In my books, once someone makes a blatant racist remark/joke/comment, and later apologises because they got caught out, it doesn’t mean they made a mistake, or made a gaff. It means they have racial bias against a community /group of people and that it is how they see that particular community/group. And the mayor of Gold Coast – Tom Tate is that type of person and has racial bias against anyone who is Chinese/Asian. He was attending a disaster management conference, and then addressed the media ( that is when he made the racist joke). This is his dialogue (via MyGC.com.au):
“When the storm comes and goes away the devastation’s still there for people who, the small thing like helping them fill their insurance claim and having a peace that they can stay and feel that they’re not in a hurry to find another accommodation.”
“You’ve got to segregate you know, you cant, everyone’s not the same. You’ve got to give them comfort.”
“You wouldn’t want to put a Chinese next to someone who’s got a cat, you know. She might be breakfast.”
Later on that same day he apologised for the racist “joke” and in a statement said:
“I apologise for my clumsy sense of humour,”
“There was no intention to cause offence.”
Yeah, he can say that after he caused offence and it is this type of racist rhetoric which makes the society even more toxic. He also forgets that he is the mayor of the Gold Coast which gets tourists from Asia and the Gold Coast is slowly becoming a more culturally diverse region, and let’s not forget the investment the region gets from Asia. In addition, he is not the first mayor to behave in a racist manner, and let’s not forget how much worse Mayor Steve Christou of Cumberland City is – having previously made anti-Muslim comments, stating that Lunar New Year is not a Western celebration and hence Council shouldn’t invest in it, and has voted down a motion which is all about how “racism is not welcome”.…
What is our society coming to when we have provincial leaders like that behaving like this?
Image via MyGC.com.au
another pathetic a..ehole but that is standard in australia and sadly we and they don’t see it as pathetic!!