Ok, is it just me, or did the definition of racism change recently? Because Victoria's law enforcement bodies appear to have their own definition of racism that is different to what everyone else thinks it is. I mean, there was
this case of an Indian man and his wife being bashed with a chair and iron bar while being racially abused, that the police decided was not racist. That was one thing, but this next one takes the cake.
The
Herald Sun reports that Clinton Rintoull, 24, was earlier today jailed for the murder of Sudanese 19-year-old Liep Gony, which took place in Noble Park in September 2007. Rintoull received 16 years, while his co-accused Dylan Sabatino will serve 6 years for manslaughter.
Gony's death was a significant one as it led to former Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews announcing he would cut back the intake of African refugees, since they weren't settling well enough in Australia. This was after two white guys had beaten an African to death - which perhaps shows that white people aren't settling well enough in Australia. I wrote about Andrews' statement
here.
I have no problem with the sentences handed down, which are probably fair in the scheme of things. In that respect, presiding Justice Elizabeth Curtain got the important bit right. What almost made me spit out my dinner, however, was her statement that she didn't think the attack was racially motivated. Instead, she said he was driven by a sense of anger and frustration and a belief that violence involving a group of youths congregating at the Noble Park railway station was out of control.
Now sure, I'm sure he was motivated by those factors. But not racist? You be the judge - this is what Rintoull did leading up to the attack:
On 23 September 2007, Rintoull was involved in an altercation with a group of Sudanese youths at Noble Park train station, after which he called the police, claiming he had nearly been stabbed. Three days later, drunk and stoned, he sprayed graffitti on the wall of his share house which read "F*** the niggas".
He then found a pole and told a neighbour: "These blacks are turning the town into the Bronx. I am looking to take my town back. I'm going to kill the blacks."
He and Sabatino then came across Gony, who was drunk and walking by himself. Gony was no saint, and was known to the police as a troublemaker, but it seems he was targeted by Rintoull and Sabatino for no other reason than being a young Sudanese man. He was set upon in an unprovoked attack by the two men, who struck him 15 to 20 times with metal poles, cracking his skull. They left him and returned home and washed the blood off their poles. Rintoull told Sabatino's girlfriend at this point, "I bashed a nigger and I think he's dead." Gony was discovered by a passing motorist and taken to hospital where he later died.
Ok, so a quick summary: a man who because of his past bad experiences with one group of Africans, writes racist anti-African graffitti and tells his neighbour of his desire to kill Africans, then kills a man in an unprovoked attack simply for being African.
And this is not racist?
The judge's reasoning for this - that Rintoull had several days earlier made sandwiches for a homeless Sudanese man who was living in a nearby derelict property.
Ok, and this proves what? That Rintoull is not a monster but also has capacity for kindness? Fine; few people are totally evil and I'm sure Rintoull had a nice side as well. But if he could be nice to some black people, does that mean clearly he is not racist? Umm...
There are a number of different definitions of racism, depending on who you ask. But I get the impression that many people, including Justice Elizabeth Curtain, think that being racist means being a member of the white supremacist movement or something. Clearly, Rintoull was no Grand Wizard of the KKK, but clearly he had some racist tendencies.
As do we all, to varying degrees. Too many people perpetuate a racist/not racist dichotomy, which I think is unhelpful. We need to understand that in all of us lie various prejudices, which we can choose to ignore, or nurture, or act upon. His run-in with a group of Sudanese youths did not make Clinton Rintoull racist; it only provided him with an opportunity to nurture his racist thoughts, which he then acted upon.
In the context of the verdict, this matters not; whatever the motivation, Rintoull and Sabatino killed someone and have been punished for it. But for victims like Liep Gony, racism is a big deal indeed, and something we ignore at our peril.