James Crafti, a writer and community activist, argues that nationalism cannot eradicate racism, we need internationalism instead.
When racist intimidation prompted the removal of an Australia Day billboard featuring two Muslim girls, people were rightly outraged.
The same bigots who complain that Muslims wont assimilate to white culture are enraged when Muslims proved they were capable of just that.
This billboard is just the latest in a long line of attempts to make Australian nationalism acceptable.
Racism not only continues today but is intrinsic to what Australia is. From the horrors of Don Dale prison, to the torture of refugees in offshore camps, to the fact that we now have an Australian parliament more full of anti-Muslim rhetoric than ever before.
There is a reason why the Australian flag can be seen draped over extreme-right politicians like Pauline Hanson and Neo-Nazis in the United Patriots Front, the same reason why the flag is the symbol of the Cronulla Riots, and why Australian politicians have a large row of flags behind them each time they announce a new anti-refugee policy.
It is because Australian nationalism has always been anti-ethnic and anti-Aboriginal.
Co-opting minorities into nationalism is no solution. We need internationalism instead.
James Crafti is a writer and community activist
