1/ Whiteness in Australia is always rebuffed by comparing ourselves to other countries, especially USA ("at least we're not as bad"). White people think our current politics inspired by Trump - a ludicrous fantasy. Racism has ALWAYS been bad here. It is the fabric of nationhood.
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3/ Official immigration, the White Australia Policy until 1970s. Hanson has been popular from 1990s TO THIS DAY. From 2001, rejecting international obligations to refugees, from excised islands to offshore detention TO THIS DAY. Cyclical moral panics over migrants TO THIS DAY
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4/ White supremacy is part of how everyday Anglo-Australians think about the nation (see Prof Hage's "White Nation"). It thrives not just because of neo-Nazi groups, but because White Australians perpetuate selective history & feel entitled to dictate what it means to be Aussie.
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5/ White Australians need to believe racism here is a passing aberration so they feel comfortable & removed from racism- ignoring every other racist episode in history, past & present. So, no, Trump is no inspiration. We have always had worse versions of "Trump," since invasion.
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