The Smith Clan Posted March 10, 2016 Share Posted March 10, 2016 From doing lots of reading on here and having met a chap from Oz who openly made the following statement "you might have a problem if you were black" when I asked if we would easily make friends if we moved to Oz, I would like to ask others of there experiences. My children are mixed raced as I am and although most people do not notice I am mixed race, my children have darker skin and clearly mixed race. We live in a mostly white area and we have had 1/2 occasions when my daughter has been called brown, I am not blind and I know racism exists in the UK, though we have moved forward a lot compared to back in 60'70's. My question is would this be a problem in Oz, is it likely my child could be bullied, I am not asking this because I believe ppl from OZ are all racist, this is purely to help us make an informed decision, it may be the person from Oz who I spoke to was the wrong person but some ppl have posted threads that people use the term wog openly and I am trying to get some honest open feedback. Post not intended to cause offence. Maria x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CiderDrinkingCoder Posted March 10, 2016 Share Posted March 10, 2016 Maria, Sad fact is, you'll find ******s wherever you move to. The good news? Most people the world over are decent, in my very small experience. Please don't be put off moving anywhere for the benefit of you and your family for the sake of some small minded pricks who would be better off drowned at birth. Sure, you can have emotional intelligence training, but there's really no cure for small minded twattishness. And hey, maybe a mod will come along and smack me down, but the simple fact is that there is no place for racism anywhere. Your post wasn't meant to cause offence. Mine is intended to cause maximum offence to those who are so short-sighted, small-minded, and generally bloody nasty that they would preclude themselves from getting to know someone and making friends because of the level of melanin in your skin. Screw them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amibovered Posted March 10, 2016 Share Posted March 10, 2016 This what a recent Prime Minister thinks http://www.buzzfeed.com/robstott/australia-is-racist-and-its-100-bullshit-to-suggest-otherwis#.jr9aDrnGm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
faithmove7 Posted March 10, 2016 Share Posted March 10, 2016 From doing lots of reading on here and having met a chap from Oz who openly made the following statement "you might have a problem if you were black" when I asked if we would easily make friends if we moved to Oz, I would like to ask others of there experiences. My children are mixed raced as I am and although most people do not notice I am mixed race, my children have darker skin and clearly mixed race. We live in a mostly white area and we have had 1/2 occasions when my daughter has been called brown, I am not blind and I know racism exists in the UK, though we have moved forward a lot compared to back in 60'70's. My question is would this be a problem in Oz, is it likely my child could be bullied, I am not asking this because I believe ppl from OZ are all racist, this is purely to help us make an informed decision, it may be the person from Oz who I spoke to was the wrong person but some ppl have posted threads that people use the term wog openly and I am trying to get some honest open feedback. Post not intended to cause offence. Maria x very interesting post Maria...I am black & so is my hubby when we initially told friends here in the UK that we were thinking of making the move I got negative comments about people not being receptive & I still do. However I live in a village in Lincolnshire & we are the only black people here.... My attitude of not being bothered as to whether or not I look different to my neighbour next door has seen me through the many moves we have made being an ex army wife as well. However I am very protective of my children as I'm sure you are which is why you are searching for answers in advance. I choose schools for my children very carefully & I always ensure that I give them the opportunity to meet other ethnicities in school and socially. I have opted for some independent schools which have different ethnicities attending as well as Offering zero tolerance to bullying.... Being treated different is one of the issues that unless you have experienced it you will never appreciate the impact on an idividual and particularly a child. I attended a migration forum forum in Sheffield in 2013 and met with an Australian immigration rep who was promoting Melbourne and his advice to us was to look into Melbourne because it was more multicultural. It might be worth looking into areas in Oz with a more established multicultural society which will minimise being seen as different.... All the best.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainR Posted March 10, 2016 Share Posted March 10, 2016 Australia is very multicultural, particularly around the larger cities. My children are mixed race and don't have any apparent issues, nor does my wife. I'm told that the regional towns can be a little closed minded, but this hasn't been our experience. We were also told by people before we moved here that racism is rife, but have found the country very multicultural. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Smith Clan Posted March 10, 2016 Author Share Posted March 10, 2016 Thank you for your responses and cider drinking coder I totally agree there is there is no place for racism anywhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patphillips47 Posted March 10, 2016 Share Posted March 10, 2016 From doing lots of reading on here and having met a chap from Oz who openly made the following statement "you might have a problem if you were black" when I asked if we would easily make friends if we moved to Oz, I would like to ask others of there experiences. My children are mixed raced as I am and although most people do not notice I am mixed race, my children have darker skin and clearly mixed race. We live in a mostly white area and we have had 1/2 occasions when my daughter has been called brown, I am not blind and I know racism exists in the UK, though we have moved forward a lot compared to back in 60'70's. My question is would this be a problem in Oz, is it likely my child could be bullied, I am not asking this because I believe ppl from OZ are all racist, this is purely to help us make an informed decision, it may be the person from Oz who I spoke to was the wrong person but some ppl have posted threads that people use the term wog openly and I am trying to get some honest open feedback. Post not intended to cause offence. Maria x Maria in Adelaide the word wog is used openly but it's not meant as offensive and not in relation to negroes it refers to Greeks or Italians There was even a show called Wogs out of work where ther had a skit at themselves They have Coon cheese believe it or not and there is a place called Blackfellows Creek I always say Adelaide is like League of Nations and they mostly live side by side harmoniously Most people I know wouldn't mind if you were black white or sky blue pink as long as your a nice person I actually when we emigrated had a boss a white woman who hated Poms - she was White Australian - she rudely said to me one day I would rather be black than be a Pom !!! That was a long time ago and I had not been in Oz long enough to make a retort takes all sorts doesn't it ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JockinTas Posted March 10, 2016 Share Posted March 10, 2016 Australia is very multicultural, particularly around the larger cities. My children are mixed race and don't have any apparent issues, nor does my wife. I'm told that the regional towns can be a little closed minded, but this hasn't been our experience. We were also told by people before we moved here that racism is rife, but have found the country very multicultural. I agree CaptanR. When I look at my sons' school photos their 'white' faces are in the minority. This was 10 to 15 years ago in Sydney. The schools they attended were very multicultural. They had and still have, friends who are mixed race and Asian. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Smith Clan Posted March 10, 2016 Author Share Posted March 10, 2016 very interesting post Maria...I am black & so is my hubby when we initially told friends here in the UK that we were thinking of making the move I got negative comments about people not being receptive & I still do. However I live in a village in Lincolnshire & we are the only black people here.... My attitude of not being bothered as to whether or not I look different to my neighbour next door has seen me through the many moves we have made being an ex army wife as well. However I am very protective of my children as I'm sure you are which is why you are searching for answers in advance. I choose schools for my children very carefully & I always ensure that I give them the opportunity to meet other ethnicities in school and socially. I have opted for some independent schools which have different ethnicities attending as well as Offering zero tolerance to bullying.... Being treated different is one of the issues that unless you have experienced it you will never appreciate the impact on an idividual and particularly a child. I attended a migration forum forum in Sheffield in 2013 and met with an Australian immigration rep who was promoting Melbourne and his advice to us was to look into Melbourne because it was more multicultural. It might be worth looking into areas in Oz with a more established multicultural society which will minimise being seen as different.... All the best.. Thank you faithmove7 for your response, that's an idea for me to research. Are you still planning the move? I feel like i'm on an emotional rollercoaster making this decision, I never thought making a decision could impact so much on me! Best wishes from an ex army wife too Maria x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Que Sera Sera Posted March 10, 2016 Share Posted March 10, 2016 I forget who showed the Stats on here recently but I'm sure India and China were either close to or already had taken over the UK as the highest percentage of migrants coming into Australia. If your living in the UK then I don't see Australia will be any different to what you are used to, in that there will be racists unfortunately but thankfully few and far between. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Smith Clan Posted March 10, 2016 Author Share Posted March 10, 2016 Australia is very multicultural, particularly around the larger cities. My children are mixed race and don't have any apparent issues, nor does my wife. I'm told that the regional towns can be a little closed minded, but this hasn't been our experience. We were also told by people before we moved here that racism is rife, but have found the country very multicultural. That is good to hear, we are going to Brisbane in August and this is ideally where we plan to settle, if we move. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
faithmove7 Posted March 10, 2016 Share Posted March 10, 2016 Hi Maria, It's a big life decision to make for anyone so it's understandable to feel up and down sometimes... You are not alone there. We are all set to apply for our 190 visa, we are using a migration agent & it's made the process less of a hustle for us. I am planning on posting a summary of our journey so far soon... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petals Posted March 10, 2016 Share Posted March 10, 2016 Melbourne has been settled with people from every part of the world. Some choose to live in certain areas and some don't. There are suburbs where Brits like to live and some where the Chinese like to live etc but that does not mean that they are the only ethnic group around, its just preferable to live near ones own people when moving across the world. Schools in the inner city tend to be very multicultural and those getting out to the fringe tend to be more waspy. However racism comes from the home and most aussies take people for who they are not what they look like or where they come from. Yes you may find some of the banter not to your liking and the radio is an eye opener. Politically correct is not in most Aussies vocabulary and hated. Free speech is applauded. Its being happy in your own shoes and not worrying what others think whatever our background. My children were never bullied but then I never bought them designer, never made sure they played with the in gang, told them not to follow the heard and they did not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DT55 Posted March 10, 2016 Share Posted March 10, 2016 I've never witnessed any racism in the 4 years Ive been in Brisbane but maybe I live a very sheltered life. If kids were been bullied due to their race Im sure the school would come down on it like a ton of bricks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
srh82 Posted March 10, 2016 Share Posted March 10, 2016 Hi Maria, You will not encounter any problems in urban Australia. However, you need to be really aware that there is a big (stark) difference between attitudes in the cities and in the country towns here. My statement is a fair generalisation but my Australian colleagues here will happily say the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booma Posted March 10, 2016 Share Posted March 10, 2016 From doing lots of reading on here and having met a chap from Oz who openly made the following statement "you might have a problem if you were black" when I asked if we would easily make friends if we moved to Oz, I would like to ask others of there experiences. My children are mixed raced as I am and although most people do not notice I am mixed race, my children have darker skin and clearly mixed race. We live in a mostly white area and we have had 1/2 occasions when my daughter has been called brown, I am not blind and I know racism exists in the UK, though we have moved forward a lot compared to back in 60'70's. My question is would this be a problem in Oz, is it likely my child could be bullied, I am not asking this because I believe ppl from OZ are all racist, this is purely to help us make an informed decision, it may be the person from Oz who I spoke to was the wrong person but some ppl have posted threads that people use the term wog openly and I am trying to get some honest open feedback. Post not intended to cause offence. Maria x i am east asian & find oz is very welcoming even though i dont live in a big city. people dont seem to care where you come from as long as you are a good person. the only person i got problems off was one british person & one aboriginal person but they were mean to everyone. one thing to keep in mind is ozzies do sometimes use words british people think are offensive but you must remember you are living in oz & just cause something is bad in other countries doesnt mean its bad here. taking offence if none is intended will make you unhappy & stop you from making friends with good people. i am lucky to be married to ozzie so i check with him each time i heard a word that shocked me & so far none have been used to cause offence here. they even call some police cars paddy wagons which shocked me very much when i first heard it. italian & greek people call each other wogs and coon cheese got its name from the man who made it so you see not everything is as it seems at first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 10, 2016 Share Posted March 10, 2016 The only racist comment I've heard was by a Brit on explanation of why he left London in a pub in North Lakes. Couldn't get away from bar quick enough... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CiderDrinkingCoder Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 Thank you for your responses and cider drinking coder I totally agree there is there is no place for racism anywhere. My absolute pleasure, Maria. Let them come at you, they'll have to go through me and - I dare say - a hell of a lot more before they get to you. Civilisation has far too many enemies at the moment. It just depresses me when I see them amidst our ranks. We don't have to like each other: but at least let's do it for decent reasons, not ones that have no foundation or reason, eh? What is it with our species that we have such a propensity for hating one another!?!?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starlight7 Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 I'd be surprised if you found any racism these days. Can't say I have seen or heard any in all the years I have been here except the very rare anti pom comment. There seemed to be a lot more when we lived in the UK- quite nasty in fact, especially in regional areas. Hopefully they have moved on now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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