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Is a religious group a 'race' or isn't it? Is someone 'racist' if they publicly state their dislike of a religious group? An Australian tribunal has answered this question by ruling that Muslim is not a race, and as such, a person who vilifies them in public, an act which is currently illegal in Australia, would not have broken the law.
In 2016 Sonia Kruger 'called for an end to migration from Islamic countries' saying that she wanted people to feel safe when going out to celebrate Australia day. Sam Ekermawi, a Muslim, filed a complaint to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal claiming the comments were racial vilification.
The tribunal was unable to conclude Muslims living in Australia "are a 'race' by reason of a common ethnic or ethno-religious origin" and dismissed the application. This is an important milestone in the legal and cultural development of the ocean-bound nation which is still attempting to balance the melting pot of cultures and people who have migrated to the country from all over the world. This ruling may be a key threshold for defining what the word 'race' actually means in the legal and social and cultural context and how laws will be interpreted in the future.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 17 2019, @01:45AM (3 children)
Most biologist think humans are a monotypic species, while a few think differently https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19695787. [nih.gov]
Maybe migration, caravans, and sailors were enough to keep humans together as one subspecies. From what i've read taxonomists decide whether to recognize a subspecies or not. Which seems pretty subjective. I'd rather it be less subjective and more definitive.
(Score: 2) by Arik on Sunday February 17 2019, @02:15AM (2 children)
I'll give you my first impressions, it's politically incorrect and I bet there was some resistance to publication. I'm 100% in favor of allowing it to be published.
That doesn't mean I agree with it though. From the abstract it appears to moreso argue for moving the goalposts in terms of redefining very specific terms that I don't actually use. That sort of paper can be very enlightening, good reading for those that are unaware of the more subtle elements involved in making such a judgement - but ultimately I wouldn't expect it to provoke any sort of a reconsideration of my fundamental position; that all human beings should be presumed equal, and judged only on performance or examination, and certainly not on skin color.
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 17 2019, @02:34AM (1 child)
Yeah, I don't know if it's worth the trouble to read.
Maybe he really believes it, or maybe he's like some people that try to court controversy to get people to notice them.
Which makes sense when you have hordes of people all trying to be recognized.
Who knows.
Try not to let the trolls get to you,
later.
(Score: 1) by Arik on Sunday February 17 2019, @02:39AM
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?