Shellfish

I am not sure that any underlying racism in Aus can be blamed on SA expats. It's true that this did happen however, the 'K' word was also used later when Ntini wasn't playing and it was said to Andre Nel, which to me shows that some other spectators didn't understand the meaning of the word and it's impact and had probably read it in reports in the paper. I don't doubt that there were some idiot S.African's causing trouble, but it amazed me that the Australians seem to have devoided themselves of any responsibility in this matter.

Back the topic at hand, I would be interested in people's answers to this matter. I have a Zimbabwean friend who lives in SA but is keen to emigrate with his family. He would like to come to Australia because of the similarities to SA but is concerned that he and his family will be met with racism. He has asked me my opinion, and I would like to say that he won't experience any but the truth is, I don't know. This is a country that had cinemas banning Brokeback Mountain for heavens sake

diddy

You don't have to be South African to understand the meaning of Kaffir and how it's used. The Aussies saying it to Nel said coz they're t*ssers not because they don't understand it's meaning.

Paul.

Shellfish

that's my point, they used it because it's the only afrikaans word they knew, if that had been S.African then they would have used a 'relevant' word.

ABCDiamond

Was it banned ? and if so who banned it ?

I did hear that some cinemas up North decided not to show it, as they felt they had few customers who would want to see it, and on commercial reasons they wanted something on that would bring in a reasonable number of Paying customers.

I tried a google search, but could only find the USA areas that banned it.

Shellfish

It was on the news, saying that Townsville and Rockhampton wouldn't be showing it. The news had implied it was banned but could have been sensationalised.

suebo

Ahem...we are not all tossers

When it comes to sports it is a different story - especially cricket (but we do it in the footy too). We are pretty well much like to Brits and I am sure many other countries. We take it seriously - well in my opinion too seriously at times.

But that is the way it goes, slag off the other team and get over it - which we soon do. We do not hold it against the country, just a heat of the momnet sports thing.

ABCDiamond

Must be careful there, as one meaning for Kaffir is "An Islamic term for non-believer."

I just had to look it up, as I didn't know for sure what it meant. It's not a word I have come across very much.

In General:
Individual countries have to be careful how they handle some words in other countries. Just because a word is not accepted in one country, does not mean it has to be the same in another, it may even have another meaning.

Shellfish

Well, to say it to a black S.African is extremely offensive and highly frowned upon.

ABCDiamond

Local movie operators said Townsville was not following America's lead in banning the film for its portrayal of homosexual activity.
The movie will not be seen in Townsville because of its limited release status, not its content, according to Reading Cinemas marketing manager Chloe Akacich.

Birch, Carroll and Coyle cinema marketing manager Chantelle Anderson said the only northern cities to get the release on her circuit were Cairns and Mackay.

"We will have the latest Steven Spielberg movie Munich instead, which will probably be a bigger movie all round," Ms Anderson said.

Townsville's independent theatre Warrina Cineplex so far does not have any plans to run Brokeback Mountain but may try to get it closer to the Academy Awards in March.


The news just had to sensationalise it

Shellfish

never! do they do that?

andrew63

Of interest, the recent song "Gold Digger" (forgot the artist's name) featuring Jamie Foxx, had the "N" word chopped out a zillion times (amongst others) when it was a major part of the lyrics. At least this is true for Australia (Queensland?). Is it played in full version in the UK?
Censorship gone mad!

Andrew

Princess Leia

Hi there,

I'm mixed race British and have been in Sydney for nearly 9 years now. There aren't many black people of African origin but I have always felt warmly treated and everyone has been friendly to me. In some ways because Australia is so multicultural I don't feel like I particularly stand out even though I look different to most people. In fact I would say that in Australia you almost have an advantage since black people of African origin are so few here that no one has a particularly strong opinion about them like in the UK. They have strong opinions about other groups such as Lebanese, Vietnamese and aborigines though! If you are a woman you'll be pleased to know there are quite a few black hairdressers in Sydney, even in the suburbs and hair care products are easy to obtain but very expensive. I've ordered mine online from the US as it was cheaper.

I've also been to Brisbane many times as my husband's family live there and I think there may be more people of African origin there than Sydney surprisingly. Melbourne too seems to have a black presence.

I remember having the same worries and concerns like you did but have found it no worse than the UK. I think the only downside is that because there are so few of "us" it can feel a bit isolating to the point that you feel excited when you see another black person but all in all I've been happy with living in Australia.

Good luck and go for it!

Princess Leia

Princess Leia

I haven't lived in rural mid north coast NSW but often stop off there on the way to Brisbane. Based on my experiences I think that it is an exaggeration to say that a black person would be treated as if they have 2 heads. Mild interest at the most would be more accurate.

Anyway it's not as if it's an all white area. There are plenty of brown faces around if not black African. In some ways I feel that I get less stares in the Australian countryside than I used to get in the British countryside. I don't know if that has changed in 9 years?

R2D2

renth

They called Nel a "Kaffir Lover".

Shellfish

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/20...050497196.html