The Discomfort of Strangers: Racism, Incivility and Ontological Security in a Relaxed and Comfortable Nation

Abstract

This paper explores the increasing experience of discomfort amongst migrant Australians and their children, drawing on two sets of empirical data—one about a sense of home amongst migrants and the other about incidents of racism towards Arabs and Muslims since 2001. The idea of comfort captures what Giddens calls ontological security, or the trust we have in our surroundings, both human and non-human. This sense of security, built on mutual recognition, is fundamental to our capacity for social agency. Migrant home-building constantly negotiates the displacement thrown up by the act of migration as migrants attempt to settle in a new country. Experiences of racism, especially since 2001, however, undermine the ability of migrants to feel ‘at home’, and hence their capacity to exist as citizens.

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