I believe media is partly responsible for shaping the general public's image of Redfern in a negative aspect. Sure, the media is not entirely wrong in recognising that there are problems in Redfern and in The Block - drugs, alcohol and crime. But it is clear that when a problem arise in Redfern or when there is a riot etc. and if an Indigenous was involved, the entire Indigenous community would be put in the spotlight creating a negative image for its people. The media is a powerful tool which does contribute in shaping the individuals perception in which people will believe and assume that all Indigenous people in Redfern are drug addicts, alcoholic and nothing but trouble. It is unacceptable to criticise another person because they belong to a particular group. The media should focus on the crime or issue that involved the particular person or people but not pulling the whole - it's race and community.
I believe the media has focused far too much on the negative side of the Indigenous people in Redfern for many years. I will not be suprised to get a response from the public that when they think of Aboriginies in Redfern they associate them as trouble, no-go zone, drug addicts etc. To assume someone is nothing but trouble because they are an Aboriginal, to assume someone is a terrorist because they are Muslim etc. is wrong and it damages our social fabric. There are many great successes in the Indigenous community of Redfern where many Indigenous people are contributing to our society but the media fails to focus on the other side of the story. If the media continues to portray the negative side of Redfern, then I'm not suprised to see the problems in Redfern and The Block not clearing up. If you see your people in the news all the time and being called useless, nothing but trouble etc. and for the general public to believe that too, you will start to loose motivation to be good, to be that someone else because your not getting the chance.
The media should be careful in what they present as they have caused disharmony in the Indigenous community of Redfern where they are responsible for inciting racial hatred and violence.
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Yeah, I was chatting to the Hardware shop owner who has been in Redfern for 40yrs. He mentioned the junkies in the area as being one of the main problems and that most of them had moved on as the main street became more gentrified.
Erik and I saw a distinctly anglo saxon youth get arrested on the block. He was clearly high up the dealers chain (a nice car with an entourage of minders)- supplying drugs to the people who push off small quantities to pay for their own habit. Drugs are everywhere and as engrained in human life as eating. The distinction is legal vs illegal.
Anyway, my point is that the media finds black skin and illegal drugs a very easy thing to chastise. What about the finance industries abundant use of cocaine and amphetamines?
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