What could be done to prevent the Cronulla riots from happening again?

Answer 1

Encouraging greater tolerance will always calm difficult situations sparked by bigotry.

I receive emails which promote bigotry and wonder why people who send this divisive material then complain about their targets, people of different races and religions, or even people who drive different models of motor vehicle, becoming angry with those they perceive as denigrating them simply because of their cultural differences.

We're all just people, all human beings, and the better we promote that concept the less trouble we'll have happening in our communities. Strangely, those who promote racist abuse and hatred also eat at our wonderfully diverse restaurants, frequently run by immigrants or their descendants. I wonder how the promoters of discord would get on without their weeknight pizzas, their Friday night curries, their Saturday night Thai food, their lunchtime sushi? It'd make you laugh if only it was funny.

Next time you hear a racist remark, or get a racist email, respond with a sensible and tolerant response pointing out you don't enjoy receiving such material and dislike the idea people you know might encourage bigotry.

How bad is it when grown men throw rocks at kids in school buses or women out shopping because they happen to belong to a different culture? About as bad as it gets, I think, in what we like to think of as our civilized communities. People such as Hitler - and many others - capitalize on this sad aspect of humanity for political or personal gain, achieving results which shame us all.

Help people who want to promote intolerance to feel ashamed of themselves; to understand people are just people, whatever their culture, their race, their appearance, or even their state of health.

My sons have been taken to be Middle Eastern, or Mediterranean, depending on who's doing the looking (they've the common Spanish-influenced Irish hair, eye and skin colouring of very dark hair, blue eyes and fair but easily-tanned skin ) and have been targeted by fools who depend on appearance to decide who to hate this week. When one of my lads gazes mildly at loud-mothed idiots in a pub and rises from his chair to his full two meter height, the sudden outbreak of tolerance is an amazing thing to observe. That rising from the chair involves no eye contact, no challenge, and becomes part of a trip to the bar to get the next round. But one of my sons observed after such an incident, sure, they won't tackle us but the worry is they're humiliated because they're so insecure: no matter how we pretend we didn't notice they were trying to start an incident, they'll still likely go off to find a soft target, to their disgrace. And it's true. Some people love to hate, live to hate, and all we can do is try to make that attitude seriously unacceptable. Basic good manners help, here, odd as that might seem. If we apply good manners to all social situations, we're well on the way to tolerance.

Interestingly, in my childhood, it was the Irish who were where Muslims are now in Western countries: considered lazy losers or terrorists by fools who knew no better. Now, the Irish are considered trendy. I wonder who'll be the next targets, down the track? And I wonder how many of those involved in the Cronulla riots, on both - or all - sides continue to enjoy both their kebabs and their fish and chips, no matter who's cooking them?