Isobelle Mannix MEDIA RESEARCH ACTIVITY 1 THE CRONULLA RIOTS 2005 What occurred?

? The 2005 Cronulla riots were an event of mob violence that was instigated as a result of previous tensions between two different cultural groups enhanced by the media to cause mass protests and violence where 5,000 strong, alcohol-fuelled crowd targeted people of Middle Eastern appearance. When/Where did this occur? Initiating event: 4th December 2005 Cronulla Beach Sydney (lifeguard assault) Main riot: 11th December 2005, North Cronulla Beach Sydney Retaliations: 12th & 13th December 2005: Neighbouring Sydney suburbs (such as Punchbowl, Maroubra and Woolooware)

Who was involved? Predominately white Australian youths Certain subcultures of Australian society (such as the Lebanese, Muslim, Arab, Middle Eastern, Anglo youth) People of Middle Eastern appearance Police & Emergency services Media Why did this occur (contributing factors)? Shock-jocks tactics (such as Alan Jones those lot were middle eastern grubs) Right-wing government figures unprofessional comments (such as former NSW premier, Bob Carr, who stated people who couldnt fully accept Australian culture should clear off) Intense media attention on the 2001 Sydney gang rapes where commentators interpreted the offenders as of Middle Eastern appearance and the victims as of white Australian (where anyone who sought to ignore the racial aspect of the crimes were deemed un-Australian) The lifeguard assault being blown out of proportion and given mythical characteristics by the local and state media Over 270,000 text messages suggesting a bashing day being sent out that targeted Lebanese people These few factors all contributed to twisted and uneducated minds turning into racists with xenophobic ideals that lead to the individuals involved in the riots initiating attacks and retaliations.

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How was this represented in the media? Particular aspects of the media, such as shock-jocks and zealous commentators, suggested that the police had gone soft on the youth crime and cultural crime that was occurring in and around Sydney. They suggested that the problem had become out of hand for the force that was meant to protect Australian society (excluding the targeted subculture) and in turn, it was now the responsibility of the people to take on the role of the police. People of Middle Eastern appearance had become a central focus of what the Australian media reported on so the riots became yet another cover story on the topic. The media represented the rioters not at crazed extremists committing hate crimes clothed in t-shirts printed with religious and racist offence at the time but as normal protestors and continued to ethnically brand Middle Eastern culture as the cause of the commotion. In the aftermath of the violence however, the media transformed its one sided views and gave voice to the Lebanese and Muslim culture in particular and provided a platform for public humiliation for those who instigated and failed to prevent the eruption of attacks.

What issues did this raise in Australian/International media? Within Australia, the riots raised the discussion of how and why it was possible to ignore the issue of racial division in society for so long that it became an unexpected outbreak of violence in a country, which on an international scale, prided itself on its multiculturalism and open doors. Most predominantly, the behaviour of youth culture in Australia became increasingly questioned by the media as to how it became so extravagantly out of control and to this standard. Youth were questioned about their status of power in society and their ability to influence any form of change. The footage of the young man constantly repeating Im Australian too within a crowd until being attacked for looking Middle Eastern suggests a serious loss of identity being the other in society can endure. Making judgement on a persons worth by their appearance brought across troubling issues in Australian media and developed discussion about buried poor standards of behaviour in the country. On an international platform, the coverage of the rioting was not only reported on in multiple countries but labelled Australia with the stereotype as racist for what had occurred, in particular by Middle Eastern countries. The minority who carried out the riots were able to permanently influence the face of Australia on an international scale and within local subcultures.

What does this significantly say about Australian society? The riots brought forth the conclusions that Australian society considers a persons worth of belonging to an elite country based on their natural appearance, not their merit. By merging these individual subcultures, Lebanese/Muslim/Arab/Middle-Eastern, into one and labelling them as un-Australian, promotes the ideas that Australia is not the friendly and multiculturalist welcoming

Isobelle Mannix society that it presents itself to be, especially in international advertising, nor is it harmonious in everyday functioning with cultural difference. Having let crime flourish and become the supposed only answer to an issue that has developed over the number of years before the rioting occurred, presents two significant problems. The first being that Australias law enforcement and political body either ignored this issue for too long or let the country down in not being able to apprehend an outbreak of violence occurring and the second being that both the media and previous generations have educated the younger people in Australian society to believe that crime is the solution to a problem, its okay to be openly racist and to not be open to embracing or educating themselves in diverse cultures. Most astonishingly, the face of Australia has become polluted through the actions of the minority and the minoritys irrational version of the other. Their view, that is, the view of uneducated, young Australian extremists, is that the other consists of not people unaccustomed to Australian culture but rather any individual of Middle Eastern appearance. This basis of race furthers both the Australian racist image but brings to the surface the underlying issue of the behaviour of youth. The language and symbols used in the riots were of a disgustingly offensive nature but were obviously deemed appropriate by the rioters themselves, no matter how inaccurate. Here, the Australian culture was used as a weapon (Damien Murphy, journalist), not to produce ethnic harmony. References: Skelton, R, 2004. Message of peace not enough for hotheads. The Age Online, 04 December Media Watch. 2006. FRONT PAGE - JONES AND CRONULLA. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/transcripts/s1574155.htm. [Accessed 12 April 14]. Grewal, K, 2007. THE YOUNG MUSLIM MAN IN AUSTRALIAN PUBLIC DISCOURSE . Transforming Cultures eJournal, [Online]. 2/1, 116-134. Available at:http://epress.lib.uts.edu.au/journals/index.php/TfC/article/view/599/546 [Accessed 12 April 2014]. AbuSufyaan. (2008). Nine Sunday Cover story 2006 cronulla riot. [Online Video]. 19 November. Available from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYiAAxZWyys. [Accessed: 12 April 2014]. AbuSufyaan. (2008). Sixty Minutes : after the riots Part 2. [Online Video]. 26 September. Available from:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRMWFY8dVSg. [Accessed: 12 April 2014]. SBS. Unknown. Cronulla Riots. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.sbs.com.au/cronullariots/. [Accessed 19 April 14].