Eddie's Fight Against Racism in Australia

[Thryleon]

Is that what I am advocating?  Or are you dismissing my point regarding bigotry and eliminating, because its too broad a brush?  Only one stating that we should do nothing about it is you.

"You fat smelly, greasy wog.  Go back to where you came from."

What Box Hill?  I remember this conversation quite vividly.  Thats the brand of non racism I experienced.  This is largely a zero sum game, if you practise any form of racism, YOU ARE THE PROBLEM. 

I just wanted to add, I have heard comments in this vein of thinking as recently as 2018, and 2007.  This wasnt in the school yard, once was down near the Greek consulate where I attended a protest against actions the Greek government were taking to do with national security and EU politics, and the other was going to pick up some noodles, and getting into an argument over a car parking spot down on the Mornington Peninsula because the lady who stole my car parking spot whilst I was waiting to pull in was female (#equality) and how dare I give her a piece of my mind (the guy who said it wasn't involved, but was your typical guy I seemed not to get much from aside from the aforementioned Greasy wog commentary over the years).

The attitudes and biases of many are alive and well.  If any of you have ever been made to feel ashamed of your heritage simply because the person in front of you was a bigot, please share your experiences, and I would just like to thank the many voices of support for my view on this topic, because minimising my life experience doesn't get us anywhere on this front.

To highlight the juxtaposition, the people standing up for the BLM folk, usually consider me to be white and privlidged, and those who are actually white and privlidged, see me as part of an ethnic migrant minority who isnt like the BLM folk (irony).

Imagine feeling quite alone, because you are different from the other Greek kids (who's parents came in the secondary and tertiary waves of migration rather than the primary), and yet, not really accepted by those around you either.  Its one of the reasons I joined this forum, because it gave me a place to belong. 

Some of the stuff I grew up with was quite vitriolic.  My Father was beaten up as a 19 year old driving a taxi whilst putting himself through school.  I hear the stories of the recent migrants, and I find myself identifying more with their and their families experiences, than those of other kids who grew up in Australia.  We didn't have a lot growing up like the other truly privlidged kids and my Grandparents, and parents worked really hard to get what they have.  I remember going over to the neighbours to play video games, because I didnt have any in the 80's.  I did have my family, and they did their best to provide for me, and I do my best to do them and society proud, so you wont really find me on the opposite side of a debate with someone experiencing true injustice.  I got teased a bit for having holes in my pants that mum would sew up.  I didnt go to the private schools like some of the other kids either.  I did claim clothing from lost property to try and have a nicer uniform given my parents weren't necessarily providing me with new stuff all the time going to school (this stuff was perfectly fine and had hung around for a while).  I had gotten some hand me downs from my older siblings which was normal for the time, but had seen some better days as I was a fair bit younger than my brother and my sister.

Im proud of who I am, the place I call home, and my heritage.  My brother has renounced Australia.  Wished our family never came here.  I can understand why he thinks like this, but that's more about his life experience than mine and I think he fails to consider how much harder it would have been for us over in Greece where our family were literally working fields in small villages (that might have been a more simple life which may have been nice, but I cant know that).  Odds are he experienced significantly worse than I did in the late 70's and early 80's when he was going to school as opposed to me who was born 8 years younger, but I share this tidbit to highlight, that I am not the only one in my family who experienced hatred and bigotry from people here growing up.