u/Purple_Programmer872

Not trying to start some oppression Olympics, but I’ve noticed something really consistent in Australia (and honestly online too):

A lot of self-proclaimed “progressives” who act super socially aware when it comes to racism against Black people will turn around and say the most casually racist, dismissive, or dehumanising stuff about Asians like it’s completely acceptable.
They’ll go on and on about Aboriginal issues, constantly policing everyone’s language and acting like they’re the moral authority on racism… but the moment Asians get brought up, suddenly it’s:

“Asians are the most racist anyway”

“Stop complaining, you’re doing fine”

“Model minority, you guys are privileged”

“At least you’re not Black/Indigenous”

“You don’t face real racism"

And if you bring up anti-Asian discrimination, hiring bias, bullying, COVID racism, dating racism, etc, you get treated like you’re being dramatic or trying to steal attention.

Meanwhile if someone said even half that stuff about Black people, they’d get absolutely nuked socially (as they should).

But with Asians, it’s like people feel safe being openly disrespectful, because they assume Asians won’t clap back, or they think we’re too “successful” to be allowed to talk about racism.

It’s honestly a weird mix of jealousy, stereotyping, and this idea that Asians are only allowed to exist as either:

quiet worker bees, or

convenient pawns in political arguments.

And the funniest part is these same people will call themselves anti-racist.

Has anyone else experienced this in Australia?
Why do you think anti-Asian racism gets treated like it’s not serious, even by people who claim to be progressive?

I’ve noticed a pretty consistent pattern when racism against Asians in Australia comes up, especially online. The discussion often shifts away from what Asian Australians are actually reporting, and instead turns into denial, gaslighting, minimisation, or outright deflection.

You see a clear bias in what gets upvoted, with some takes treated as “reasonable” and others getting buried or brushed off. Which ends up shaping what looks like the “majority view”, with people conflating that with reality.

What’s even more frustrating is when some Asians end up repeating those same minimising talking points, basically backing the same framing that downplays what other people in their own community are saying. These people are often used as pawns by White people to dismiss any dissenting viewpoints.

Even when people reference Australian-based stud ies showing Asians having the highest rates of discrimination among Australians, the replies often avoids engaging with that directly and instead reframes the issue in dismissive ways.

A few common deflections (tame versions) show up repeatedly:

"You’re calling Australia racist, but at least it’s not like *insert random country you don't live in and isn't relevant to the conversation*” (constant deflection to other countries)

"Other groups have it worse, so this shouldn’t be the focus” (comparative minimisation that shifts attention away from the issue being raised)

“If Australia was really racist, why do so many Asians live here?” (as if migration cancels discrimination)

“Australia is multicultural, so racism isn’t an issue here” (equates diversity with absence of discrimination)

“If you don’t like it, you can always leave” (shifts responsibility onto the person raising the issue rather than the behaviour being described)

“That’s just anecdotal, where’s the proof?” (dismisses lived experience while ignoring numerous existing local studies and datasets)

“I’ve never seen it, so it must not be common”(personal privileged experience treated as representative of the whole population)

“Talking about racism like this is actually harmful / divides people” (used to shut the discussion down entirely)

"I have Asian wife/kids/friends, so I know it’s not really like that” (appeal to proximity as authority, substituting association for lived experience of racism)

The last one in particular stands out. Proximity gets treated as expertise, even though it obviously isn’t the same as lived experience.

What gets lost in all of this is that the data from Australian sources consistently shows Asian Australians report the highest levels of discrimination across areas like work, housing, retail settings, and everyday interactions. Yet those points often get minimised or framed as exaggeration.

It ends up feeling less like a genuine discussion about racism, and more like people trying to defend a national image or avoid uncomfortable conclusions. They seem to love talking on behalf of Asians in order to downplay any issues.

Curious if others here have seen similar patterns or if this is something more specific to Australia. I've noticed America is a lot more open to discussing these things.