Drayke Newall

But that is the problem, they are conducted via a university as part of a graduate study. None of those posted in those links you provided show any form of Employer input as to what is good or bad in a resume. Master of Business schools don't teach what employers look for in applications and therefore without explicit correspondence between those students researching and an employer they will always come out with a flawed and potentially biased outcome. When an business owner like myself looks at resumes a lot of what is included is meaningless as it is in point form and open to interpretation. Without giving the applicant the ability to write a paragraph explaining why each of their points in the resume matter the employer must make an interpretation of why that person included it in their resume. The onus is on the applicant to effectively use their communication skills within the resume to ensure that they adequately highlight in some way how what they have shown in their resume is going to help further that business in that specific field irrespective of race. That is also why the resume itself format wise is looked at as part of the process as how they write it and what they include shows their communication skills. Taking a look at one of the studies you posted https://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/minorities-who-whiten-job-resumes-get-more-interviews I will break down a few of their points to show how their is bias when a employer is not given the chance to be part of the research team. Hopefully this will highlight to you in a positive way why such studies need to be looked at very carefully. With this point from the linked article I would say to the person as an employer who is looking at resumes, why include it at all? What does it bring to show how you are best suited for the job in question? You are applying for a specific job, not to make the workplace environment or their outreach program better. For example, if that person was applying for a job that entailed working with students that are disadvantaged racially as an employer I would look at her inclusion of involvement in a black student organisation as a positive that would be beneficial. If however, that person is applying for a job that is for a welding position, I would then just overlook that inclusion completely. Not because I judge the applicants based on race but purely because such an inclusion brings no benefit to that particular job and is just resume filler. This is also why when you are taught (I hope) at university or school that EVERY resume you send has to be custom for that particular job. You are showing in your resume that those things you list as your experiences are going to be a good thing for that particular job and that aspect only. This next paragraph they mention proves my above mentioned point. The job advert listing that the employer doesn't discriminate isn't for you to prove that your x race or not. It is there to show that they wont bias against it. If you then go and include something in your resume trying to somehow show how being x race or being in x organisation is going to help with their diversity somehow when applying for a welding position (which is entirely irrelevant to the position advertised) then, you don't understand how to write a resume and it will negatively impact your chances as you are taking up a place in your resume where you could have placed an experience that is relevant to the job in question. I'll also tell you a secret, a lot of the time I and I dare say most employers don't even look at the name of the applicant on the resume until after they have already thinned the applicant list. For example, in many business the employer will instantly discard any resume over 3 pages long or that are a single page. As harsh as it is, that is how it is. If you need more than 3 pages to explain why you should get the job or an interview through your resume then you are trying to hard, are over qualified, just proves that you cant stay in a job for long (no loyalty) or are including just irrelevant things. If you need only 1 page then you dont have enough experience or haven't tried hard enough. This is incorrect you can prove it quite easily, through your experiences and references. For example, if I received a resume from a person with an Asian name that had all of their uni degrees from a different country, all her job experiences from a different country, all references from a different country etc then yes, I would question about their fluency in English. If they show however that they, whilst having all foreign degrees, have experience job wise or volunteer wise in an English speaking country and have included a reference with contact details from that same place. I would then take that as they can speak English well enough. Not because I am going to phone the reference provided up (I may though) but purely based on the fact that they have shown to me just through their resume and honesty that they have proven as such accurately. I could go on but this is getting long. TL;DR Learn to write resumes correctly and also learn what employers are looking for. You're not writing a resume to prove how you as a particular race could help with a diversity program you are writing the resume to show how those things you have included in the resume will help that specific role applied for ONLY. It is usually never about race but ENTIRELY about how you show in written form who you are including your confidence in as such. As said, their may be bias against race in some cases but the majority I think irrespective of flawed studies that it is an entirely different reason they didn't get the job.

Entirely not what I was talking about. Firstly, the default presets are useless and keep the same camera angle up high when you click them, unless you use the little arrow controls to adjust further which is time consuming. The front one also has an issue where it is based on your ao or other settings and in some cases will see you still seeing the back of your avatar despite using the front camera. This point is all well and good unless you are new and want other options not just angle which literally just changes to a more butt shot over a head shot and the fact that you have to do it all over again every login is just as useless I am talking about other presets not default like for instance a preset for a tall avie, small avie, short avie - all based on a more uniform and standard camera position that doesn't have the camera hitting the ceiling and one that is remembered across logins. One that may be far over the right or left shoulder of the person etc. The only way to do what I am talking about and making sure it saves is through the debug menu of which is complicated for any person new or otherwise. Any comment such as 'Sometimes I wonder if SL kids just wander around without realizing they could fix their camera' that you say, is just nonsense as if your response is you can change it using your scroll wheel (which most people know about) but have to do it each relog then I don't blame them for complaining. Saying like you do that the generally-acceptable solution is a far away wide view camera is also debatable as most don't know there are debug settings to make it better and help with improving the camera so that it also improves the optimisation of builds. As such you get comments just like in this thread about either the camera passing through walls or bouncing on the ceiling.

Would be nice but, never going to happen. That's why I think a more simpler solution that would be easy to implement would be the preset camera angles that someone can choose under options like I asked Whirly about. But having these it would at least offer a little more flexibility to the camera for all users without having to edit 5 different camera debug settings.

Not denying it doesn't happen, however as a business owner I can say there is a lot more to a resume than you think and these experimental studies may have jumped to a biased conclusion depending on how those people conducting the study understand the intricacies of resumes. There is a reason why people have jobs specifically providing resume writing on your behalf as, despite what people think and perhaps even those who conducted the study think, it isn't just a piece of paper showing your skills and qualifications or even about being equally qualified. It comes down to many more subtle things that may or may not get you the job or next interview. The fact that those studies you mentioned seemed to imply that it is purely about being equally qualified shows perhaps this bias. To name a few things that are looked at majorly with regards to a person getting or not getting a job not based on equal qualifications: Format and layout, length of the resume, cover letter, whether that person has the right non-work related experiences and likes, whether there are multiple resume's submitted with identical formatting or from a word doc template (meaning you hired a pro to get it created and therefore show a lack of creativity or confidence), what non-work activities or hobbies you have (showing your personality as to whether you are outgoing, adventurous, a leader, introverted, group orientated etc). I could go on and on. Resume's aren't a situation of black or white (non race just the phrase), there are many things that an employer looks at rather than just a name or whether 'x' person has equal qualifications to 'y' person. Like I said, cant guarantee that in some cases there isn't bias towards race, however the study is flawed from the get go if they are basing their entire study on whether a resume gets accepted by a potential employer based on "but this resume is exactly the same qualification wise than the other". I think it may surprise you that from reading what they did to the resume's formatting etc listed under their title 'Creating a bank of Resumes' the average employer or HR department worth their salt, would be able to identify what they did. The fact that they used a template from a work agency shows this further as I mentioned before receiving multiple resumes that are the same looking is a negative. Another issue is as an example, they list while at school employment experience or volunteering experience as a key thing they changed. When I look at resumes I don't even care about that kind of thing as 99% of the time it is irrelevant to the job being applied for or mostly is for such a small period of time they couldn't have garnered enough experience for it to matter. Also there is no mention as far as I could see of references. Did they accept calls from those employers asking further for information about that person and if so how did they screen them so as the same employer didn't receive the same fake reference on the phone? Like I said, resume writing is complicated as is the reading of it and so unless that study included as part of an appendix the exact copy of those resumes as evidence so people can read what they all said and how they were formatted, that study is simply a lot of text with no substance.

@Whirly Fizzle I should probably post this on a feature request with firestorm however (wont do it for LL viewer as 99% of the time they say no to feature requests), what are the chances of getting a feature in the options section under 'view' in Firestorm (and I suppose any other TPV) of some preset camera angles that can be cycled through rather than having the default higher angle and then having to edit it through the complicated debug settings. As a sim builder etc, I think such a feature would help alleviate a lot of the height issues in buildings as more often than not, like others have mentioned including yourself, the camera is one of the major causes for the higher ceilings and buildings which have a negative effect on avatar height.

Not sure if it is still available but there was a weather system available a few years ago that allowed you to set it so that the weather on your parcel or sim was based off the real life weather in your actual town/state or what have you. As to the nanite systems drone system Drakonadrgora mentioned, it is a really good system if your looking at some form of combat with a minimal weather effect to a body. It is a shame though that it hasn't seen much of an uptake in those sims or even RP as it doesn't specifically require you to be a drone, can also just use it on any avatar form.

I don't know, might come in handy one day when you're bored in SL and need something to do. i.e. Perhaps it is a mysterious code in their profile that could keep you occupied for hours working out which of the boxes to tick using the cryptic hints contained in the profile of 'wner' and '37' to somehow solve the mystery.

Thank you for the response and the clarification. I am sure that you will indeed get some good responses for your article, especially now that you have mentioned what it is for rather than leaving it open to interpretation. To many a time have others come to these forums with similar posed questions disguised under the intent of an 'article' and were found out to be just a student from a college wanting to inappropriately and secretively research for an assignment with bias etc. ____________ As to my questions, whilst I could understand the point of view that Blackfishing is looked at as being cultural appropriation, I would argue that it isn't as, skin colour in itself cannot be described as a culture (despite people trying) but is attributed to the race of a person. You cant say that "my culture is white" as that is a colour of skin. You could say that "white people have x culture and I would like to 'appropriate' that culture" but you certainly wouldn't say "I like that persons culture so I'm going to powder my face white". I suppose you could argue that it is appropriation as far as features go if they believe that race has nicer ones. That said as far as Second Life goes, I'm not sure how to take it as, a person is in essence 'playing' or 'role playing' their interpretation of a race which leans more over to the older very racist blackface. Whilst Blackfishing is generally different from the older Blackface whereby the later was a caricature of the race, they both do put forward the same stereotypes of a race. For example, lips being fuller etc. This is also why some people define them as one in the same. I appreciate your response and honesty in saying you cant answer it, even though blackfishing is being seen now more so as a form of racism, I do however still believe it is relevant to your article and needs to be looked at given that it is being increasingly defined as a form racism in RL. Given the complexities of the question "is blackfishing racist"? and how that applies to other races using a different avatar race in Second Life, I wont be holding my breath for a counter argument as it would I suppose be hard to argue for either. If it is more leaning towards blackface whereby you are playing your interpretation of that race especially in urban RP environments/sims, then Second Life and Linden Lab has some serious issues it needs to work out which given the platform would be impossible. Anyway wish you luck with your article.

Oh me too. I'm so sick of IM's of "Hi there, nice avie" or even the dreaded one worded IM "hi", then I reply with something to start a conversation and get only cricket's chirping. Not accusing you or anything but thought this was interesting snippet to discuss for my own awareness and curiosity in relation to the OP's question. At what point would you or any other people posting consider this to be or not be Blackfishing which is considered a form of racism? For those that aren't aware, Blackfishing is the term used to describe a person, usually white, pretending to be someone of Black skin or another race. That being said, currently, the outcry is mostly prevalent in Social Media or films (one of which has recently potentially ruined an actors career due to doing a film as a white person acting as a Black person - for what ever reason) and in depiction of RL people wearing make-up etc to pretend or cosplay (RP) another race. The older term used would be Blackfacing. https://www.theweek.co.uk/98291/what-is-blackfishing Whilst I am of the belief RL and SL are two different beasts entirely and at best, operate in a form of mutual understanding that there are differences and allowances given, if there has to be a correlation between the two worlds such as the OP's question and their so called 'article research' indirectly implies, my other questions (other than the one in the opening paragraph and especially directed to the OP) are the following: How is one going to draw correlating stances of racism in RL and SL taking into account the aforementioned? and; How is pretending to be another race in RL and pretending to be another race in SL considered different and not Blackfishing, i.e., does it purely come down to SL is not RL or is it just accepted because you haven't seen the RL person behind the avatar and therefore don't know if they are Blackfishing or not? *Ducks for incoming pitchforks being thrown*

Seems I like punishment so thought I would respond as you didn't see my edit probably saying I wouldn't due to you already responding. In a nutshell yes. Why is that hard to believe? As I posted in my post explaining measures being taken to help alleviate it, due to what you would call systemic racism they are more inclined to. Whilst the programs and systems like free education are there for them to take up, the majority don't. I remember talking to someone in my class at university who was indigenous and even she said she was horrified at the amount of people of her own race that, get given so many chances and they don't take it. They were offered all the same educational opportunities and scholarships she was given, housing and travel allowances etc., came from the same economic situation and demographics as her, however the majority preferred to do drugs, alcohol and skip school. You will probably say o that's so racist or so white privilege but that is directly from the same indigenous community. Like you said you don't know about Australia or the issues facing indigenous communities. You will call it white privilege being the reason why whites are under represented in prisons, however that is not the case. Child abuse within aboriginal communities or even within families living in the city are far higher than. Just because they have a higher population within prison doesn't mean that a) they are all innocent and white Australians are hell bent on just sending them all to prison and b) that it is a cause that hasn't been looked into being resolved. They have the opportunities but as much as you don't want to hear it, they don't take them. Like I keep saying this isn't America everything is available for everyone they just have to apply for it. Perhaps you should read this below wiki page explaining this issues with crime and the indigenous population. It goes to explain all the commissions that have been done and all of their recommendations implemented to help solve it but like I said the government can only do so much if those people within the community are unwilling to accept what's handed to them. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_Australians_and_crime Also notice that even a judicial court system run by their own people was unable to successfully resolve it. You are going to call it white privilege as the cause but I think I have provided more than enough evidence to show that those privileges are offered to them as well. We re all trying our best, but if what is provided isn't accepted then there is a point where it can go no further. Now definitely last post and wont be responding any further as this time I'm not editing my post to say as such. I am not responding any more. If you cant accept that Australia is different than America and offers equal to more privilege to indigenous peoples than other races, irrespective if they take that up or not, then its not my fault or any white persons fault. EDIT: And before you mention that I have never acknowledge that there is effects of systemic racism within those communities, go back and read my posts I have said just that. maybe not in those words but it is implied everywhere.

Oh FFS, did you even read your own articles you posted. Did you even read my full response? Your article specifically mentions x police officer arresting someone abusively. I was talking about them or situations like that specifically. I then went on further to explain about steps that are being taken to help PREVENT indigenous crime or arrests. Somehow from your articles you hold up with such high regard you seem to be of the opinion that just because over a quarter of the prison population is indigenous or have been arrested they don't deserve to be there or be arrested? Please. As I have said many times other countries aren't America. We don't go around drug testing based on race or pulling over a car because a non white person is driving it, we drug test everyone randomly at drug stops on the side of the road calling in ALL drivers to be tested. We don't go arresting indigenous people who are drunk, we go and arrest everyone that is drunk and causes a disturbance. Sure there are cases where people get arrested falsely but that same situation happens for all races. Read your own evidence properly next time you use it instead of cherry picking out select things and then not reading a response within context to that evidence. I swear the more I converse in this thread the more I wonder about the education of America. This is precisely the argument tit for tat going around in circles I said I didn't want to get into yet again but, I should have known it was coming. BTW you can post a response but I'm done responding, when basic reading comprehension seems to be non existent within this thread.

No it isn't something that is wrong with the justice system per-se but individual police officers that should be fired. As you mention you don't know much about life in Australia and that is fine. The trouble is that what I have said before in this thread, trying to explain the differences and what Australia has done to help move forward positively, even acknowledging that it isn't perfect here got me accused of racism so I'm not going to get in to a tit for tat back and forth fight basically repeating myself over and over again. I even said it once again in the very post you responded to but you once again over looked it, as well as the entire premise of what I said and went straight for newspaper evidence saying basically what I said (change still needs to happen but that takes time). That wasn't what I was expressing in my post and if you read it properly without those glasses on or automatically instantly assuming that I am trying to justify x,y,z, you perhaps would have seen what I said for what it is, that is to say systems have been in place for decades to solve the issues of under privilege as well as more things taking place to help in the future. I was highlighting those things that we have done differently than the USA to help. So as nice as I can say it, people need to get off their high horse and stop posting the same stuff over and over again in some vein way of trying to somehow make it appear that I am saying or suggesting something I am not. You can only hit a dog so long before it snaps back and this is me getting close. But alas I will say this final thing on the subject and then I'm going to bow out of the topic. There are programs in place to accommodate and try and help some of these areas mentioned in those articles you posted that have been organised between both the government and the aboriginal communities and their elders. Together they/we are already actively trying to solve those issues, 20% of those in jail that you mention from those articles are from drug use alone. Whilst some of that drug use may be from underlying issues from what happened to them in the past and we are sorry for that (already apologised) there is only so much that can be done to resolve those issues on a governmental basis as well as an individual basis and the elders of those communities have acknowledge that. They are fully aware that it is them that need to help their communities in resolving these issues by trying to move to the future in a changed world. Whilst the government is willing to support them in this in what ever way. There is only so much that can be done by such institutions to help the healing without the entire removal of every non-indigenous race from Australia or handing over all land to them. Common ground needs to be found and that is already happening, despite what you read in the paper from random protestors that as I mentioned before and hopefully makes sense now is already taking place, with these so called protestors completely being oblivious to such steps. Also as I said it takes time especially in trying to help in such sensitive areas as it needs cooperation on both sides as well as communication between everyone. For example getting feedback from the elders such as in the report in the below link. https://www.cultureislife.org/resource/the-elders-report-into-preventing-indigenous-self-harm-and-youth-suicide/ There are also far more issues with gangs, violence etc that are not related to past issue, but more a case of like usual being in the wrong crowd or attempting to somehow get back at everyone else by the wrong means. Just like what happens with white people to. Edit I have huge respect for the indigenous people of Australia as well as those around the world and all other races. Their culture is fascinating and it is a shame some of it is lost and likewise a shame what they had done to them. But, I prefer to go about things the correct way in voting for the right policies and talking with those communities to try and help them the best I can rather than name calling or insinuating such things as white privilege. Whether it exists or not the label itself or applying that label to people or a race will not bring change only contempt and only conversation, acceptance and compassion for all can bring about change. Unfortunately from what I have seen in this thread labels matter more than conversation, acceptance or compassion and that is why, as mentioned, I'm out of this thread.

I think this is a lot of the problem though Molly when people outside of the USA look at what the USA does or doesn't do and a lot of my comments that were listed as racist in this thread where trying to show just that. America refuses to change. It has refused to change its laws, institusions and society to better the system and remove the systemic racism from it and then also the so called white privledge. Why has it done this? Because those very changes that are needed are decried as socialist rather than their almighty capitalism and consequently never moves forward. It is then by this, that their movements like BLM start to breach their borders and move to other countries who have been doing just that and consequently through uneducated people on political or social aspects regarding those changes take up that same cause without looking at their very own society and seeing those changes the elected politicians are doing. This then has a negative connotation to it whereby those politicians or parties that have been voted into power to solve these issues and are in the process of making more changes are not voted in again due to people seeing the protests and riots and thinking that change isn't happening when it is. In Australia everyone by law at 18 has to vote otherwise there is a fine. The issue is that these fresh out of school teens take up banners and march demanding change adversely effecting peoples daily lives and then those very teens vote in the wrong party because of not understanding the policies of those parties or even reading them. For example they will vote for the Greens based on the fact that they heard that they are environmentally friendly and without realising that they are a minor party and cant actually make changes that are needed or have the policies in place for those changes they want. Those people that the protestors have then had their daily lives interrupted vote for a different party because in many cases spite or because they are just sick and tired of hearing them or thinking those changes aren't being made or debated. America don't seem to understand that as the top dog in the world theatre what they do often effects other countries negatively and in some cases take things backwards. Like you said Americans need to vote to make change. Protesting is all well and good, but they need to actually go out and vote for people that are going to best solve these issues. That said, considering voting in America isn't compulsory, the same people that don't want change vote whilst the people that do want change don't vote. Changes take time to implement. It's not a matter of x party votes for it and then magically it is implemented through society. It can take years for those changes to successfully filter into all aspects of society. By designating everyone as white privileged or racist and not seeing those changes of course people are going to start shooting back insults and most often not in rage caused by those same people saying x person is white privilege get racist comments thrown back at them. I mean these same people say that just because I live in Australia as white I am automatically privileged even if I moved to Australia last month and had the same immigration process as every other race. I'm sure its similar over the pond where you are but Australia have put in place many fixes to society that removes this systemic racism as well as white privilege. Our school system is open to everyone irrespective of race and is entirely funded by the government eliminating the issues shown in that well put together video on systemic racism in the USA mentioned earlier. Our school fees are low, $3000/year and even then if you cant afford those school fees they can go lower. I'm expecting to get hounded for this as Farrie did, however as an example, I went to a private school that usually costs $35,000/year for only $450/year due to a government system that is open to all races and purely based on means testing i.e. how much assets you have or money you earn. This reduces the fees enormously for both public or even private schooling. Universities over here are subsidised so that any course costs no more than about $9000 and even after that scholarships for specific minorities or those with financial hardships are available. Then on top of that we have the help loan system that the government will pay all your university fees irrespective of race, background etc or amount and then, when we get a job and earn more than $48,000 per year, start to automatically pay it back in taxes. The figure exceeds $20 billion of this loan that is never paid back to the government every year due to people never earning that much and needing to pay it back. There is also Austudy which is available to everyone or Abstudy available to indigenous people where the government pays per fortnight the person studying $500+ for as long as the course runs and still allow them the opportunity to earn up to an extra $15,000 per year through part time work without having that payment reduced or removed. We have free Medicare for all with minorities getting even further medical help above what is available to white Australians. We have rent assistance, home repayment schemes, transport allowances etc. All paid by the government for those that need it irrespective of race, background or whatever. I could go on and on about all these changes or systems that have been in place for over 50 years. Like I said in my posts before numerous times. America needs to change we all know that however they are fundamentally locked into their societal systems and refuse to actually replace those for better ones. Whilst sure it is nice to see changes to the police over there, their fundamental systems still need changing and until that happens no amount of protesting will fix it. In your nice analogy, I acknowledge things can be done better, everyone does, but I also have no problem looking at those institutions behind me in my country that they say are my privilege and say back to them that those same privileges are available to them as well. Therefore that white privilege doesn't really exist as they just need to ask to access those very same privilege's that where created FOR them.

Debatable and actually often suggested that they negatively impacted it by drawing it out longer. https://www.fpri.org/article/2000/06/mythed-opportunities-the-truth-about-vietnam-anti-war-protests/ See this is why you shouldn't automatically assume everyone is the same and blatantly paint them all under the same banner. I am certainly aware of such people in society that believe such things as well as the varied history of racial issues. I can however, with that understanding and knowledge still continue to be brought up and live without harbouring any such prejudiced/racist attitudes that need to be purged as you claim. I have never been taught that whites are better than blacks nor have I ever thought it. I have also never heard it claimed, at least where I grew up that whites were better than blacks. Maybe I'm unique, I don't know, certainly no saint however. Perhaps it was due to the fact that my grandparents helped native tribes in Africa during the apartheid era against the status quo of the white majority or because my mother grew up in Africa amongst the native tribes and they all saw first hand the racial discrimination and segregation of apartheid in the 1940's and 50's and how horrible it was, and has always taught her children and grandchildren not to be racist or not to look at race but the person as an individual and a human being just like we all are. As she says "all of one blood". //Or, perhaps it's because she instilled those principles into her children based on feeling and witnessing first hand racist treatment from the African natives towards them as white people where they saw their friends or associates who were on the native side against apartheid shot, speared, killed and her very friends EATEN by those same natives to make a point to other white people that WERE racist towards the natives of Africa. Of which you are very close to doing the same by parading compassionate and supportive white people in front of racist white people painting them all the same collectively in an effort to justify your position just like those natives did in Africa. But I have to wonder based on all of your comments if you even would think this is possible due to your outright discriminative flouting that all white people have white privilege and insistence that no person could be brought up in the world not racist or a white person could suffer the same form of racism. Just maybe I was taught principles of acceptance from an early age from my grandparents who actively sought in northern Queensland Australia to mend rifts between white and indigenous communities, accepting those indigenous communities into their household and society functions/meetings etc and conversely accepted as family by the Elders of those same indigenous communities.// Claiming that I or others, as others have done, as being racist by birth just because I am white without knowing anything about the person, their upbringing, beliefs, attitudes, thoughts etc is discrimination in its purist form. The same structure exists in Australia if not even more complicated. We have a Governor General (your president), a prime minister, speaker of the house and federal rule. We have Governors in each states, as well as a premier in each states and state rule. We have councils each with their own district, all with their own Mayor and councillors. We have an upper and lower house in each state and federally that has senator's as well as politicians. We have a constitution for the states as well as Australia as a whole. We also have High courts (your supreme) as well as federal and state courts. In a nutshell Australia's system of government is based as a combination of the English and USA system. Australia modified their gun laws as I am sure you are aware in the 1990's. In Australia it was slightly different as the federal government didn't have gun laws in the constitution as each state still held the rights to their own gun laws. Contrary to popular belief shown overseas when talking about our gun laws, the federal government doesn't enforce any such laws other than the import of guns from overseas through customs. All states and territories still operate their own gun laws however all signed together an agreement by which to regulate them nationally. So despite your NRA over there saying that guns are outlawed in Australia they are not they are simply regulated. This is why I and others cant understand (outside of America) why gun laws in the USA cant be changed so that the guns are regulated. But that's a different topic. Who knows. Which is good to see, though I suspect perhaps things wont work out for the better. I hope I'm wrong, however history in the USA says otherwise. I am not sure whether it happens in the USA but over here we have an annual meeting (formally known as the COAG or Council of Australian Governments) whereby each state premier attends a meeting with the federal ministers to solve issues nationally and state wise. I think this is a lot of the reason why Australia can easily move forward with things like racial issues (such as the introduction of our anti discrimination and racial laws) or gun laws and agree to them quickly, because their is transparency between every form of government and also cross relationships. I just cant imagine the USA, from what I have seen, having a system where all 50 governors attend a meeting and uniformly agree to things with the federal government or president.

How many times do I have to say it, no one is denying racism doesn't exist. Australians are well aware of the issues from that article and sympathise with them. We were all in uproar about the treatment of those in the Alice Springs correctional institute or the hotels. But you cant, as many in this thread have done, generalise the entire white race on the acts of a few misguided individuals or base your reasoning for it on an article that simply shows a problem but not the outcry of horror of it or the changes made after to help make those things not happen before. Also, whilst the website is helpful and does show that non white Australians are hurt, killed or whatever in custody and is good to see, we already know that happens and it doesn't form any basis in saying it is due to racism as you claim. Read some of those that have died, some had prior medical issues or refused "western medical treatment", some were treated medically by medical staff, some were provided the same anti depressant drugs other inmates are given but still died by suicide. The thing with these websites is that the left claim that "oh look at how many have died in custody this proves white privilege or racism" and use such websites as a basis for their claims yet fail to find any other website that shows how many non-indigenous people die in custody. https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by Subject/1301.0~2012~Main Features~Deaths in custody~73 . Facts go a long way in showing that yes whilst Indigenous deaths in custody is a horrible thing and shouldn't happen they are not the majority by a long shot that you all over their in America, with your righteous attitude belittling other nations based on your countries experience, think they are. Any death in custody is a bad thing, but blatantly using skewed data to justify your cause only put a negative light on that cause due to bias. Research properly before you come and accuse an entire populace or race as having the same issues America has racially or with its authority figures. Also over here, offices that have shot people are instantly charged with murder and put up for charges and face a court or if are investigated instantly for the discharge of a firearm. Does that happen in America instantly? No it takes weeks or months for that to happen. Just as it takes months for citizens over in the USA to be charged with murder like in Georgia if any form of racial bias was at play. Does your American government actively and instantly conduct Royal Commissions into issues facing non white Australians after things like the Alice Springs institute issue or hotel issue and then put in place laws or change laws or provide further assistance based on those commissions findings? No, your American government deliberately hide apologies to Native Americans as one line in an obscure law so that they can then say we did apologise but not to their face. Notice in the article how the law about public drunkenness in Victoria was instantly changed after investigation of that particular issue. Yet America has seen hundreds of like issues against non-whites and done nothing to change those things. It literally took riots across your entire country to get council members to look at their police force or laws. Australia and other countries are pro-active in their response to these issues. Does this mean some issues don't slip through the cracks or mean that there aren't racist people in Australia. NO. But it does mean we are doing far more to help the situation than America and is why, we know that these protests just like climate change protests wont change a thing. What does change things are people, organisations or governments that actively investigate those issues to change for the better. I have spent far to much time in this thread refuting based on facts that other countries pro-actively look at these issues on a regular basis only to be called incorrectly racist just because I am white, so like January I will be calling it a day and bowing out. I am all for open discussion however, when you're faced with people that are so closed minded to only their cause, their race or their country and don't look at facts as a whole it is a never ending battle that leads no where.

Ah Beth, knew you would hop on by and post something like usual without actually reading someone's post. Pray tell, where in my posts did I ever mention that Australia didn't have racial issues or is a bastion of acceptance? I never said any such thing. I did say however that we have progressed forward positively in tackling racism like other countries around the world far better than America. That is what Americans like you fail to understand. I even mention that I support helping Aboriginal or Minorities in removing racism or abuse directed at them. Many of past protests or protestors have also been told by Aboriginal elders specifically to stop protesting as they don't want it, as it negatively impacts on the good they are trying to do in their own community but that falls on deaf ears. There are peaceful ways of doing things that are proven to work. Mabo is a great example and leader where he pursued and won in the high court land right changes. He as well as other elders etc, know that changes can only be made directly to the high court or government, however since around 2017 this has changed with the indoctrination of average Australian teens in thinking they know better. Let me quote what Mabo's wife said in 2004, of which I struggle to think what she would think of what is happening now. I underlined the key points just to make it clear to you. You see, by not encompassing ALL races including whites like the BLM protests do and segregate one particular race out you draw boundary lines rather than as she said caring and sharing as a whole the country. She wanted inclusion of all sure however she also acknowledges just like the Aboriginal Elders do that they need to improve their own systemic issues to help move the process forward. No, those problems don't just come down to racism but the fundamental drug and alcohol issues that have effected them for decades which impact on the future health and prosperity. No I'm not being racist in saying such things either. It is acknowledged by the aboriginal communities that those two things are a huge issue and they have been working with the government in ways to fix the issue by having their welfare payments exclude the ability to purchase such items. No one denies that racism exists in Australia or any other country and despite other commenters in this thread suggesting I have, I haven't at all. That said we also don't believe (apart from a select few) that calling for the removal of statues of our first prime minister or Captain Cook will achieve anything and also shows the ignorance of the younger generation in suggesting such things or even their ignorance of Australian history in thinking Cook had anything to do with racism or killings towards natives of Australia. Why remove a statue of him when he wasn't negative at all in those ways. I do accept that he fired a shot wounding an native person as a reaction to having stones thrown at him, but he specifically states it wasn't his intention and shows he wanted to peacefully land his boat and say hello and give the gifts he was trying to give. But what do I know, you seem to only listen to non whites perspective, so here is one https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-04-20/captain-cook-history-what-we-often-get-wrong/12042438 Notice how she and her community went out to find the truth and found out that Cook wasn't as she says "the boogyman" she was told. Also a lot also comes down to lack of education on the other side, hence why we learn about aboriginal culture in our school education. Education goes a long way in helping resolve situations like this and once that self education is made, healing can happen between all parties without any boundary lines.

Ill do that when your movements stop coming to my country and cause issues.

Oh dear, in such a thread not the wisest choice of phrase: https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/gone-with-the-wind-racist-hbo-max-trump-scarlett-o-hara-a9558531.html I don't care what you say, ill continue to support native aboriginal rights in Australia and support minorities subjected to racial prejudice in Australia. If wanting rights for all and to solve racism in one go as a whole rather than a select group makes me a racist so be it.

Odd, I'm sure I said something to that effect let me see... Oh yes, here it is: You were saying, its written in black and white in my post you clearly glazed over. I fully acknowledge that the act of slavery was racist. Its hard not to believe or acknowledge that when a select race is removed from their homeland for the SPECIFIC reason to be a slave. What I did also say however was refuting your claim that the south went to war because they were racist. They may have been racist however they went to war to protect the only livelihood they knew, irrespective of how racist that was. Also find it highly amusing that you suggest with your tone and sentence that slavery was only inherently a racist system in the USA, it was a racist system EVERYWHERE. EDIT: Where the romans racists? They had slaves of all races including their own race and treated many of them like their own child. Hence why I said later that the slavery system or servitude isn't necessarily racist, it is entirely based on how it is run.

Well I have to say if this is what the so called BLM movement is suggesting then I will not be supporting it any longer. No you don't need to define the term. I know what it is and can say with 100% certainty that I am not racist. To be honest, I also don't care whether you or others believe it or not. You see, this is the problem with Americans, you love them but they make it hard some times. They really are in a bubble all on their own and don't understand that we (the rest of the world) learn all about American history in depth in primary school and up as a form of learning WHY racism is wrong. We all know in other countries about your issues with slavery, the cotton farms, their mistreatment, the civil war and Lincoln. We are taught about all the racial issues suffered by Blacks during the early 1900's, the manner in which they were abused and hated upon wanting to attend the same schools as white. We know all about the lady that dared to sit in the front of the bus during segregation trying to force change and MLK, the LA riots etc., or the fact that racism has continued throughout the late 1900's and into today. So yes we do have an idea, understand and know the issues they have faced for hundreds of years. We are also however taught about other countries such as the issues suffered by the Poles, Ukrainians, Muslim, Hindu, Jews, gypsies, and other ethnic minorities etc. We are taught from early childhood over here and in the rest of the world already about all the issues regarding racism and have been taught that for decades so as to change the way of thought and try to move forward in resolving those issues. WE ARE NOT AMERICA. That said, I bet you 1L that you never learnt about Australian history in American schools. How the Europeans decimated the native tribes or the cases of slavery. I also bet you weren't taught of the stolen generation or those people that were kind and positive to them. How they were given jobs early on and helped the police force as trackers or how they proudly served in both world wars fighting alongside their fellow WHITE Australian mates. How they were given back vast swathes of protected land (the biggest in the world) so as they can continue with their culture without interference from anyone else. How they were excluded from the constitution but added in after PEACEFUL protests and the populace acknowledged how wrongly they were treated. Given greater opportunities that the rest of the population along with better healthcare or were apologised to for the wrong doings from the government and the populace. Just like I am sure you aren't aware that Australia was the first to give women the right to vote or one of the first to allow women to work after child birth or one of the first to offer equal opportunities to everyone. America has always and still does focus inwards and not outwards. Hence why you get people like in that video posted above that generalise everyone in one race based on one country without knowing facts about other places in the world. The reason why there is so much angst with the BLM movement from other countries is, as mentioned, not only does it segregate one race instead of inclusion of all other races having the same racial issues but it also infects other countries that don't suffer the same issues that America suffers and instigates violence and riots where there are diplomatic and lawful avenues (far greater than offered in America) in place to solve such things. I would be able to find numerous cases in Britain, Australia, France, Germany, anywhere where police treat all races with the same disregard or regard to life not just one select group. But the BLM movement still continues to carry on in those countries as if it was America facing an issue with only one race. With the so called BLM movement in those other countries tagging along for the ride but falling to understand those very countries have also tried to help those issues like police brutality by things like removing guns from police officers in favour of tasers, offering better training ore listening to the populace and making changes they suggest etc. The first thing an officer in almost any other country goes for in a threatening (non gun related) situation is the non life threatening taser, America however the first thing they go to is the gun. As much as you don't want to hear or believe it your (American) society is broken. While the rest of the world has moved on trying to tackle positively and succeeding in attempting to fix such brutalities or racial issues America stagnates living in yesteryear hoping for change, protesting for change but doing nothing to change it. They also then selectively choose which ally or enemy they are going to support and when and as the "keepers of the free world" ignore issues such as posted by January or leave a trail of decimation in their wake such as in Iraq based on false information just to invade a country. America has issues, always has and from what the rest of the world has seen is never going to change. But don't you or others dare imply like some above that the rest of the world is against removing racism or are racist because they are simply white. If you want to know why other countries of the world land in this forum trashing BLM movement look no further to the insulting posts by people like Ashlyn Voir and you should get an understanding as to why they feel that way.

Good heavens, I have to wonder to what they are teaching children in America and also am concerned about the future world after watching that video. So her entire stance is because I am born white in a multicultural country like Australia I am already racist from day one. Great logic that is. A country which provides more benefits and opportunities to its indigenous people than it does its white citizens and a country where laws are already in place to stop anti racial and discrimination. That is to say far better society than America. You have also 100% proven my point that all Americans live in a secluded little bubble away from the rest of the world whereby they think EVERY place is exactly like America, suffers the same issues etc. The mere fact she actually generalises the whole white race at the start of the video and justifies her stance of that solely based on skewed statistics in one country known for its racial issues is absolutely laughable. So sorry I ask again how am I racist as a white Australian when I don't live in America or for wanting racism as a whole to be removed from society and not just focusing on one form of racism at a time?

Just because you are run that way doesn't mean liberal policies don't get passed. Oh, please enlighten me as to how I am racist?

I am sorry, I never grew up in a white supremacist society and certainly don't have any better benefits than other races where I am from however like usual the America liberal agenda and now this BLM movement spreads to other countries like a disease even though those countries are nothing like America or have its racial problems. So before you start pointing your finger at everyone that doesn't agree with your position, perhaps think about the fact that there are other countries outside your bubble over in America equally affected by this BLM mess and also other races besides black that are equally affected by racism INCLUDING white people. Everyone needs to remove racism entirely for EVERYONE not just one group or one at a time.

Agree. Sorry stealth edited my post whilst you were probably writing yours. The edit basically says what you said about doing it all in one go.

Yep, am aware of that, just wanted to make it a little more focused on how the average American felt back then with the Japanese seeing as the BLM movement is centered in the states. EDIT Also agree with you on all your points regarding the separatist attitude BLM brings. Racism as a whole needs to be destroyed in one full swoop. If we focus on one group at a time like Luna suggests, it is going to take another 400 years.