Indigenous Australian actor and playwright Nakkiah Lui says she was left âshakingâ after a harrowing experience with racism at a supermarket in western Sydney on Tuesday.
The 28-year-old Gamillaroi/Torres Strait Islander said she and her mother were standing in a queue at a St Maryâs grocery store next to a Sudanese family when a caucasian stranger directed âdisgustingâ comments toward them and said, âGo back to where you come fromâ.
âIâm shaking right now. Iâm at the shopping centre waiting to buy some bread with my mum, an Indian server and next to a Sudanese lady. An old White lady walks past and says âSpots the Aussieâ,â Lui wrote on Twitter following the incident.
âThe looks on the family and server were heartbreaking. My mother and I were shocked.â
The writer of ABCâs âBlack Comedyâ said she and her mother called out the womanâs racism, as âthis is the type of acceptable hate that breeds and grows until itâs rampant in societyâ.
âI look at mum [in] utter disbelief and mum says âYes, she said itâ,â Lui tweeted.
âSo mum marches over to her and says âexcuse me, I heard you say âspot the Aussieâ and that was racistâ. She says, proudly, âYep, I am a racist and Iâm proud of it.â I chime in âThatâs disgusting.â
It was at this point the woman told Lui to âgo back to where you come fromâ, a statement she said her family had been told for the second time in a supermarket. The other occasion was at Bondi Junctionâs Woolworths in Sydneyâs east on her wedding day earlier this year, when a white man said it to her father. âMy dad was reminded, whilst just buying groceries, this country hates him,â Lui wrote.
Lui told her over 40,000 Twitter followers that by calling out the womanâs racism, she was ânot here to change her mindâ.
âI try and say something in those situations, not to change minds, but to at least keep their shit behind closed doors. Do not empower or enable their bigotry by being silent. Iâm nervous and never articulate in those situations, but letting them know itâs not okay is important.â
She also said, âWhat makes me sad about this is that sheâs clearly not an empowered person. This happened in St Maryâs, a low socio economic area. This woman left the supermarket with no name bread and chicken. Theyâre the foot soldiers of Whiteness, of a system that theyâre not even empowered by.â
Chinese Australian author and journalist Benjamin Law praised Lui for taking a stand and not âexcusing racismâ because the incident occurred in a western Sydney suburb.
âGood on you for speaking up,â he tweeted. âI know a lot of people will use class and lack of education as a way of excusing racism but plenty of lower/working class and people without education arenât racist and hateful. And there are plenty of rich, educated racists.â
Professor Marcia Langton, the foundation chair of Australian Indigenous studies at the University of Melbourne, also responded to Luiâs tweets, saying, âIt wonât be the last time it happens because #whitesupremacistsâ.
Race Discrimination Commissioner Chin Tan also applauded Luiâs response and encouraged all Australians to âcall out racismâ when they witness it.
âWhen people in Australian society face racist attitudes and behaviours because of the colour of their skin, that is unacceptable and we must call that out and work towards solutions,â Tan told HuffPost Australia. âWe must always call out racism when it appears and condemn racial discrimination when we see it.â
Acknowledging that speaking up can be confronting and challenging, Tan said there are resources that Australians can refer to for guidance.
âIn June the Australian Human Rights Commission published a booklet called âLetâs talk race: A guide on how to conduct conversations about racismâ which gives practical help to have these difficult but important conversations,â he said.
Multicultural NSW CEO Joseph La Posta shared a similar sentiment, and said: âRacism and hate have no place in Australia. All forms of racism are ugly and offensive to our multicultural Australian society.
âIf it feels safe, speaking out can be a powerful support for the target of racial abuse. If you think someone is in danger, call the police on 000.â
He advised that âracial discrimination and vilification complaints can be reported to the Anti-Discrimination Board of NSWâ, while Multicultural NSWâs Remove Hate from the Debate website provides tips and resources to stay safe online.