Wednesday 11 March 2009

Justice?

Andrew Bolt is stirring again. He will be accused of racism but he is almost certainly saying what most people think. Is it right to treat people differently in the courts on the basis of the colour of their skin?
It may be that it encourages people to continue to do the wrong thing. They know when they are caught that there will be a lesser punishment - and they may not be caught at all. Mmm.
What Andrew Bolt did not bring up is the even more vexed question of just who can claim to have a different skin tone. At what point do you cease being one thing and start to be another? Which heritage do you have a right to claim? My ancestors are white, Celtic and Protestant. Am I Scots or Australian? The law says I am the latter. Why then does the law persist in saying that someone with one grandparent or even one great-grandparent is something else? It has nothing to do with skin tone - you could pass them in the street and not recognise their ancestry.
The problem would appear to be more to do with taking responsibility for one's own actions - and it is much easier to blame your wrong doing on external factors. None of us like to be caught out but, for some, wriggling out is easier than it is for others.

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