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The TV show Dumb, drunk and racist reveals some surprisingly honest home truths about the many facets of 'real' Australia

BY PAWAN LUTHRA

Ir's been pretty quiet in the past eighteen months or so on the " Indian students' issue" char brought diplomatic relations co a head between India and Australia. Safety measures have been pm in p lace; awareness has increased among the studems themselves; rogue agents have been Aeshed om who were taking advantage of the system. And while srudear nLLinbers may have dwindled , what's increased is the number of state premiers and federal ministers leading massive trade delegations to India to win back the lost dollar.

So if things are finally beginning to look cordial again , who's the dumb , drunk, racist who's raking all the muck up again?

Er, char wou ld have to be Joe Hi ldebrand, journalist. In face, that is how he regu larly introduces himself to us, ie, once a week, at the start of his TV show cal led, strangely, j ust char - Dumb, Drunk and lwcist.

1l1e ABC2 series, in which

Hi ldebrand takes a bunch of Indians aroun d the cou11Lry to decide for themselves whether Austra li ans are 'dumb, drunk and racist' , has been a surprise hit. (In fact, such a hit that Hildebrand has not stopped beaming ever since that appearance on Q&A the week his show opened).

Of course if you ask him , as I do , he'll tel l you the show is a success because of the "exceptionally handsome and charming host". Perhaps he could have taken his shirt off in the Bondi beach scenes ) Par comes the reply, " We would definitely have been moved up co ABCl then. Who knows, we could have go ne mainstream! "

Bur seriously, rlildebrand agrees char rhe s uccess of the show is not only that it helps shatter stereotypes for one audience, but equally, that it strikes a few hometruths for another.

" It is a pretty polarising issue really," he observes. " On the one side we have a group of peop le, typically the self h ating inner city type, who are convinced char Australians are dumb , dmnk and racist; on the other hand, we have those who challenge this assertion and are outraged that this can even be suggested! Somewhere in between, is the vase majority who are open co looking at th.is ropic and then forming their own vie\vs".

Ir a ll started with a news report momhs ago.

''.An American journalist who had worked i.n an [ndian call centre reported that the operators were trained to be aware that Australians are dumb, drunk and racist. That tr iggered the initial research by the TV production company Cordell Jigsaw, the team behind SBS TV's Go Back To Where You Came From, ro research this idea. They reseed the theory and then decided to go for it.

Tuey invited me co hose, and off wewenc".

Joe seems a narural fie for the program. As the Opinion editor for News, Joe has never been backward in coming forward with his views on issues which may have more of a slant co the right dian co the left.

How did they pick their ''guests''?

"We suuck it good with che four guescs from India, really. We had co find people who thought Australia was a dangerous and hostile place co visit, and so it was a bit of a challenge co gee chem on the p lane, as they were worried about their own safety in Auscralia, but we were able co convince chem. Th eir families were more nervous actually. I am glad co announce that we have got chem back safe and sound co India".

Radhika, Mal1.ima Gurmeet and Amer head off to various parr.s of AtL~tra lia in Joe's social experiment. They meet White nacional.ist protesters ac Vill awood, confused burqa-bashing anises in Sydney s Newtown district, hijab-wearing African immigrants in western Sydney, Cronu lJ a l ifeguards who fought for peace in the midst of riots , an Aboriginal elder in Moree, B&S revelers as well as communicy- m.inded mums in Mc. Isa, cacrle auctioneers in rnral Queensland, a hen s night pany ac the Gold Coast, a Pakistani ca.xi driver, a same sex couple, hostile Aboriginal women, and a hose of odier in ceresting people diac shape diei.r views on die peop le of di.is country and the issues ch at affect chem.

They also meet [ndian scudenc Saurabh Sharma the CCTV footage of whose brutal bashing in a Melbourne train was played incessantly on India's television screens , sparki ag outrage across che cou nuy.

Of the four, only one, Radhika, had been here before. An educac.ional counsell or, she was here looking to send her daughter co an Australian university, but encountered such racism chat she decided to send her co die US instead , and now gu.ides ocher smdencs away. Amer, a law scudenc, also considered Ausual.ia buc chose co scudy ac home in fodia. Mahi ma, a cal l-centre worker, frequendy encounters racist abuse at work from Australians. Gurmeet , a 1V news reader comes with his own sec views on Austra l ians. llieir own personalities unfo ld well in die show. RadJl.ika sll.ines di rough as someone with a lac of sensitivity; Gurmeec as someone who really wanes co change societies; Amir as probab ly the one who wou ld fie in best given his pany- loving nature, and Maliima as one widi wide-eyed innocence. All different, each has clever insi gh ts into die people and society here.

"They met for the 6rst time .in De lhi," Joe reveals. "But once die cameras were rolJing, they all became very close. In face, ic became like a Big Bramer House. They have all have struck a chord with die viewers. Amer is quire popular; and a loc of guys find RadJi ika very foxy".

They ask meaningful questions and seem co wane co genu.inely understand , which is more than we can say for die bunch ofludian journalises who were brought out here by die Austral ian government ac che height of die scudencs' crisis. (Their repom back home fai led co en l ighten , lee a lone all eviate anxiety for concerned families).

Mahi ma is terrified to learn she has co cake a train-ride along the same route and at the same time as when Saurabh was attacked (her facial expression suggests it will probab ly be like die 1947 era.in mac rolled into Dell1i scat.ion from Laliore carrying nod1.in g buc Hindu corpses), bur soon she is happy to cry her first beer. Gurmeec is polic.ically aware, but watch his inability to comprehend why a same-sex relationship sho1Jd seem normal.

Amer loves Sydney Harbour and die fast food oudecs and in Melbourne, 'd1e most dangerous city in che world for Indians' , wanes co wa lk on the streets at 2 am.

Radh ika feels a spirimal connection at Uluru and weeps as an Aboriginal elder describes die Myall Creek Massacre of 1838.

" I r was a life changing experience for diem all ," Joe reveals. "They were gen u.i nely surprised at what diey experienced: ac times cbe y were upset and rraumac.ised , ocher times chey were thrilled and screaming wi di lau ghter. They were terrified and endiralled , it was an amazing journey for chem."

Equal ly, it turned our be an eyeopener for him , coo.

" I 'm sorry co say it curned out quite differendy co what we had expected," he admits. "I had hoped we would be disproving (die stereotype) But I was genuinely surprised at die ambient racism on che streets of Sydney and Melbourne. The ugly stuff surprised me as people popped our of nowhere with statements of'White pride' or ' Go back co where you came from' in an open and aggressive manner. The surprising thing was how often and how unprovoked these sea cements were they made me very uncomfortabl e".

He continues, "Wh ile on one hand mere will be lovely people celling che Indians about how wonderful Australia was, some assho le will shout out something nasty and abusive. Thar just hurc me and made me ashamed. Especial.ly as I had just come back from Lidia aDd seeo the terrible poverty and extremes over d1ere, and realised how lucky we have it here"

So, does Joe H.i ldebrand , well known for his thought provoking pieces in The Daily Telegraph, believe char Australians are dumb , drunk and racist?

"I don t di.ink we are dumb," he replies quire decisively. "Bue we' re probably pretty dmnk , and a few of us are qu.ice racist. There are always a few racists in any country but in a counuy l ike Australia we need co have a stronger standard co adhere co. We don't have a war or religious conflicts or even much pol itical exuemism; we are an i.ncredibly wealthy country widi a suong moral and religious compass and a sophisticated l iberal democracy, so I don't see why we shouldn't be a more coleranc and welcoming place".

Would he like to reverse the CODcepc and cake a bunch of Aussies to India and sharter their stereotypes?

"Well, I'm chinking along che lines of a show called Smart, Sophi.sticated and Tolerant accualJy " he laughs in conclusion.