For Those Considering Blaxit, I Present to You: Melbourne (Yes, Australia)

Australia exists within a geopolitical vacuum and has one of the most casually accepted cultures of racism I’ve ever experienced. It’s a culture where refugees are held illegally in offshore detention camps, with minimal public outcry. It’s one that puts immigrants and other people in a hierarchy, where Southern Europeans are near the top, followed by Asians, African Americans and then Africans, Arabs and Aborigines (for whom their hatred burns eternal). But even though World War II gave Australia a certain reverence for Americans, including black ones, the fetishism and ignorance around race and diversity make even the most flippant “Hey, Macy Gray!” or “I love black men” comments all the more repugnant.