What's Goin' On

I would just like to express my disgust and outrage at what has been happening in Cronulla lately. I've only been reading what's been happening on Ninemsn, so I feel as though I don't quite have the whole picture on it, but it sounds pretty ugly, and ridiculous, and closed-minded.
People with no shirts on, draped in the Australian flag with racist slogans painted on them, attacking people who don't LOOK like them? I feel ridiculous just writing this, and knowing that this is going on where I'm from, a place I thought had ascended this, or was at the very least on the way to doing so...and our illustrious PM has said that there ISN'T an undercurrent of racism in Australia...he, the creator of the Pacific 'Solution' in 2001, a totally disproportionate response to an illegal immigrant situation...it's always been there, but to know that there are surprisingly large numbers of people, calling themselves 'Australian', who hide behind and denigrate a national symbol, happily submitting to some sort of mob mentality, that are ACTING upon these feelings?
I've always thought that to call yourself Australian is to EMBRACE multiculturalism, to uphold the belief that someday we might all be able to put aside these prehistoric habits and take the the more difficult path, that is, to love our fellow man, wherever he may come from.
I know I'm saying things that you my dear friends would already agree with, but I just had to get it out for a bit...more hopefully positive entries soon...