Was "The Australian" right to publish this?

How on earth do people sleep at night? There's just so much fodder for moral outrage in today's world...

 

Maybe I'm to simplistic in thinking - or maybe it's my white middle age female coming out - when I saw the cartoon my first thought was "the universe helps them who "help" themselves".

Now - I don't mean "helping" by helping yourself to someone else's possessions, but rather people, family, communities being responsible for their actions and outcomes rather than blaming.

There was a fabulous doco on SBS Catalyst regarding nature/nurture that plugs into exactly what appears to be going on

Catalyst: Nature Nurture - ABC TV Science

 

MEDIA RELEASE: Nyland Report will re-invent system that failed Chloe

 

Emphasis added...http://www.cpt.org/files/Undoing Racism - Understanding White Privilege - Kendall.pdf

“ We need to be clear that there is no such thing as giving up one’s privilege to be ‘outside’ the system. One is always in the system. The only question is whether one is part of the system in a way that challenges or strengthens the status quo. Privilege is not something I take and which therefore have the option of not taking. It is something that society gives me, and unless I change the institutions which give it to me, they will continue to give it, and I will continue to have it, however noble and equalitarian my intentions." Harry Brod....

Peggy McIntosh (MPPeta Stephenson) claims that white privilege is an invisible package of unearned assets, special provisions and assurances which most whites are able to guarantee. She provides an exhaustive list of benefits which whites can expect to receive, but are not required to earn, from which I have selected several examples.

• I can, if I wish, arrange to be in the company of people of my race most of the time.
• I can turn on the television or open to the front page of the paper and see people of my race widely and positively represented.
• I can be sure that my children will be given curricular materials that testify to the existence of their race.
• I did not have to educate our children to be aware of systemic racism for their own daily physical protection.
• I can do well in a challenging situation without being called a credit to my race. I am never asked to speak for all people of my racial group.
• I can remain oblivious to the language and customs of persons of colour who constitute the world's majority without feeling in my culture any penalty for such oblivion.

http://www.usc.edu.au/media/1910844/Race-power-privilege_web.pdf.
In higher education, privilege means that Anglo- Australian staff and students generally:

• Will not have to fear rejection from their colleagues or classmates if they have different world views, customs or practices
• Will not consider their race or cultural background (including accent) as a reason for not getting a job or promotion
• Will not suffer from an absence of role models,sponsors or mentors
• Will not require information about the potential adverse impact of racism in higher education
• Will be familiar with the language of educational instruction and business transaction, including acronyms and colloquialisms, in both the student and staff environments
• Will enjoy texts and examples within the curriculum that largely reflect and affirm their own cultural background and experience and,as an extension, will accrue the benefits of a culturally-biased curriculum
• Will not be expected to advocate for their race nor have their behaviour judged as representative of all of their race
• Will not be excluded from social activities.

 

In this story from Cracking the Codes: The System of Racial Inequity, a film from World Trust, author and educator Joy DeGruy shares how her sister-in-law uses her white privilege to stand up to systemic inequity.