Racism Still?

We are all different, that's a given!

Tony DeLorger © 2016

WTF! I took part in a focus group yesterday, is was about an advertising campaign for government projects. At one point we were to determine from about four different newspaper ads, which one was most suitable. The graphic was a male farmer passing a crate of freshly picked fruit to a market worker, and each picture had a different market worker: a young girl of Asian ethnicity, and older woman of European ethnicity, a young woman of Anglo ethnicity and a young man of Middle Eastern ethnicity.

In determining which was most appropriate, we had to discuss which would be more acceptable or relate-able to the general public and convey the simple suggestion of farm to market. I actually was stunned by most people, some dozen or so, who immediately related their decision making to ethnicity, and perhaps the political correctness or stereotyping of people to jobs.

I simply looked at the people and saw them all as Australians and thought for an ad a young girl was perhaps most appropriate for the equity of gender and youth being a statement of the country's future. Some thought the Asian looking girl was a political statement, some even relating China buying up so much of Australia made her a wrong choice, and the Middle Eastern man a perfect stereotype for the market worker. The older woman was simply too old to be working in a market and the young Anglo girl acceptable. My jaw hit the floor.

I was flabbergasted that every single person relied on labels to associate ethnicity to acceptability as far as the general public are concerned. Do all Australians think like this? Do we have to be a psychologist to make a decision about who appears in an ad? I'm so sick of ethnicity labels being used to determine everything in this, our multicultural society. Surely we can get over our differences, skin colors, backgrounds and live together without quoting us or them.

Looking at everyone as being different just separates us, rather than accepting those differences as just what we were born with and nothing more.