Yes Australians are racist, however I’m not saying what you think I am. If we would be entirely impartial, objective, unbiased and sincere, then we would readily recognise that every human being struggles with racism in some form or another.
When I say racism - I'm talking about something coming from right in the heart - from inside. Most Australians DON'T seem racist to me - but inside we struggle with sin, pride and human nature.
Christ said not to judge or you will be judged. The Apostle Paul said "not to think of yourself more highly than you ought." Why would such admonitions be in the scriptures unless they addressed basic human shortcomings. The fact is, that we in our human weakness struggle with thinking that we, and OUR way (individual and corporately) of doing things is best.
However people are smart - especially Christians. We have been taught not to show favouratism. We know that racism is bad and so we do our best to act in a way which shows we are not racist. Some of us do very well and we treat others equitably and fairly. some of us make friends of others from a variety of cultures and enjoy their company.
I too have friends from other cultures - India, Sri-Lanka, Indonesia, European, Aboriginal - and I married an American wife. (Americans are culturally different to Australians) In my heart of hearts however I have always thought Australia to be the best place on earth.
I have been to Haiti, the USA, Bahamas, Canada, India, Sri-Lanka, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, The Virgin Islands, the Maldives and lived in Papua New Guinea. Not once have I thought any of those places, cultures, languages or ways of life to be better than my own. I ALWAYS breathed a sigh of relief to come back to Australia saying "there's no place like home."
Technically speaking I'm racist. I think my own "race" (culture, language, place and lifestyle) is better.
Having said all of this, I don't attack people, put people down, belittle or act violently. I dont denigrate or humiliate others. I treat them how I would want to be treated.
So my behaviour is definitely NOT racist. And that being the case, I am NOT a racist person. People around me don't consider me racist and my wife doesn't think I'm racist - but I am still learning to think of others more highly than myself. This is a struggle every Christian faces.
If I was to extrapolate my thoughts out and generalise about Australians I would say that most people are the same. Yes there are SOME Aussies who are racist in an obvious way. But the vast majority of Australian people love their life their way - and don't mind others doing things another way.
To illustrate - recently there was a rugby league game between the top Australian 13 non-indigenous players and the top Australian 13 Indigenous players. Most people in my community of Mt Morgan and most people I know cheered for the indigenous team and were thrilled to see them win. This confirmed to me that by and large we are not racist people in our action or intent.
If Racism is evident in an obvious external loud way - I believe it is only so because of a lack of understanding of other people. A great way to combat this is to inform, educate and explain.
In Summary - I think we all (everyone reading this included) struggle with pride issues - which is racism in its smallest form. However I think that in terms of our behaviour, most Australians are willing to "live and let live." As long as others act the same way in return - everything seems to go well.
