PJ's Notebook

It seems everyone has an opinion on racism.

Dr Charlie Teo's Australia Day speech claiming that it still exists in our society, got enough coverage and sparked enough reaction to attest to that.

People seem to fall into the following four camps: either you agree, disagree, think the debate is exaggerated, or believe reverse discrimination is just as prevalent.

I think all are valid. Which is why this is such a messy debate.

As a fourth generation Australian (who has inherited more of my father's Malay-Indonesian genes than my mother's Irish-Australian) I've copped my fair share of racist comments over the years.

But taking offence depends on who's saying it.

I have plenty of ethnic friends who happily banter among themselves and with white Australians - usually at the expense of a stereotype.

They'll argue that it's the 'Australian way' to be self depreciating, cheeky, and to push the boundaries through humour.

They're among friends and know the intent is good.

But if it comes from the mouth of a stranger, it's labelled a racist remark.

A contradiction, you say?

This debate is full of them.

I remember my girlfriend (who is half Asian), advertising her car in the paper.

"I'm going to put lots of 8s in the price to attract the Chinese; it’s perfect for them," she told our friends.

Exactly why was it perfect?

"It's small, safe and pretty much drives itself," she declared.

Some might find her connotation of Asians and their standard of driving to be crude.

Others may find it amusing.

But this is the whole point about the racism debate.

Some migrants have looked me in the eye and vowed there’s no racism in Australia.

On the other end of the scale, ethnics themselves can be racist.

Racism isn't just confined to our shores. It's happening all around the world and in more serious circumstances.

Let there be no doubt that some on this planet are paying a heavy price for being a minority.

You only have to turn on World News Australia at night to witness some of the atrocities in other countries, where racism leads to displacement, violence and death.

For Australia, the race debate is always going to be a part of us.

Ever since the First Fleet, then decades of the White Australia policy, followed by Hansonism and now the struggles with new arrivals - undertones of racism have been here long before any of us were born.

The country's dark chapters can be perfectly summarized on four programs recently aired on SBS: The First Australians, Immigration Nation, Go Back to Where You Came From, and Once Upon A Time In Cabramatta.

It's clear we have much to be ashamed of.

But at the same time, we shouldn't use our past as the only basis to debate the future of our wonderful country.

I used to feel a little squeamish talking about racism in the same way some people talk about multiculturalism.

Often, these two topics attract great big sweeping motherhood statements about how our country should be.

But with one in four of us now born overseas, surely we can do better than this?

We mustn't forget the countless success stories of ethnic migration, or the fact that our country is incredibly peaceful given the number of flags we have living under the Australian one.

As the topic of racism rears its head again this Australia day week, let's remind ourselves that somehow, we are doing a better job than most countries around the world.

That's something to be proud of.