Under the cut: links, racism, some gross business

Background: a week ago Elijah Doughty, 14-year-old Indigenous kid in Kalgoorlie, was riding a motorcycle when he was hit by a ute and died. The motorbike was allegedly stolen, and the owner of the ute is linked to the motorcycle (what does that mean? Presumably that the 55-year-old white dude owns the motorcycle. But that’s pure supposition, full details of the matter haven’t been released to the press, so don’t take our word for it).

Last week, the dude driving the ute was charged with manslaughter (rather than murder or something), and so some shit went down outside Kalgoorlie courthouse. Why riots over this one incident? Well:

Police Minister Liza Harvey said she had heard allegations of a pattern of retribution in Kalgoorlie, where the owners of stolen dirt bikes had been hunting down the thieves.

What this means, BASICALLY, is that white fellas have been doling out vigilante justice against black fellas all over Kalgoorlie. That’s what it means. It means a 55-year-old white dude decided the way to get back at a 14 year old kid for stealing his bike was to run him over. Which is super proportionate. Totally.

It will not surprise you to learn that there is a whole lot of racism in Kalgoorlie. This post at JJJ’s Hack is good reading: Racist. Violent. Deleted: The Facebook posts dividing Kalgoorlie. (I was going to excerpt some of it, except the posts on there are so disgusting I honestly couldn’t do it, not even to entice you to go read it. Just go read it.)

Further reading:

On Black Rage, New Funerals, And The Exhausting Resilience Of Our Mob is a great piece by Nayuka Gorrie, and it includes a how to if you wanna support black communities:

If you’re not a part of black communities and wonder how to do your bit, here’s a good start:

• Don’t tone-police or give unsolicited advice as to how we should deal with our valid feelings.
• Call out racist shit because we are fucken exhausted.
• Go to the rallies in your city and demand justice.
• Share the good word, particularly of black media and journalists.
• Donate any spare coin to the families of the victims. Rebecca Maher’s family are fundraising for her funeral, headstone and children. You can donate here. Keep an eye out for any fundraisers for Elijah.

A fundraiser for Elijah: Elijah Doughty Funeral Fund

Indigenous media is crucial to the Australian landscape and it needs to be self-sufficient

Liz adds:

I have a love-hate relationship with NewMatilda (I haven’t forgotten how its old comments section was a breeding ground for anti-Semitic conspiracy theories that were somehow invisible to moderators), but this is one of those cases where the mainstream media actually isn’t covering this much. NM’s coverage has been fairly in-depth:

An overview of the mistreatment of Black Australians in the modern justice system: White Man’s Manslaughter. Black Man’s Murder. White Man’s Riot. Black Man’s Uprising.

A follow-up, with even more examples: The Indefinite Detention Without Trial Of Aboriginal People.

American, but relevant in this instance: This is what white people can do to support #BlackLivesMatter