Does our generation hold the answers to finding racial equality?

During this past week racial discrimination has been a controversial talking point for all of Australia. Racial equality is such a difficult issue that very few understand, but what Australia forgets, is that our generation is the only who has lived through the controversy. We’re the ones who truly know what it is about.

This week, a whole range of things happened surrounding racial discrimination and equality…

Firstly, the attorney general, George Brandis unveiled a draft proposal of changes to the Racial Discrimination Act that hasn’t been amended since 1995. He controversially stated when announcing the changes, that “people have the right to be bigots.”

The main change proposed was to take out clauses making “to insult, to humiliate or to offend” unlawful however retaining “to intimidate” and including “to vilify” as unlawful acts.

Secondly, a number of public personalities came out opposing these changes and openly expressing their disappointment. These included Warren Mundine who is the head of the Prime Minister’s Indigenous Advisory Council. As well as Australian of the year, Adam Goodes who publicly suffered from racial taunts about his Indigenous Australian appearance during an AFL match last year.

Thirdly, Human Rights Commissioner, Tim Wilson expressed his support for the changes saying, “The provisions provide the basis for a good discussion about getting the balance right, and establish the correct test of equality before the law.” His support suggested that the relaxed laws will in fact help to eliminate racism and bigotry.

And then finally, a series of conversations stemmed from Australians on social media about the proposed changes. Most people are openly against them however some are in support of them. Twitter was the main facilitator of these conversations and the hashtag #racialdiscrimationactau became a trending topic on the 26^th March.

The proposed changes need to be passed by the senate before they are implemented. While so many people have expressed their opinions on the matter, we can’t help but feel that the right people aren’t being consulted.

The delicate balance between freedom of speech, political correctness and racial discrimination is something that every country strives for but very few will ever get right. But, what Australia forgets, is that our generation is the one that has been shaken by racial controversy more than anyone else.

We’re the generation who grew up when the White Australia policy was active and spent our childhoods with mixed feelings towards people of different race. We then had to learn to adjust and accept racial diversity when Menzie abolished the policy in 1958.  When we learnt that it was difficult to accept others because of our differences we were unsure how to handle it so the 1975 Racial Discrimination Act was created and we had boundaries placed around our behaviour.

We have had to adjust so many times and de-sensitize or re-sensitize to so many racial elements, so should the government be looking to us for guidance when it comes to racial controversy? We’re living proof of how cultural adjustments can or can’t be made and while our opinions are strong, our voices just don’t seem to be.

The Australian government needs to look to us before making their decisions. While the proposed changes may look good or bad on paper, only someone who has been through it and has had to learn and make adjustments to living in a multicultural environment can understand the real issues clearly.

So, we want you to give your voice as the generation who has lived through more racial equality and acceptance changes than any other… Where do you stand on racism? To you, where is the fine line between racial equality and freedom of speech?