Those are interesting points, I would raise that it would be akin to Jewish people celebrating the date Hitler rose to power. What happened in Australia is a global atrocity that outweighs everything that has happened.
Indigenous people were put onto reserves and if they left were shot and killed. They had the reserves raided for women and children and used as sex slaves.
When we became old and useless Marched off cliffs, if it were not for people such as Banjo Patterson, the man from snowy River. Many would not be alive today.
Much of Australian history is not told. Australians sailed to near by Islands to steal children as they waded in the shore to be slaves on sugar cain farms. At this stage, America had freed slaves.
Apartheid in South Africa was created by the means of how we were treated here in Australia. South African government officials visited Australia to see how they "dealt with the blacks" and implemented Australian policies.
Aparthied ended in South Africa, but not in Australia.
Furthermore, Jan 26 1788 represents when a foreign country raised their flag claiming a small parcel for the Queen.
1 Jan 1901 is Australia day, when Australia became a Federation
The day Australia became a federation actuality makes more sense for a day to be called Australia day, in my opinion. I wonder who decided, "Nah, the day the first official colonies landed would be a better day." Maybe they wanted it to be a day with BBQ weather. 🤔
Aren't humans great! They've been doing all those things since recorded history began and probably longer, likely in every nation across the world. Whole villages used to disappear to slave traders, even English ones at one time. Makes you wonder if we have a natural instinct to subjugate each other or whether nations learnt it forum one another.
Which is why I say that no-one should feel pressured into celebrating it, but rather should be free to observe it in their own way. If the date were changed, would the original people continue to remember this day as a day of mourning, do you think? I understand that an incredible amount of their history survives through ritual, even back to times long lost for most Europeans.
As an abuse survivor, I've learnt it does no good to hold onto the past and no good to hold onto our ancestors' pasts. Naturally, the experiences should not be buried and should be acknowledged and even shared for us to learn from. However, to move on we need to make peace with our past and ourselves.
I actually saw a few documentaries on the history of some of the atrocities here, back in the UK. Imagine my surprise when we arrived here and very few Aussies we met even knew of it. I believe it came into the limelight with the British children who were stolen after the war in order to populate Australia with more whites. That took people down the rabbit hole. Shortly after we arrived in Australia the apologies for all the stolen generations were finally made. Then Australians seemed to actually start to seeing more coming to light.
I think that's the issue, people perceive it to have occurred back when things "were like that" that is not the case. We're talking about the 1960s and 70s.
If someone is raped in a government institution such as a hospital there would be uproar. That is what was happening up until the 1960s. Also, Terra Nullius was the Maritime Law of the time. All other nations received a treaty. Australia did not.
In 1788 you could not invade a country and conquer it, it would be like doing it today. You can not. It is a war crime.
John Howard made it a public Holiday in 1994 prior to that Australia day was a phrase coined up to increase military enlistment and build patriotism.
Were talking about 230 years ago, and the continuation of it. Much of which racial inequalities reside today.
People flee their countries to escape prosecution, yet it occurs today in Australia to first nations people to an extent.
Only 1994!? You'd have thought by them that they would have had more consideration than to select that date!
Yes, this is still very fresh and there are still people alive today who had to experience this. It takes generations for attitudes to change and I realise that there is still an awful lot of disdain towards the original people which would have been passed down. It will take time to put distance there.
I admire the approach of so many of the indigenous leaders, like your wife, in that they don't attack and instead approach it with a continued respect for all people. It's in contrast to the current social media climate where everyone is starting to feel under attack and it's actually making things worse and regressing. Instead of respect for each other we are once again separating ourselves with differences. Australia has come too far to fall to where America is in this regard.
Totally agree with you. Her piece made it to the Herald sun yesterday. Today's responses from people have been enormous. She was scared she would be attacked but alot have rallied behind her. It's great.
She was crying with happiness this morning.
That's fantastic! So pleased for her.