abuse I've had is [for being Aboriginal] from a few white gay guys."
Another inner-city gay resident, Andre Rispler, said the poster was over the top. "To me it reads as if it is fascist and militant … If I saw images likes this over and over again I'd be concerned."
An example is the following two letters published in
Sydney Star Observer below are disturbing for the underlying racist undertones:
by Fred from Surry Hills | 16/01/2008 6:41:11 PM
NOT SORRY
I personally never felt that I had to say sorry for past generational actions against indigenous Australians.
When the gay community marched in support of various indigenous causes I was neutral.
During the last year there have been many incidents involving indigenous persons that have made me more non-committed to the push to say sorry.
After reading reports in SSO re the alleged perpetrators of the brutal bashings of Craig and Shane being of Aboriginal appearance, I have no intention in the current or near future of having any sympathy for the push to say sorry.
It appears that some of the Aboriginal community feel we can be treated like they often treat their own race. I say shame on the perpetrators of the recent bashings.
by Jon from Cremorne | 16/01/2008 6:39:51 PM
SHAME ON YOU
It has made me so angry to read that the suspected perpetrators of this crime are Aboriginal males.
If this is the case the Aboriginal community should be very disturbed and ashamed of what has happened.
What gives one minority group the right to attack another minority group?
Obviously there is a need for the Aboriginal leaders in the community to take a good look at what their expectations are from other non-indigenous community members and identify where they obviously fail to educate their community in mutual respect.
Shame on you. This attack has seriously eroded any respect I had for the local Aboriginal community.
While the attacker may have been an aborigine in this case, he could equally have been a "white" Australian.
If one wants to look for people to blame for the rise of homophobic violence it should be directed at the "Christian" and political leaders who deny gays equal rights and in worse cases demean gays (and normally at this stage gay men).
While the violence is often undertaken by young men it is driven by what respected leaders in their local church, politicians, etc say or don't say about gays having equal rights.
While violence is never acceptance neither is jumping to the conclusion that all aborigines are gay bashers which some gays seem to be implying in their comments.
Yes it is okay to get angry but direct the anger where it belongs:
- at the police for their inaction
- politicians for not supporting equal rights for gays
- church leaders who portray gays as second class citizens.
