—

In the lead up to Invasion Day there was quite a bit of facebook activity, particularly from the blackfellas I know. I’ve gotta say that most of it was quite sad, angry, upset – there continues to be a lot of unresolved grief related to the original invasion of our continent on 26 January 1788.

I think sometimes it’s quite easy to not understand this anger, sadness and despair when you hold a particular privelege and do not appropriately acknowledge that privilege, and so I have conversely seen quite a lot of posts on facebook and comments around the place, calling for our people to essentially move on and either join the celebrations or celebrate our survival (this is from both Blacks and whites).

Whilst I acknowledge that celebrating our survival is a good thing, I don’t think it is particularly helpful to tell a grieving people that this is what they HAVE to do – first and foremost it is EXTREMELY dismissive of our grief and the ongoing ramifications of that grief, which manifests itself in the gross disadvantage you see in Indigenous Australian communities today. I also think that dismissing the grief and advising people to celebrate survival is a moot point when the rest of the nation continues to celebrate it’s national holiday on the day the continent was violently invaded, to the detriment of it’s First Peoples – the day should be moved and we as a people should never give up calling and protesting for a change of date.

I guess, really, what I want to say to all the people who are saying to blackfellas that they should get over being angry or just embrace Australia Day (this is aimed at those who are ATSI and also those who claim to support ATSI struggles for justice) is to STOP COMPROMISING. It’s like giving in! Our anger is being judged by a standard that the Invaders have set for us and we are being found lacking. Well, why don’t we set our own parameters?? I say it’s okay to get angry about Australia Day, I say that it is okay to call for the date to be changed, to remember the wrongs – if we don’t maintain the fight and remember the wrong, how will we ever know if we are moving forward from it?

In my opinion, when you compromise like that, when Blackfellas and those supposedly on ‘our side’ say to celebrate whatever you want and join in Australia Day it allows the flexibility to have those who are just waiting for the opportunity to oppress us more, do so. Those insidious racists and right wingers use your words to justify their rationale for keeping Australia Day on the day of invasion. They use your compromise to continue to not take seriously Indigenous calls for treaty, sovereignty and a better quality of life, and that my friends IS WRONG. Further, I feel like by compromising like this it not only allows people to dismiss the real struggles, but it also allows people to over-simplify the issues at hand. Whilst everyone can sit around and talk on their facebook about race relations in this country, or use Australia Day as the only day to make a comment about injustice, I would like to see more people actually put their money where their mouth is (so to speak). DO SOMETHING, like ACTUALLY DO SOMETHING – don’t be lazy, don’t compromise! Look at your privelege in this country and realise that if you aren’t on the bottom of the heap then you do ‘live off the backs of Blacks’ (as my father would have put it).

And with that, I want to post up this video. Firstly, because it is from a brother whom I respect for his courage and ability to not only speak out, but to put those words and thoughts in to REAL ACTION – and secondly, because it explains why Australia’s national holiday should be moved to a different date.

Peace!

—

“i miss her so much my heart literally aches”
is what she would say,
to those closest to her.

and that is what she felt
deep down that feeling of heart sore
was constantly there in the background
causing tears to well in her eyes,
causing her to feel and to think

and none could give her relief
from her emotions
from her grief
except for One
so she turned to Him
into His comfort
and shivered there
watching with unblinking eyes
waiting

~ Untitled, by Eugenia Flynn

In my work with young Aboriginal people I found that this was way too common and that there is a predatory nature to young men as a response to this kind of display from the young females. I also found that young women were acting like this to attract the young men – such a vicious cycle! Stop it now by raising your children with better role models of good healthy sexuality:

Latest teen Facebook craze described as ‘haven for pedophiles’

A new Facebook trend that features teenagers posing naked with only hats covering their genitals has horrified safety experts.

According to a Herald Sun report, there are countless Facebook pages that have sprung up showing male and female teens in provocative poses.

It’s believed the trend started at a Queensland high school before becoming an online fad.

The original page has been locked and shut down however now there are spin-off pages, including location specific sites and male and female only versions as well as groups condemning the phase.

It’s believed blog was created with all the uploaded pictures raising the possibility of all the photos being stored on someone’s computer.

Cyber safety campaigner Susan Mclean says the sites are a “haven for pedophiles”

“It’s no use saying ‘it’s just fun, it’s harmless fun,’ the consequences can be quite severe,” she said.

“It is going to end in tears and those pictures – it’s not like sending it on your phone to your boyfriend who may or may not send it on – this is on www (world wide web).

“They’re on public sites, anyone can see them and people are posting them with their names, they’re proud of the photos.”

Not only does posting photos a risk future employment, it also poses a risk of child pornography charges.

According to McMclean: “Children under the age of 18 all over Australia are routinely being charged with child pornography offences.”

Child psychologist Dr Michael Carr-Gregg says it shows that teenagers aren’t getting enough cyber safety education.

“You’ve got the perfect storm here. You’ve got the immature teenage brain with the technology which is in the moment and of the moment,” he said.

“Combine those two things together and you have precisely the sort of behaviour you’re going to get and without any regard at all to the implications for the young person in the future.”

It’s believed Queensland police are monitoring the trend.

I mean, humans are just animals after all and we have animal instincts, and having sex is a pretty basic animal instinct…I’m pretty sure you don’t have to have done it before to know how to do it and do it well!

Just seems to me like it is going along with the notion that you have to have loads of sex with a variety of partners in order not to be a “prude” or a “frigid” or a bad lover. If you choose to save it for love or keep sex sacred in nature, it doesn’t always equate to bad sex…

Please read, learn and act on this article:

When Did Girls Start Wearing Pink?

Peace out!

This first one is something that a friend (can I call you that Mera?) and colleague (I think I can safely call you that – geez these are very western-centric terms – we are community members who are friends – what’s the term for that??) posted on facebook that I LOVE LOVE LOVE:

Nonviolence declares that the American Indians could have fought off Columbus, George Washington, and all the other genocidal butchers with sit-ins; that Crazy Horse, by using violent resistance, became part of the cycle of violence, and “as bad as” Custer. Nonviolence declares that Africans could have stopped the slave trade with hunger strikes and petitions, and that those who mutinied were as…… bad as their captors; that mutiny, a form of violence, led to more violence, and thus, resistance led to more enslavement. Nonviolence refuses to recognize that it can only work for privileged people, who have a status protected by violence, as the perpetrators and beneficiaries of a violent hierarchy.” – Peter Gelderloos, “How Non-VIolence Protects the State”

This second one is something I wrote in response to Barack Obama’s recent visit to Australia and the announcement that a US Defence Base would be placed in the Northern Territory:

beware the wolf in sheep’s clothing! how can anyone be happy that the US will have such a strong military prescence in Australia? and does no one else see the racism in the current rationale? are we really back to the days of being scared of the “yellow peril” from China? and it’s the wrong kind of logic to say that Australia needs the US to have a base here so that we can be protected from the scary Chinese. don’t fall for all the lies people!! /end rant

This third one is something that my friend Ren1 wrote, also in relation to Obama’s visit to Australia:

Sorry, but Obama getting a free pass because he’s black is not the kind of ‘equality’ I’m into. Seems that I’m in a minority though…

And from a friend of Ren1′s (who I’m not friend’s with, so not sure if I should put their name to it…) on the Occupy protests:

“So, let me get this right…..the children of the occupiers are trying to occupy the institutions of the occupation to redistribute the wealth from the occupation. Oh well, at least that will keep them occupied.”

Just love these things floating around and thought I should take the time to collate a few of my favourites here…food for thought, words for food…

Giving Hip Hop a Bad Rap – by Sam Cook

Chimamanda Adichie: The danger of a single story

What does everyone else think?

Anyway, one thing I really want to blog about now is my reflections on the screening of “Wayward Son” and the Q+A with Director Mustafa Davis.

During the Q+A, I posed a question regarding culture. It is my belief that art is culture is life – they aren’t separate things. Anyway, the discussion turned to what young Muslims in Australia might do in regard to identity and the answer came that young Muslims need to find what it is to be Australian and start identifying with that within a Muslim framework (I’m paraphrasing).

This didn’t really sit well with me and I guess what I really want to clarify here in this space (didn’t really want to do it during the Q+A because I don’t think Mustafa Davis really knows the deal here in Australia – perhaps that can be rectified the next time he comes to Australia?) is that Australian “culture” is based on the genocide of the First Peoples, racism and exclusion of non-whites. So I don’t really think that young Muslim people can now try to identify with Australian “culture” because that “culture” continues to oppress the First Peoples and therefore will continue to oppress all non-whites.

Anyway, just my thoughts on that

Despite my misgivings about even having the conversation, because it buys into the polar conversation of White Australia vs The Other, I really enjoyed the discussion, particularly Nazeem’s intelligent thoughts on the matters. However, I could not help but feel that, as I posted on my facebook:

“I’m sorry, but until Australia can actually resolve issues of racism and exclusion in relation to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander issues they aren’t going to get multiculturalism right…so frankly I don’t see these discussions, such as those on Q & A, as being particularly productive – you’ve gotta have solid foundations before you can build on top!!”

To elaborate more, basically, this country has never ever set it’s foundations properly as a nation. Built on stolen land, genocide, institutionalised racism and more, Australia has never properly acknowledged or righted those wrongs. Until it does and makes strong moves towards levelling the playing field for Indigenous Australians the country will always be built on dodgy foundations. Like my sister’s house with all it’s cracks due to moving foundations – Australia is broken and you can’t populate it with more people and expect it to be okay – a melting pot we are not, more like a pressure cooker ready to explode!

And those are my thoughts on that

Peace!