I was laid out horizontally waiting for the dentist to get to work on my pearly whites. I don't mind going to the dentist's - as a rule of thumb, he/she is usually the chatty sort, makes me feel comfortable, and I'm not particularly averse to the fact they'll shortly be rummaging around in my mouth looking for any signs of badly behaving teeth.
As the dentist leaned over to begin his business, he asked me if I was house hunting yet and, if so, how it was going.
"Pretty good," I replied. "We're looking at a few options but we're thinking the North Shore might be a good place to call home.'
"You should look at houses in the west of Sydney," he said. "Lots of big, grand houses out near Penrith way. Built for wogs. Depends if you like your woggy houses. Lots of concrete and ornate metal railings. Not my thing but some people love those woggy places."
I was floored. Did I hear him right? Did he just say what I thought he said? If so, should I have said anything back? Reprimanded him for blatantly saying something so racist and unprofessional?
In the end, I smiled awkwardly and said nothing, unsure of the territory I was in and concerned that I might be in danger of over-reacting (or under-reacting). With the conversation grinding to a halt, he got on with my check-up.
Are racial icebreakers found across Sydney? Image: Jiaren Lau
The visit to this dentist took place not long after I arrived in Australia, more than five years ago. I soon found out that a 'wog' in fact was a person of Greek or Italian descent, not quite the definition it was given back in the UK. That said, it wasn't used in a positive way so I remained slightly troubled by what I'd heard.It wasn't the only such occurrence over the years but, more often that not, I put these incidents down to the Aussie sense of humor or credited it to the way things were done and said here.
'Wogs' and 'Lebbos' (those of Lebanese descent) were the obvious terms I would regularly hear. I witnessed various jokes about the 'Abos' (Aborigines) and increasingly came across negative comments about people from other cities and countries (us Brits top of the list of course, closely followed by the Yanks, the Kiwis,and so on). This was heard from a relatively small percentage of the people I came across so, in those early weeks and months, I realised I should probably 'put up' and 'shut up' if I wanted to fit in.
It was therefore no real surprise when I read Lauren Fritsky's article in the UK Telegraph a few days ago, Seeing in black and white in Australia, highlighting her unease and often embarrassment at hearing what she perceived as racial 'icebreakers' in public. She notes her struggles with the apparent lack of political correctness in Australia and the ease with which some of these terms are used by the local population. What I realised, when I read Lauren's article, is that I've got far too used to these casual, throw-away remarks when they do occur. In fact, I often brush them off as unintentional slurs or said without bad feeling. I mean, what's wrong with giving the Kiwis and Yanks a bit of stick? And the Poms have been ridiculed for years, much as the Lebos and the Westies have been.
The problem is that, although most of these words are as much a part of the light-hearted Aussie vernacular as the 'barbie' or the 'ute', they sometimes come very close to crossing the line and often, as Lauren reminds us with reference to the use of 'Chocko' or Abo', they do.
Australia no place for ugly attitudes. Image: maHidoodi
It's important to understand the psyche here, the fact that the culture is based on the premise that "anything goes" and "anyone is fair game". From the camaraderie at the bar to the casual BBQ setting, the light-hearted work environment to the jovial yet die hard sports rivalries, all combine to create a “no worries, mate” attitude, inspired by a society that goes with the flow without giving a damn what you might think of them. Yet sometimes, just sometimes, I get tiny flashbacks to my former university days spent in the heart of the multicultural British Midlands where racist taunts and cultural insensitivities were often the norm rather than the exception. I previously posted on my experiences in Canada and Australia, and how the two countries are separated by more than just water. My take was that Australia preaches tolerance, where as Canada believes in accepting a person, wherever they're from or whoever and whatever they are. The question is whether this basic attitude of tolerance in Australia is good enough to carry forward in the modern many-cultured world.There's quite simply no place in this beautiful land for ugly attitudes and opinions. I only hope that the odd experience or encounter I've had along the way isn't held by the many but by the few.
What are your views on this? What have been your experiences here, either as an Australian or as a visitor to the land down under?