A comparison of Bill Leak's cartoon on the ugly face of nationalism and a photograph of Cronulla. The ethnic fault-lines have moved, and the caricature of the violent, dumb, crass, overweight, balding suburbanite is no longer pertinent.

These are the images side by side;

One shows the white suburbanite male which is more suitable to the era of Leo Wanker, and Nino Cullotta's "They're a Weird Mob". The reality is that it is kids, in board shorts, with massive biceps and bronzed chests causing the troubles. The bronzed Aussie is the ugly image now, which under the national myth is harder to dismiss than the slobbish suburbanite ocker.

When I was a kid the multi-ethnic faultlines in Sydney were Cabramatta, Liverpool and Redfern. Cabramatta and Liverpool were definately suburban and more fitting with the image of the suburban nationalist. Nowadays the McMansions and expensive housing of the suburbs are a haven from the violent nationalism of the southern beaches.

By the mid-nineties Belmore and Canterbury were developing as fault-lines. I can recall being at a Canterbury vs Penrith playoff game at Belmore in probably 1995/1996. Apparently there was a riot there, but I didn't see it - and I was there. So I am always dubious of media reporting and police reaction on these things due to my own personal experiences.

The fault-line is now the beach suburbs , we have kids fighting over that piece of Australian mythos known as the beach. The young bronzed Aussies are protecting what they see is theirs. It is excessively juvenile.

Leak's cartoon misses.