Racism the issue, not youth In the early hours of April 22,
police officers risked the lives of hundreds in Kings Cross by
opening fire on the unarmed occupants of a stolen car, shooting
the 14-year-old driver twice and a 17-year-old passenger in the
neck. Police then smashed the passenger's head on the road and
body-slammed him on the curb, which left him in a coma. Police
do not normally shoot unarmed teenagers in the middle of a
crowded night spot. But this was different, possibly because the
boys were Aboriginal. Days of racist mainstream media followed
while hundreds of people protested throughout the country
against government and police racism and economic enslavement of
Aboriginal people. Brisbane’s Aboriginal community held a rally
on April 24 outside Queensland parliament to coincide with
rallies in Sydney. Protesters said that the same kind of racist
violence was also used against them by Queensland police. During
the rally, two officers approached people and asked the protest
to move on or they wo