Racism is wasting our time
...and that's completely by design.
Racism is Such A Waste of Time (And That Is By Design)
This is an excerpt! Read the full article here.
In 1975, legendary writer Toni Morrison gave a speech at Portland University’s Black Studies Center that contained this brilliant quote: “The very serious function of racism is distraction. It keeps you from doing your work. It keeps you explaining, over and over again, your reason for being.”
I could not get Morrison's words out of my head while following the racial discrimination lawsuit against Pauline Hanson in federal court last week.
When Queen Elizabeth II died in October 2022, Senator and Greens Deputy Leader Mehreen Faruqi published a tweet expressing condolences and criticism of the Crown. This upset Hanson very much, so she publicly tweeted a reply to her colleague: “It’s clear you’re not happy, so pack your bags and piss off back to Pakistan.” Faruqi was born in Pakistan and is a Muslim woman. After Hanson doubled down on the comments in Parliament (saying in a speech at their shared workplace that she would “take [Faruqi] to the airport”), Faruqi filed a racial discrimination lawsuit .
Which brings us to the events in court last week. Hanson was called to the stand as a witness, which means a day in court was spent debating whether or not various things that she has said in the past three decades were racist. Things like…
…Stating on Sunrise in 2010 that she wouldn’t sell her house to a Muslim person “because I don’t believe that they’re compatible with our way of life or culture.” When asked what she meant by that statement, Hanson said it was irrelevant because she never ended up selling the house.
…Stating on A Current Affair in 2017 that “you can’t tell the difference between a good Muslim and a bad Muslim.” When asked if this is still her view, Hanson said she doesn't know.
…Using white supremacist phrase “It’s ok to be white”, and attempting to pass a Senate motion declaring so in 2018. Hanson said she never knew the phrase had a racist history.
…Stating on Sky News in April 2024 that “we have Muslims in this country, getting married, getting on our welfare system, breeding, and we are paying for this; yet the politicians turn a blind eye.” Questioned on her choice of the word ‘breeding’, Hanson said she couldn’t think of another word.
…And, crucially, the nature of the phrase “go back to where you came from”, which is not racist because she has previously said it to Darryn Hinch, a New Zealand-born white man.
Hanson said “piss off back to Pakistan” isn’t racist because she didn’t know Faruqi was Muslim. That it was a coincidence she only chose to reply to Faruqi – a Brown woman – out of all the people who tweeted criticism of the Crown that day. Her denial will sound very familiar to many people of colour: “It had nothing to do with whether she was female, Muslim, or what. I was upset, I was offended by her tweet.”
Is this racist? Is that racist? What is racism? The responses and reasoning given by people like Hanson are rarely nuanced, thoughtful or in good faith. It’s a stream of denial, feigned innocence and ignorance.
This is exactly what Toni Morrison was warning about. “Somebody says you have no language and you spend twenty years proving that you do. Somebody says your head isn’t shaped properly so you have scientists working on the fact that it is… There will always be one more thing.”
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