Resistance, Resilience & Racism: A Tale of White Ignorance and Everyday Complicity

Cheek's first external contributor piece!

Written by Ruby Bannatyne, Wiradjuri & Anaiwan woman and Asha Steer, Barkandji woman.

In the last two weeks Blak Australia has again been shaken by the preventable deaths of two Aboriginal people at the hands of police. Kumanjayi White, in an Alice Springs Coles and an Elder in Darwin hospital. There have now been 596 deaths in custody since the 1991 Royal Commission.

We write this article as two sovereign Blak women who, as junior academics, exist in a constant state of tension within the unnatural, colonial setting of the university we attend, the streets we walk on, and so many of our interactions with other people. In recent years, we have felt the causal link between the failed Voice Referendum and rising ‘isms’ in so-called Australia. Simply put, fascism, racism, sexism, classism and ableism are exponentially rising to a devastating effect.

This piece is us speaking back to the settler colony - A call to arms to Cheek readers to understand the role we all play, and the lives at stake in the systems causing these devastating events.

As you read this, you might think, “But I wasn’t there”, or “I can’t stop the police doing their job”, or “How is this my concern?” We are here to explain how action, and inaction, in our everyday lives contribute to the same system of so-called justice. A rudimentary system that causes the preventable deaths of Blak people at the hands of police, in our healthcare system, through poverty, gendered violence and domestic abuse.

In 2025, the scars from the failed referendum are fresh; still burn red and raw. In the lead up to and following the resounding ‘No’ result of the Voice Referendum, there has been a notable rise in far-right extremism and violent fascism in Australian society. This violent racism is not new to the Australian psyche as bigots have always existed, as has their racist rhetoric. However, following these public political displays or anti-Aboriginal sentiment, these bigots have been validated. The most recent example being the grotesque display of white supremacy at Northland shopping centre and Docklands in Melbourne.

Australia continually works to present itself as an increasingly post-racial, liberal society, built on meritocracy and a ‘fair go.’ In totality, this is false; A mirage of reality. Our government hides behind Acknowledgements of Country and a premise of egalitarianism, promising First Peoples a brighter future while holding our land and our people hostage.

The most violent events, the murders, shake us the most. Yet, on a day-to-day basis we are reminded of our proximity to grievous harm, by the incessant micro-aggressions we face while just going about our lives.

For us, this has looked like a colleague in the retail space demanding to know if we get everything for free, and customers saying “Ew, do you even know any Aboriginals?” It looks like outward, outdated classism and racism disguised behind a smile of apathetic ignorance. It is being asked how much Aboriginal we are, being told we don’t look Aboriginal and that we don’t fit the mould for white Australia’s perception of Indigeneity. It’s being told, “Well, you’re one of the good ones.” It is being constantly scrutinized, observed, attacked and fetishised - in almost all aspects of our lives we are belittled, glared at, overlooked and looked down upon.

Many people may claim to be unaware of the narrative they are contributing through ignorance, tolerance and silence. Many may be shocked to know that an ignorant remark or ‘slip of the tongue’ is a symptom of the same racism that murders our people then covers it up. The racism this country was built on.

This narrative is what Unangax̂ scholar Eve Tuck calls ‘settler moves to innocence.’ Anti-Zionist Jewish European scholar Alana Lentin calls this ‘white ignorance.’ White people hide behind constructed ignorance, innocence and naivety to reject responsibility for society's problems. In 2025 ignorance is a choice.

This ignorance, or construction of ‘settler innocence,’ is when white people find refuge in believing they have successfully removed themselves from the problem and avoided being ‘racist’ by denying the existence of ‘race’ and racism. It is a problematic attempt to resolve settler guilt and complicity by tossing the concept of racism around like a political and verbal football, controlling and redefining the narrative to fit their means.

So next time you hear something ‘ignorant’ or overlook racism around you, just know that you are contributing to the colonial-settler project. In 2025, ignorance is a choice. People who live in an apolitical bubble are the most dangerous people in this country. To show wilful apathy in the presence of minorities perpetuates violence and oppression. To this extent, no one is absolved of their complicity. If we are to look towards a shared future, we need to go beyond verbal football and confront the system head on. We are not the first, nor the last people to speak to this issue. If you take the time to listen, all the answers have already been spoken, they’re just being drowned out by the right white population.

Citations:

Lentin, Alana. 2020. Why Race Still Matters. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.
Tuck, Eve, and K Wayne Yang. 2012. “Decolonization Is Not a Metaphor.” Decolonisation: Indigeneity, Education & Society 1 (1): 40. https://jps.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/des/article/view/18630.

About the authors:

Ruby Bannatyne is a Wiradjuri and Anaiwan woman living and working in Naarm. She is currently undertaking her PhD at the University of Melbourne in both Indigenous Studies and Creative Writing. Her current research is concerned with Indigenous Feminist Standpoint Theory, Family Archival Research, Speaking back to - and overwriting - Colonial literature and Poetry. With a background in Media, Editing and Publishing, she has aspirations of Academia, Authorship and Politics.

Asha Steer is a Barkandji woman, currently living and working on Wurundjeri Woiwurrung Country and undertaking a PhD in Indigenous Studies at the University of Melbourne. Her research focuses on how Indigenous women and non-binary people experience community football, including both the positive and negative sides to the game. Asha’s research fits within the fields of sport studies, critical race theory, Indigenous feminism and gender studies. She has a diverse area of expertise, with a personal and professional background in youth work, elite sport, and education.