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 Saturday February 16 2019, @12:40PM (3 children)
Rachel Dolezal finds your words to be bigoted and hurtful.
(Score: 2) by looorg on Saturday February 16 2019, @01:23PM
Can't we ask her parents instead? I would think they would be more hurt then her by her actions.
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Saturday February 16 2019, @11:17PM
Rachel Dolezal is a nutbar and should not be taken seriously. I honestly thought she was some sort of ultra-right troll upon first hearing about her, but no, she seems to be one of the few genuine leftie crazies out there...
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 17 2019, @01:48AM
Looks like she's been demolished by both Afropunk and The Root:
https://afropunk.com/tag/rachel-dolezal/ [afropunk.com]
https://www.theroot.com/how-i-know-for-sure-rachel-dolezal-is-not-black-1823604033 [theroot.com]
https://www.theroot.com/this-rachel-dolezal-tea-about-the-oppression-of-darth-b-1792903639 [theroot.com]
https://www.theroot.com/rachel-dolezal-booked-and-released-from-jail-on-welfare-1827328774 [theroot.com]
If we want to move towards a raceless society, then a white person "identifying" as African-American seems to reify racialist theory and is thus a counterproductive act.
Race is largely a social construct while gender binary largely is not, and so no, you can't s/race/gender/ (as Dolezal attempted). Don't even try.