We Are One, But We Are Many...

RACISM.
It's an ugly word, isn't it? Very ugly - yet it's been all over the news here in Australia recently.
First off we had the Cronulla riots, where a big angry mob decided to beat the living shit out of anyone who looked like they were Middle Eastern, followed up by another big angry mob that decided to beat the living shit out of anything and everything.
Just when that little escapade was over, the South African cricket team popped in for a visit and were welcomed with a few questionable comments. Reports have also come through that some of the Sri Lankan players were also racially abused, although coach Tom Moody denies this is the case.
One story in today's Sydney Morning Herald gave an example of racial abuse by a group of supporters at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). This really is looking glum, eh?
Yet as many who have met Australians or been to Australia would know, these people are in the minority. Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland described the trouble at the cricket as "shameful behaviour of maybe half a dozen half-wits". Chances are you can add that they were pissed as a fart as well.
Yet at the one game I've attended at the SCG, the spectators where I was generally had a bloody good time. The game was close (decided by a Brett Lee 6 with three balls to go), and supporters from both sides enjoyed cheering when their team did well. The only downer for mind was when one of the young couple next to me started calling the Indians "curry-munchers", to which I protested. Everyone had had fun without resorting to that level: why stoop there now? For the record when Lee hit the 6 all the Aussies stood as one and chanted "look at the scoreboard!" instead of some stereotypical rubbish. As I say, a great day out.
But these are minor compared to the problems Sydney is having with a certain sub-section of its community.
It has been said that the reason a bunch of drunk "Anglos" went and beat up "wogs" was becase groups of young males had been harassing beach-goers in Cronulla.
The Cooma-Monaro Express' infamous Snowman put the differences between Sydney and Cooma rather bluntly:

"ISN'T it amazing? In Cronulla we have gangs of so-called Australian bashing and harassing "lebs" or anyone who might be of middle eastern descent. In Cooma, we have gangs of people rushing to a Lebanese restaurant for completely different reason - the food and hospitality are top-notch."
"WE might have to put up with some limitations in the bush, but at least in Cooma, we appreciate multiculturalism and embrace the differences which make life more interesting."

Of course, the riot sparked the inevitable revenge attacks, where witnesses say they were too scared to confront the men, while debate rages about how much the police have done to try and apprehend those involved in the revenge attacks (as opposed to the earlier, televised attacks).
These young hoons (calling them men would be an affront to men everywhere) say that they are "Lebs" (Lebanese), and that women wearing revealing clothing is against their culture.
Yet Lebanese-born Joseph Wakim makes a very good point in the Sydney Morning Herald when he says:

"There is a perception that if offenders label themselves as Lebanese, rather than Australian, then we should treat them accordingly. However, there is nothing Lebanese about their behaviour. Ask anyone who has been to Lebanon, or watch Lebanese TV. The local youths in question are a hybrid subculture akin to the chick-chasing characters portrayed in Fat Pizza."

"They over-identify with the American rappers and their themes of rejection, victimhood and revenge. Their attire - baggy jeans, brand-name jackets, athletics shoes and baseball cups - represents their hip-hop heroes. The Bankstown boys are more likely to blend into the Bronx than Beirut. In Lebanon, their behaviour would not be tolerated. They would be rejected as shameful misfits and deported back to Australia."

Last I checked, you could choose your nationality. Last I checked, being Australian means that you're tolerant of other people.

In this blog I make a lot of references to songs, and the one mentioned in the title of this post is perhaps the one we should remember (and even one to sing during the World Cup in Germany later this year). I'll only link to the lyrics here (PDF file), but here's the chorus:

We are one, but we are many

And from all the lands on Earth we come

We share a dream, and sing with one voice

I am, you are, we are Australian.

Sums it up for me.

Crashing's Not Compulsory, But...

I'VE just come back from a fairly lengthy road trip down some of Australia's busiest highways: the Pacific Highway linking Brisbane and Sydney and part of the Hume Highway linking Sydney and Melbourne.
Both these highways have reputations for being quite dangerous, and with good reason: according to figures on an NRMA website, 453 people died on the Pacific Highway and 153 on the Hume Highway between 1994 and 2003 (figures from the NSW-run RTA, which would suggest Queensland and Victorian fatalities were not included).
If this seems like a lot, rest assured you're not alone.
But why would the fatalities (and "regular" crashes for that matter) be so high? Simple fact is that neither abovementioned highway is dual carriageway (four lanes; two each way).
It seems silly and it is: Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane are the three largest cities in Australia (around 4.2 million, 3.5 million and 1.7 million respectively). The Pacific Highway itself had just under 10,000 crashes between 1994 and 2003, a figure which you'd think would encourage politicians of all colours to fund upgrades.
Nope.
This archived article on the Sydney Morning Herald website suggests that while they may fast-track the upgrades of the Pacific Highway, this could be funded by a toll on non-local road users. Apparently private sector funding is needed to speed the whole thing up.
Let's check those figures again: nearly 10,000 crashes in 10 years.
Given the cost to the state and national economies of people recovering or grieving after accidents, you would think that both governments would be fighting over who was going to chip in the most, but no.
Of course it isn't any government's fault that there are so many crashes: John Howard or Morris Iemma aren't driving all those cars.
What isn't helping is the idiotic behaviour of many on the road, especially those sections where you have to wait for overtaking lanes to safely get past those going a bit slower.
Theoretically these cars should be doing the same speed throughout (obviously a touch quicker downhill), but this isn't always the case.
One idiot (there really is no other way to describe him) would do 90-95km/h normally, only to speed up to 105-110km/h when there was an overtaking lane. Given the speed limit on that stretch of road was 100km/h, it wasn't very bright at all. I ended up hitting 120km/h to get past and save myself the indignity of a heart attack at 25.
There were others that felt being overtaken was a personal affront and would do their best to stop you overtaking, and then those who just had to be difficult at every available opportunity.
So here's the challenge: for state and federal governments to fix up the highways, and for road users to use a bit of common sense.
It'll cut the toll.