Preview

Racism, I 'M Not Racist But'

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
864 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Racism, I 'M Not Racist But'
“I’m Not Racist...But”

Racism, an issue so normalised that it continues to be celebrated and ignored throughout the Australian population Welcome ladies and gentlemen, my name is Spencer and I have decided that today I will speak up on the issue of racism and its effects on our society, this will be done through analysing a poem's influences, ideas and implications. This is because poetry is a form of art and it is important to celebrate and study the abstract ideas and creative use of language that poets use to portray their stories or opinions on society. The poem “I’m not racist but” is what I have decided to analyse as it is one of the most impactful and meaningful poems regarding racism in Australia, this is through the harsh but truthful …show more content…
Dr. Anita Heiss - Dr. Being a determined, experienced author and ambassador, her reliability and motivation only grew from her poems, eventually leading her to accomplish multiple achievements ranging from reaching the finalists of the Human Rights awards and Australian of the Year awards. With these achievements and the name she earned for herself, she’s inspired thousands of Indigenous Australians to speak up for themselves against discrimination. The subject matter of the poem “I’m not racist but” revolves around the fact of justified and casual racism in Australia, this occurs because of how racism in today society has become almost normalised where more people have developed ignorant or stubborn responses to racism. Examples include the repeated phrase” I’m not racist but...”. The purpose of this poem would be to greatly influence our community to address and change racial assumptions in Australia. This creates a serious and inspiring tone while invoking guilt or regret on the reader to influence them to speak up against the problem. Examples to support include the constant harsh stereotypes the author utilises to create a hypocritical and stubborn character the poem is being read from. These can all be seen when the poem says, “Why are Aborigines so angry?” “Why don't they just get over it - the past is the past?”, “Why do I have to say sorry for something I didn't do?”, “I’m not racist but...”, “They’re all
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    A critical Analysis of Contemporary Racism in Australia: The Experiences of Aborigines
    • 1139 Words
    • 4 Pages

    A critical Analysis of Contemporary Racism in Australia: The Experiences of Aborigines

    Assessment Task 2 TITLE A critical analysis of “Contemporary Racism in Australia: The Experiences of Aborigines” INTRODUCTION This assessment was based on David Mellor’s report “Contemporary Racism in Australia: The Experiences of Aborigines. David’s report shows that in recent years contemporary racism still as a serious problem than it had been in last several years and also gives a research about this phenomenon.…

    • 1139 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    MABO racism
    • 541 Words
    • 2 Pages

    MABO racism

    I strongly agree with this statement because of his actions and personality throughout the film. My interpretation of this sentence is that Eddie is strong passionate person but he also faces the side of reality, that is, no one is perfect, and this is true what Perkins does to help us relate to Eddie and feel sorry for him.…

    • 541 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Social Determinants of Health
    • 10946 Words
    • 44 Pages

    Social Determinants of Health

    Forrest, J., Dunn, K., & Pe-Pua, R. (2007). Everyday racism in Australia. Paper presented at the…

    • 10946 Words
    • 44 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    April Raintree Quotes
    • 664 Words
    • 3 Pages

    April Raintree Quotes

    Have you ever seen racism in action? Have you seen the damage it can do to a person, how it can haunt them for the rest of their lives? Discrimination changes people. It changes their perception of themselves, and the people around them. It makes them build walls and hide who they are in fear of more ridicule and alienation from their peers. The novel April Raintree by Beatrice Culleton is a prime example of the affects racism can have on people, and shows how drastically it can change them and their outlook on the world.…

    • 664 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Examples Of Systematic Oppression In To Kill A Mockingbird
    • 615 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Examples Of Systematic Oppression In To Kill A Mockingbird

    In today’s America, there is still prejudice against people of colour. America today is known for freedom and equality, hopes and dreams. However, even though these terms are meant for everyone, not everyone…

    • 615 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Racism In Black Like Me
    • 741 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Racism In Black Like Me

    America has grown and developed exponentially positive throughout the past centuries. We have won two world wars and expanded basic human rights to all females and colored people but one brutal fact remains, racism is still very alive. Although it is nowhere near as bad and cruel as it was during the 1950’s (as “Black Like Me” depicts so accurately) racism is absolutely unacceptable even if it is miniscule. John Howard Griffin courageously went against the overwhelming wave of popular racism in America and dissected the truth and made it public for all people to know about. He used a special medicated dye that temporarily changes his skin the brown just as the Negroes. He proved that most whites only discriminated against Negroes merely and ignorantly because of their skin color and not because their quality as a human being. I have completely understood the parallels that lie in between this book and today’s society by reading and comparing “Black Like Me” to modern society and pop culture. I understand that although racism has been cut down immensely over the past few decades it is still very alive and its ignorance and hypocrisy is a plague to the developing human race.…

    • 741 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Difference Between Justice And Injustice
    • 347 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Difference Between Justice And Injustice

    Claudia Rankine highlights social injustices that occur in the daily lives of people of color in her book “Citizen”. She put the wrong doings, prejudices and stereotypical situations against people of color into a collective story. It is troubling that these accounts occurred. These sort instances pinches something inside of you. A sense of irritation builds up. It puts into perspective that even in modern times such acts…

    • 347 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Best Essays

    Discuss How the Concepts of ‘Race’ and ‘Ethnicity’ Perpetuate Inequality in Australia Essay Example
    • 1675 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Discuss How the Concepts of ‘Race’ and ‘Ethnicity’ Perpetuate Inequality in Australia Essay Example

    ‘As concepts, race and nation are largely empty receptacles through and in the names of which population groups may be invented, interpreted and imagined as communities or societies’ (Goldberg, 1993: 79). Race and ethnicity are major contributing factors of racism in Australia today, and the continued racist beliefs of many Australians are the driving forces of inequality in modern Australian society. To truly understand how this occurs one first needs to understand the forms and effects of racism.…

    • 1675 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Best Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Sure You Can Ask Me Death Analysis
    • 645 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Sure You Can Ask Me Death Analysis

    What is race? We are all flesh in blood. We all bleed. Does this really make us different? After reading “Recipe” by Janice Mirikitani, “Puerto Rican Obituary” by Pedro Pietri, and “Sure You Can Ask Me a Personal Question” by Diane Burns, The answer is yes and no. All three of these poems show you that while we may all be human and experience the same emotions, we are not always treated that way. Race plays a major role in how we are treated and how we precieve ourselves. These poems illustrate how race can make one feel self-conscious, lonely, and misunderstood.…

    • 645 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Racism
    • 1138 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Racism

    In the novel Maus II by Art Spiegelman you hear first hand from a survivor of Auschwitz the experiences of the holocaust and the horrific consequences of racism. Race is something that has developed over time and is constantly changing. Race is something that is seen differently by different people. “There is a continuous temptation to think of race as an essence, as something fixed, concrete, and objective. And there is also an opposite temptation: to imagine race as a mere illusion” (Michael Omi and Howard Winant, Racial Identity 183). Race can be seen as something concrete or as something changing. “The effort must be made to understand race as an unstable and “decentered” complex of social meaning constantly being transformed by political struggles” (Michael Omi and Howard Winant, Racial Identity 183). Race hasn’t been and will never be something that is set in stone and will never change. As society progresses and changes over time, so will the definition and make up of race and racism. “We should think of race as an element of social structure rather than as an irregularity within it, we should see race as a dimension of human representation rather than an illusion” (Michael Omi and Howard Winant, Racial Identity 184). The most common definition for race (the word definition is used very lightly because race is something that is always changing) is “race is a concept which signifies and symbolizes social conflicts and interests by referring to different types of human bodies” (Michael Omi and Howard Winant, Racial Identity 183). Race is something that distinguishes “different” human beings apart from one another. Sometimes in the end result of this some humans are put “higher” or at a level of greater important than others.…

    • 1138 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Song of Hope by Kath Walker
    • 2236 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Song of Hope by Kath Walker

    This poem however can be indirectly confronting to those who don’t share the same viewpoints as Walker. good observation The also poem has a degree of stereotyping in the sense where ‘love your people, freedom to the end’ takes place however there none that really strikes out as it. The white Australian perspective above all is silenced in this text, marginalized are her perspectives…

    • 2236 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Racism in Australia
    • 1376 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Racism in Australia

    Racism is visibly a continuing pattern in Australian society. It has been prevalent for many years, and has infiltrated through many generations of Australians. It is a highly observable fact, yet often ignored. It can be seen that the reason for it, however, can be based on the poor education system in Australia. In my essay, I will be discussing how racism forms at a young age due to our education system, what is being done about it, racism towards ethnic students and how racism is prevalent in many educational institutions.…

    • 1376 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Racial Discrimination In 'To Kill A Mockingbird'
    • 934 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Racial Discrimination In 'To Kill A Mockingbird'

    We all know about it. We have all heard about it. But we don’t often think about it happening in our country. We think we are exempt from it. What is it? You may ask what’s so important for me to talk about it. Well it’s Racial Discrimination. I’m here to tell you that you aren’t exempt from it. It happens all around the world even in little New Zealand and not just in America or England but here as well.…

    • 934 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Racism
    • 1051 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Racism

    The first topic that is going to be addressed is stereotypes and dating. I am more familiar with this topic then the other two topics because I was the once who did the research for our group presentation about this. I came across numerous articles that were very eye opening to me. The first article I will talk about is called, "Is Love Becoming Color Blind?". I really enjoyed reading through this article because it had personal examples from three different interracial couples. The first couple was Kristina Adamski and John Phillips, who were both in their early thirties. In the article it stated that being an interracial couple has been less of a challenge because the two communicate their feelings, and they have a large supportive network of family and friends. Kristina also said, "The key is to have a diverse circle of friends and people who are open-minded." I think that statement from Kristina is very true and if everyone can keep that in mind then we could easily grow not just as people, but also as a country. In that very same article it also talked about blacks and whites, and how many people who are under the age of 30 who cross the color line without giving a second thought to race. That statement right there is a huge statement when talking about the positives to a color blind society. When you can look at someone who you are attracted to for their personality and not the color or their skin, that shows a lot about our country and how we are changing for the better. In that same article, another couple who spoke very wise words were 32 year old Paquita and her 34 year old husband Craig Morgan. This interracial married couple has two beautiful biracial children. They live in Atlanta Georgia where race is still an issue, but Paquita did state that "Race is quickly becoming more and more of a non-issue." Moving onto the next article which is titled, "Gender Perspective in Cross-Cultural Couples," it states that in modern relationships, the…

    • 1051 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Race and World Racism
    • 463 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Race and World Racism

    Those who do not fully understand what racism means and the effect of racism, racism is awful and many might not know but racism does not only leads to social problems, but in severe cases it causes mental illness and violence such as: self-harm, depression and harming others around. The other effect is that it causes the innocent victim to feel worthless, as though their worth only a penny, and also causes them to feel depressed and angry leaving them emotionally wrecked. As racism already causes social…

    • 463 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More