Leader and founder of the right-wing Australian One Nation party Pauline Hanson recently took to Twitter with a request.
She asked people to share examples of racism.
Australia's government, like the United States, was founded by Europeans who arrived on an already populated continent inhabited by Indigenous people with their own systems of government already in place.
The subjugation and attempted genocide of the Indigenous populations in areas the British Empire colonized is well documented.
In Australia, many of the techniques mimic those of the United States and Canada, specifically family separation and forced attendance of remote boarding schools to assimilate children and eradicate indigenous languages and culture.
The book Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence, available here, and subsequent film Rabbit Proof Fence, available here, illustrates the often deadly toll of racism in Australia and other nations with similar pasts.
Except, that's not the racism Pauline Hanson is talking about.
Pauline posted:
Yes, Pauline's version of racism is having her social media privileges revoked due to her own repeated violations of the private company's terms of service.
So, not physical or cultural genocide then, Pauline?
Some tried to educate her.
But many decided to give Pauline exactly what she asked for.
@HepatitisLee/Twitter
And the oppression in makeup stores and counters!
Such suffering...
And the grocery shopping oppression!
One respondent had an entire list of things White folks in Australia never (always) got to do while Aboriginal Australians always (never) were allowed to.
Such suffering and hardship, Pauline.
While these folks kind of nailed it.
For people in a position of privilege, others gaining access to spaces that were exclusively theirs or gaining rights they always had can feel like oppression.
But others gaining rights doesn't actually reduce their rights. It only reduces their privilege.
Listen to the first episode of George Takei's podcast, 'Oh Myyy Pod!', where we explore the racially charged videos that have taken the internet by storm.
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