JAMIE HOTTAKE | Outrage | CONTACT
It’s fair to say 2018 is probably the worst time ever to be a marginalised minority and it boils down to one simple reason:
Racism.
Now before you go mad in the comment section pissing on about that time during uni that I allegedly threw a cat out of a window for a student film and shouldn’t be getting paid to write opinion pieces, just hear me out.
While once thought of a decent way for a white man to make a quick buck and stand out from the rest, people like me are beginning to realise that racism, when you think about it, is actually quite problematic.
Did you know racism affects approximately 7 billion people a year? That’s right gang, all of us.
Even white people to be fair, but I don’t know anything about those experiences, I only know about the experiences felt by minorities, by watching them happen to them – so that’s all I’m going to write about.
The reason so many of us are able to turn a blind eye to this is because if you’re like me, all of your friends are white – as is everyone on TV – so you might sometimes forget that people miss out on jobs because of their race before they even open their mouth.
The major problem Australia is facing is that people would rather watch The Bachelor than an SBS doco about racism.
Why isn’t there a show where a man has to pick a favourite woman from each race? Surely that would be a lot more relatable.
As it turns out, racism is like domestic contact sport, it’s something we are really good at. Yes guys, I know other countries have it too and it’s just as bad.
I can also confirm that some people of colour even get the words from hip hops songs that I’m not allowed to say, yelled at them. Excuse my appropriation but that shit is wack.
So what can you do about this? How about this, instead of yelling racial insults when you see a person of colour instead tell them how you admire them but it has nothing to do with their race and more to do with something else.
Think about it. They just want their race to matter as not as much as yours does. Give it a try. Try being as colour-blind as I have been since I learnt that expression at uni.
Racism starts with culturally insensitive comments and gaffes. If unchecked, those things can turn into wildly racist legislation and segregation.
So, heads up… Just stop acting like it’s a thing.
One way to do that, as I have learnt, is to make sure you never ask black people if you can touch their hair.
Also never compare your tan to their skin. Never say things like “I’m almost as black as you” during summer… That’s what I’ve learnt.
ABOUT THE WRITER
Jamie Hottake is a freelance content writer who identifies as Caucasian due to his white complexion and behaviour. He believes himself to be a citizen of the world and has learned a lot about the struggles of people of colour by asking his one Asian friend from work, and watching Get Out twice.
Previously having written for publications such as The Guardian and The Advertiser, Hottake switched to writing articles about his ‘controversial opinions’ when no one cared about his articles about the environmental impact of Australia’s mining industry.
His accolades include 2014 Buzzfeed Writer of the Day, 1995 Swimming Carnival Under 12s runner-up and that time he shook hands with Joe Rogan in New York. In University he also received a Reely award for his short film “Le chat qui vole” that he’d rather not talk about right now.
