The Daily Telegraph makes a big deal about Australian hate videos on YouTube:
Sickening racist videos spread
MORE hate videos have emerged on YouTube after the Daily Telegraph revealed homemade footage celebrating Cronulla revenge attacks and tirades glorifying Bilal Skaf.
Those behind the original race hate videos posted on the internet could face criminal charges, NSW Police minister said today.
The videos - which were today slammed by Prime Minister John Howard, other leaders and countless readers - have since been taken down by YouTube, but a Daily Telegraph investigation has revealed many more involving sick 'raps' about racial 'pride', as well as random street violence.
Read more here. There are really two aspects to this story - videos of "random street violence" and racist rap videos. I intend to briefly have a look at both of these.
Videos of "random street violence"
There are a couple of things to note about this aspect of the story. First, I don't think any of this "news". It is no secret that videos of people in fights are being posted to YouTube. And such videos are being posted by people all of the world; it is not a problem confined to Australia. Second, it seems sensationalistic to link such videos to "race". This is especially so when there are far more videos of school bullying being posted to online video sites like YouTube that have absolutely nothing to do with race. Indeed, I am aware students posting videos of bullying and fights at school is a problem at at least one elite Brisbane private school. At the very least, language like "sickening racist videos" and "web of hate" seems deliberately inflammatory. Third, if you were to watch the videos of "random street violence" The Daily Telegraph writes about, while inappropriate, you would not find them "sickening". This is Hungry Jacks fight:
And this is Leb fight at Willi Beach:
All these videos really show are young adults acting aggressively. That young adults - especially male - sometimes behave in this way is simply not news.
Racist rap videos
The Daily Telegraph article mentions several racist rap videos. The lyrics to Wogs All Ova Sydney include "Leb soldiers taking over" and "When I see an Aussie flag I spit":
Another, Lebanese Pride references gang rapes: "We didn't rape those Aussie chicks, they didn't get gang raped, those Aussie chicks wanted it bro, I swear they wanted it it, then after we gave it to her she was like 'Fuck, you raped me'.'"
These are videos are understandably obviously offensive to many. However, the article appears to exaggerate the proliferation of such videos by stating "The videos are all linked to a seemingly endless range of similar videos" when all the article can identify are the above two videos, which were posted by the same person - aussie123pride. In an attempt to be balanced the article also acknowledges that "White Supremecists have also posted a range of hate videos". Indeed, a few quick searches on YouTube and you will find many more so-called Australian "white supremacist" videos than the racist rap videos the article focuses on. Here are two examples of these so-called Australian "white supremacist" videos - Aussie pride and Australian Independence Day:
That YouTube facilitates the communication of these videos to a mass audience raises the question of what should be done about the existence and communication of these videos. My personal feeling is that we should not try to suppress such videos. I stand by the comments I made last year in relation to racist blogs:
Australian law should not suppress speech; such suppression does nothing to promote the tolerance and understanding we all crave. You don't convince people that they are wrong by trying to shut them up. You need to hear them, talk to them, and allow society to debate the issues.
However, although I think that the creation and dissemination of these videos should not violate Australian law, it is likely that they would contravene Australia's racial hatred legislation. At the very least these videos contravene YouTube's terms of use. Term of use 1(C) provides (my emphasis in bold):
In connection with User Submissions, you further agree that you will not: ... (iii) submit material that is unlawful, obscene, defamatory, libelous, threatening, pornographic, harassing, hateful, racially or ethnically offensive, or encourages conduct that would be considered a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability, violate any law, or is otherwise inappropriate ... YouTube reserves the right to remove Content and User Submissions without prior notice. YouTube will also terminate a User's access to its Website, if they are determined to be a repeat infringer.
As a result YouTube is of course free to remove such videos from their website and such a decision would not be censorship as has not come from the government. There is nothing that compels individuals, organisations or businesses to allow all speech - and nor should there be - but the state should allow all speech to be heard.
