Celebration of an invasion
UPCOMING Australia Day events could realistically be marred by nationwide confrontations following the recent St Kilda community clash between far-right extremists and antifascist protesters.
Something is terribly amiss within our society when Senator Fraser Anning finds reason to unashamedly cohort with neo-nazis.
What a joke Oz has become when this type of racial confrontation is enacted on previously owned Aboriginal soil.
Since the inception of Australia
Day, descendants of the First Australians continue to experience outright historical humiliation while others celebrate in the style of barbecues, booze, two-up gambling and other true-blue “values”.
Give me one logical reason why descendants of the First Australians should feel compelled to celebrate this colonial-stamped invasive date.
White Australian, Xavier Herbert, author of Poor Fellow My Country (1975) wrote: “Until we give back to the black man just a bit of the land that was his, and give it back without provisos, without strings to snatch it back, without anything but complete generosity of spirit in concession for the evil we have done to him … until we do that, we shall remain what we have always been so far: a people without integrity, not a nation, but a community of thieves.”
Former JCU academic and historian Professor Henry Reynolds shed further light on Aboriginal history in his numerous books and research papers. Recorded history assumed that Aboriginals would eventually become a “dying race”.
Testament to that fallacy is the record amount of present day Aboriginal academics, doctors, parliamentarians, professional sportsmen and women and public service employees who are now making positive headway in many areas.
Another white Australian author Bruce Elder articulated savage Aboriginal massacres which occurred Australia-wide in his book Blood on the Wattle, which was published more than 30 years ago.
The book’s preface states: “Ignorance can no longer be a defence against the criticism that the white history of Australia is little more than two hundred years of shame.”
Mindful that Aboriginal culture has existed for over 60,000 years … 200 years of intrusive colonial occupation is merely a drop in the ocean.
Steadfast resilience has indeed propelled our unique Aboriginal culture well into the new millennium and beyond.
As a supposedly mature nation we’ve recently addressed the contentious issue of same-sex marriage.
When are we going to address the Australia Day/invasion Day issue?
This publicly contentious issue can no longer be placed on the backburner indefinitely.
Maybe the social and emotional welfare of the First Australians is deemed unworthy of national debate?
Social media has thankfully given us a long overdue voice.
However … if and when we attempt to challenge Australia’s black history we are then reminded, en masse, by social media users, of the “beneficial changes” and “special privileges” that have been granted to us and has supposedly “entitled” Aboriginals since the First Fleet arrived.
Fair dinkum, mate … we simply can’t win … no matter which bushtrack we choose.
Please explain about this “Lucky Country”.
How can we Advance Australia Fair when atrocious social health and deplorable community conditions in remote Aboriginal areas shows little evidence of achieving the much anticipated federal government’s health initiative Closing the Gap?
The high rate of indigenous criminal offences, incarceration, deaths in custody and a failing health system suggests that Oz has become less of a “Lucky Country” for the descendants of the very First Australians.
Aboriginal Australians have the unrivalled distinction of maintaining the “oldest living culture” in the world … but do Aussies truly appreciate this well known fact?
One wouldn’t think so when you consider that 80 per cent of Aboriginal art is still being exploited.
Some Aussies will forever remain ignorant of our black history as they continue to hide behind their white blindfold.
“We are one, yet we are many” is the most hypocritical verse to ever become enshrined in any Oz national anthem. Oi, oi, oi!
CORALIE CASSADY,
Kirwan.