Sorry! Sorry 'bout all that!

I'm going to watch the telecast of the Australian Government's apology to Indigenous Australians alone in a locked room, so no-one can destroy my moment of pride with their racist bullcrap.

Unless I'm with my closest circle of friends, it seems impossible for the topic of race to come up in conversation in a way that doesn't have me boiling with rage.

I'm constantly amazed that no matter who they are or how smart they appear, almost anyone I meet comes out with some racist something or other after a while.
Being born into the race that's sadly on top of the pile, these remarks are never targeted at me. The offense I take to them is often written off as trivial or misplaced, like the thought of me standing up for other human beings is something strange and unnerving.

But I suppose that's the whole point of racism, the belief that some people are not like us. Not as good as us.

That's just crazy.

What's equally crazy is that people can seemingly hold these beliefs at arms length from the rest of themselves. I never reached down deep and flicked some kind of 'empathy switch' in my brain. I wasn't always this way either. My spongey teenage brain got swept up in the racist ranting of my peers just as easily as it was convinced to believe that my life would not be complete without Doc Martins.

I overcame both beliefs - those shoes were amazing comfortable, but took 15 minutes to put on each day - and it never seemed like such a big deal. The thought process was just "well, I like being treated good. Maybe others like that too. Maybe I should tell them how comfortable my shoes are while I'm at it."

I copped my fair share of crud at school. We all did. But it faded away. What if it didn't? That would suck. It does suck.

Taking a stance against racism is tough. If you're part of the minority under attack, it can be laughed off as self-interest. If you're not, it can be dismissed as empty altruism.

There is nothing altruistic in a belief that people should be treated well and on their own merits. My belief in such a concept is the self-serving one. I am a person, after all.

So I'm going to sit and quietly watch as our government expresses its empathy for a race of people who have been caused unneccessary pain. I will spend the rest of that week with cotton wool in my ears, so I can pretend everyone else was watching too.