Moving beyond labels for people and groups
PERHAPS we needed the United States to elect Donald Trump President and the United Kingdom to vote for Brexit so we had an opportunity to learn the lessons and the dangers of division within a society.
I don’t follow US politics closely, but many who do believe that a decisive moment in the 2016 Presidential race occurred when Democratic Party candidate, Hillary Clinton, labelled a group within her own nation “deplorables”. It’s a bit of a stretch to deride and diminish a group of people in public and then seek their vote as the day of the election approaches.
In our own town, in our own nation, the same lesson can be learnt. There is little to be gained by labelling people as ignorant, racist, red neck or bigot if they are genuinely expressing fear about where they feel things are going for us as a society.
In the afterglow of this year’s Carnival of Flowers I heard two conflicting views of the one event. It was Saturday afternoon and friends who live in the vicinity of Queen’s Park could not help sharing their pride and joy at observing the cultural diversity of people participating in our city’s premier event. From their vantage point they observed a sea of colour and culture which made them proud.
Another view of the same event came to my attention. This view went along the lines of “It was hard to spot the Aussie at the carnival concert on Saturday night.” It is easy and simplistic to cast the first view as liberal and honourable and the second view as ignorant and racist, but therein lies the danger.
English singer, songwriter and activist, Billy Bragg, is currently visiting our shores. His latest musical offering, Bridges not Walls, features a song titled Full English Brexit.
My neighbours don’t drink at the local
Or have kippers for breakfast like me
The food that they eat smells disgusting
They’d rather drink coffee than tea It’s true that their kids are respectful
They gave me their seat on the bus But it’s just that there’s so many of them
That I fear what will become of us I’m not racist, all I want is
To make things how they used to be But change is strange and Nobody’s listening to me What is refreshing, challenging and startling about this song is that it gives voice to the very real fears that brought about the Brexit vote. It doesn’t judge, or deride, or put down; it simply sits and listens to the voice of concern, and indeed, fear.
Many of us believe that the colour of your skin, the God you pray to, the clothes you wear or the food you eat do not make you Australian. I would argue that this is actually a key Australian value. But people in this camp must do better when it comes to identity politics. It is not good enough to simply label somebody with a different view from mine, a red neck, a hick, a racist or a bigot. History is replete with examples of social disasters brought about by one group within society being made to feel that they don’t belong and that nobody is listening to them.
The only option we have is genuine, respectful dialogue. This is not just a lofty ideal. Last Sunday a local gem of an organisation, Positive Empathy and Community Engagement (PEACE), held their annual Christmas party in Laurel Bank Park. In a very short time, with next to no resourcing, PEACE has achieved much. This group brings people of different backgrounds together to explore and celebrate their common humanity. Something as simple as sharing coffee, cake and conversation or providing a meal for our city’s homeless has brought about a sense of belonging for all.
PEACE shows us what is possible when we move beyond labels for people and groups.