Anti-Americanism On The Rise

As an Aussie living in Queensland I was surprised to see the headlines in yesterday's The Sunday Mail:

AMERICAN students are quitting Queensland universities in the face of hate attacks by Australians angry at US President George W. Bush and the war in Iraq....

The abuse problem is so prevalent that US students are being given formal briefings before leaving home on how to cope with abusive Australians...

A female American student from Griffith, who wished to remain unnamed, said she had met some "exceptional" people in Australia – but was leaving this month in shock over her treatment.

She said she was desperate to go home after the slurs, which also spilled over at pubs in central Brisbane.

"They basically picked on me," she said. "At first, I thought it was a joke. Then I just had it out with them and told them I came here to be treated respectfully.

"I have had a few incidents in bars. I had a guy and he heard my accent and he said: 'I hate your president. I hate your country.' "

... Another American studying at UQ said attitudes towards him were 'scary'.

'It's unbelievable,' he said. 'It's been war. People are scared. It is hard to be an American in Australia at the moment, it is really hard. It varies with different people, but you have to be quiet and try not to draw attention to yourself.'

Obviously this is sensational tabloid journalism, but the fact that the story is running at all - and full-blown page one at that - is interesting.

The irony, of course, is that Australians have a government that fully supports all Bush's inane, illegal policies on Iraq and the War on Ahem!

I work closely with quite a few Americans. The atmosphere is a lot more professional than a bunch of students in a pub, so there is little chance of a brawl breaking out! But there is a very strong feeling nowadays that Bush and the Iraq War are just subjects you do not being up in conversation. When it happens, Americans tend to shake their head and talk about how ashamed they are of Bush and what is happening in the USA today. But obviously that is not a conversation they want to be having 100 times a week.

UPDATE: This story might help explain anti-Americanism in Australia, particularly given that Australian David Hicks remains in Gitmo without charge or even public evidence of wrongdoing, because our government says it cannot deal with his case under Australian laws:

Attorney-General Philip Ruddock has asked for a full report into the outcome of a US military trial of two Marines accused of a brutal attack last year on a young Australian in a Townsville nightclub.

The American military court which heard the case dropped charges against one Marine and acquitted the other earlier this month.

The family of Heath Twomey, who had his throat cut, is questioning his fate at the hands of the United States military justice system.

The Townsville student never had the chance to give evidence against them in the court and he was not told by either the US or Australian Governments of the acquittal, only learning about the case through the media.

It seems the victim agreed to let US military justice deal with the case after being assured they would make an example of the two Marines. The Aussie Attorney-General's concern seems to be limited to the fact that his department did not promptly inform the victim's family of the USA's decision.