Sequence 4 | Source: Cronulla Riots — How were the riots different to other recent riots in Sydney and overseas?
The remarkable thing about the Cronulla riots is that they were a protest largely by White, middle class Australians (and mostly young males) against those who have been characterised as alienated migrant youth. In terms of some of the key coordinates of social power and privilege comparisons — class, ethnicity and gender — the protesters were by and large relatively advantaged Australians, demonstrating against people who could be considered some of the most marginalised groups in Australian society. They weren’t from amongst the most wealthy, of course, but nor were they the battlers from, for example, Sydney's outer west. In this way the Cronulla events were not only different from the overseas events often cited in media reports — the riots in Paris, Bradford or Los Angeles — they were also different from the riots involving indigenous Australians in Redfern in February 2004 (Cunneen, 2007) and the disadvantaged community of Macquarie Fields in February 2005 (Lee, 2007).
Source: Greg Noble (Editor) (2009) Lines in the sand: the Cronulla riots, multiculturalism and national belonging, The Institute of Criminology Press, page 24. Republished with permission.
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