The Necessity of Reparation for Historic Injustices
basesix wrote:nah, AW & AndyM, we ducked a BIG one there.
Imagine, FNPs having a voice to parliament that they didn't even want, leading to a divided nation and secret treaty ambitions and enshrining race into constitution and opportunism and corruption and mishandling of their own issues and not even solving anything and they have more of a voice than anyone else anyway and why not other racial groups and huge taxpayer financial burdens and making us ashamed and labor using it to get elected again and not letting us know the secret voice pages and who would be representing the FNPs and it's not even representative cos there are hundreds of language groups and who even are FNPs and what a backward step.
Plus, everyone promised they'd take an continued interest in social issues that affect FNPs after the referendum, cos they really believe in solving social inequity. And they really have, it is still front page news, no-voters still care just as deeply about it all.
I don't think you guys understood it at all. Must be uneducated. We ducked a BIG one there.
@Basesix, @AndyM. Good to hear from you guys as usual.
I’ve become a little more than fed up of late with the ambiguities, irony and or hypocrisies amongst us surfers regarding FNP.
I’ll draw on recent discussions where the topic of localism/protecting surf spots, so called respecting locals because they may have been or lived at a particular surf break most of their lives and feel entitled to kind of claim it as their ‘own’ and want others to appreciate that.
Enter HYPOCRISY
Well, how is that Aboriginal people, who have been here way longer than any of us and have occupied most parts of the continent can’t get the same deal, basic respect and appreciation and acknowledgment of who they are and where they come from, simply just for the want of a voice.
Anybody who thinks the referendum was going to create division, well, you better go have a look in your own front yard and read the sign that says ‘A Selfish Person Lives Here’. AW
Again AW, I think you must not understand. I have no doubt that those that live in Sydney Harbor, Port Phillip Bay, Phillip Island, Noosa, reflect daily on what a paradise such locations must have been for locals 1000 years ago.
People don't think of FNP as desert-dwellers - they understand that the great river systems, bays and reefs that are home to today's Aussies were once the homes of displaced Aboriginal people, and that deserves a little respectful acknowledging.
But the Voice was a step WAY too far, and dangerously compromised control of our fragile western pillars of civilisation. Very different to the well-deserved localism that exists because someone once caught a beachy on a foamy as a grom.
Wouldn't of ended at getting a voice (not that they don't have one now anyway)
Didn't end at sorry.
Just would have meant more on the gravy train. $$$
ashsam wrote:Wouldn't of ended at getting a voice (not that they don't have one now anyway)
Didn't end at sorry.
Just would have meant more on the gravy train. $$$
Lookout. Indo has a new competitor for village idiot.
Idiot lol. BD not on the drink yet, will come back later for the fing c's, scum mfer haha
ashsam wrote:Idiot lol. BD not on the drink yet, will come back later for the fing c's, scum mfer haha
Sorry for slow reply... Just had to shoot up to the bottlo to get me goonsack so i can spend all arvo punchimg out foul mouthed words to you on the keyboard...
Or, I'll probably just do some training..
Anyway enough of you.
ashsam wrote:Wouldn't of ended at getting a voice (not that they don't have one now anyway)
Didn't end at sorry.
Just would have meant more on the gravy train. $$$
Ashsam. Your opinion, fine.
Not surprised at your reply, most of these type of replies end up mentioning $$$, it’s just so easy to be dumb and not think about what you just wrote.
If that’s your ‘go to’ line, well, I’m sorry, I’m going to push the dump button to send you down the IndoDreaming/Roadkill black hole of taxation vigilantes and xenophobes.
If you had a decent brain you’d understand there is probably way more people besides FNP on your selfish gravy train.
You’re obviously a young uneducated dickhead based upon that infantile comment.
So ,you’ve never received money from the government , don’t be a hypocrite.
Give me another reason besides money to help you improve your IQ.
I think I will be waiting awhile. AW
There does seem 2 be a lot of gravy spilling out of the system and it is NOT going 2 our FNP imho !
NFI what is being skimmed off , but all the money is NOT getting to our NFP with ON Ground support .
We don't get what we pay for , with OUR hard earned dollar, that goes to help our FNP !
I believe Australians ARE prepared to Pay , whatever it takes , to help our FNP feel equal .
We just don't like leeches .
Base 6
I would love a Committee of well qualified FNP 2 have an Enquiry into this .
Just don't put them in Parliament !!!
It's a ONE OFF job !!!
That was the idea that was thrown out !
Add a few Financial heavyweights like Matt Comyn ( CBA CEO ) and a Supreme Court Judge ( No Pollies ( TA is an Ex ? :)) 2 give it extra weight .
Royal Commission type Powers .
Could be done tomorrow if Albo , was game and still interested !
A vote winner 2 imo .
Until we fix the problems base 6 , it's not over , no way !!!
mm, agree @PopD, we should get an advisory committee of Aboriginal people into parliament to tighten it up and direct funds effectively. Or maybe if we did that, people would patronisingly assume they wouldn't be as capable of doing that as the broken system currently is?
edit: disregard @ Pop, it's all been discussed and the conclusion has concluded
Pop Down wrote:There does seem 2 be a lot of gravy spilling out of the system and it is NOT going 2 our FNP imho !
NFI what is being skimmed off , but all the money is NOT getting to our NFP with ON Ground support .
We don't get what we pay for , with OUR hard earned dollar, that goes to help our FNP !
I believe Australians ARE prepared to Pay , whatever it takes , to help our FNP feel equal .
We just don't like leeches .
PopDown I appreciate all your responses.
I think you and others are missing a point.
This angle of FNP mishandling funds is tiring. It’s just an easy go to for narrow minded folk.
Let’s look at the nation as a whole with reference to cash.
This leakage is across ALL governmental economies .
Military is one, roads, tunnels etc. massive blowouts. Who’s not doing their jobs, we are useless at keeping a budget.
Latest, NDIS, has been corrupted with some false case managers pocketing millions. Who the fuck is monitoring all these schemes, we are one of the worst countries for this?
It’s a recurring theme, corruption at all levels.
My son is deaf, so this really pisses me off, pseudo businesses making false letterheads, tax invoices etc, lodging for reimbursements and stealing money from people with disabilities. That’s the crux of the matter when you bring it back to basics.
What type of people do this? Fucking arseholes.
It’s shit business at local, state and federal levels, always has been and always will be. AW
AW
I really like all your posts and totally agree.
I don't feel that our FNP are wasting the money they are given at all .
Its being wasted by the corrupt system , 4 sure !
With Military ( forget the US ) books are easier to keep than in Health or Legal .
All Systems have leeches ( finance is full off them ) and they suck out so much performance .
All well managed Systems are encouraged to remove the leeches and flourish .
It's NOT easy to kill the bastards !!!
Then , they keep coming back .
Lets start with FNP Money , and get a FNP dominated Committee with a LEECH killer ( Enquiry ) , to bring a proper FNP resolution back onto the agenda !!!
If our FNP are only getting 50% in the dollar ( a huge Tax ! ) , we may need to give them more ?
And I agree with Slacky , below , but think the debt was paid in the First World War .
Thats why I suggested the 4th of July as a NEW Australia Day .
All Australians need to feel equal !
We are willing 2 pay for that imho .
Yeah $30B a year is not enough for the 3% of the population.
Maybe 50 will help or 100.
Come in spinners.
If reparations by Anglo Australians were ever appropriate after they migrated here, then these obligations were completely fulfilled and any claims extinguished after the entire nation focussed the entirety of its efforts to defeat the Japanese invaders who would have enslaved or completely exterminated Indigenous Australians.
This isn’t hyperbole. Anglo Australians gave everything in their defence of themselves and indigenous Australians. Whether this defence was inadvertent makes no difference.
A blood price was paid to ensure that the Yellow Supremacists of Imperial Japan did not subjugate and kill the entire population of Australia, irrespective of skin colour.
A million Australians signed up for the defence of Australia. Out of a population of six million. The Japanese intended to treat Australians as they’d treated the Chinese at Nanking.
Despite being ineligible to enlist, due to the fact that they were bureaucratically considered a seperate population, before the overwhelming 1967 vote*, nearly three thousand indigenous Australians also signed up alongside Anglo Australians,to fight for their literal existence .
Alongside this token Indigenous force, entire generations of Anglo Australians paid the greatest toll imaginable to defend modern Australia.
Tens of thousands of Anglo Australians died outright. Tens of thousands more were maimed beyond recognition and redemption, both physically and mentally.
Whether Australians were killed or injured or subject to the depths of hell at the hands of their Japanese captors. Whether they endured a living nightmare of continuously confronting death destruction and inhumane conditions fighting in jungles or perishing at sea.
The price has been paid.
It’s been paid by those who fought, whether they lived or died. It’s been paid by the families left behind existing in a limbo of doom wondering if their loved ones would ever return or if their society would be simply erased by the despicable Japanese forces. The prices has been paid in blood and pain and loss and heartbreak and treasure.
The price has been paid. Australia is one society.
Geez I wish the political agitators, race baiters and eternal malcontents who are now trying to redivide us decades later would move on to some other less harmful proclivity.
* Prior to 1967, Indigenous Australians were not on the census as flora. This is a lie perpetrated by those who seek to have us divided. Indigenous Australians were just not registered as Australians. They were considered a separate society. The 1967 referendum,- with its > 90% advocacy - was a nationwide celebration and acknowledgment that we were one. We were ALL Australians. Irrespective of skin colour or heritage.
Ironically enough, the modern political agitators and malcontents are now attempting to return to the days before the referendum that brought us all together. They wish to seperate us along political lines.
Lucky the majority of Australians saw through this divisive political manipulation and Australians remain united and able to pursue the shared future that benefits everyone.
Well said. Rudd saying sorry for something we never did meant nothing.
The price was already paid by our brave soldiers white and black for our great country.
Guess BD will be protesting Anzac Day too.
I’m glad Rudd said Sorry. But really, he was just another politicial opportunist who ecploited an organic and long wanted step towards reconciliation. A lot of people still felt that public acknowledgment of injustice needed to be established, despite individuals not actually being responsible. Australian culture is fair. No one forced the public display of affection for the Indigenous sub-culture. And that’s what the Sorry statement actually was- an opportunity for the greater population to express solidarity, kinship and acknowledgement of those amongst us who consider indigenous.
It was a beautiful thing.
That’s what’s makes the current political devolution of society so sad. The fact that the devolution is occurring in parallel with the subversively manufactured cultural endophobia that is plaguing Western nations is not by happenstance!
Pop Down wrote:AW
I really like all your posts and totally agree.
I don't feel that our FNP are wasting the money they are given at all .
Its being wasted by the corrupt system , 4 sure !
With Military ( forget the US ) books are easier to keep than in Health or Legal .
All Systems have leeches ( finance is full off them ) and they suck out so much performance .
All well managed Systems are encouraged to remove the leeches and flourish .
It's NOT easy to kill the bastards !!!
Then , they keep coming back .
Lets start with FNP Money , and get a FNP dominated Committee with a LEECH killer ( Enquiry ) , to bring a proper FNP resolution back onto the agenda !!!
If our FNP are only getting 50% in the dollar ( a huge Tax ! ) , we may need to give them more ?
And I agree with Slacky , below , but think the debt was paid in the First World War .
Thats why I suggested the 4th of July as a NEW Australia Day .
All Australians need to feel equal !
We are willing 2 pay for that imho .
PopDown
Too right mate. We all should be made to feel equal. I’d like to think we are.
So it’s about time most punters stop pointing their dollar finger at FNP. It’s just a dumb easy go to that enters peoples mindset.
Our Governments waste billions annually.
We vote these politicians into power, it’s often said that those elected are just a reflection of the type of people in this country, I’d agree.
Ashsham. You’re the only spinner on here. You really are now showing us that you are a pony with only one trick.
I’d say a pony of the show variety if you get my drift.
You’ve highlighted one thing, you’ve got basic maths, what else you got fella.
You’ve used all your grey matter doing those sums, you must be exhausted.AW
Apologies for the tautology of “ cultural endophobia”.
Tautological accidents are always on the cards after surfing for hours during the midday heat of the monsoonal doldrums. Looong walls in oil-slick glass may seem like an easy feat till you realise that despite being immersed in (30 degree!) water you are continuously sweating your arse off. Cue dehydration / sun stroke.
A condition that a few cold Bintangs may superficially alleviate but not completely rectify. Burp.
Ok Boomer AW. Must be time for another jab.
Slackjawedyokel wrote:Apologies for the tautology of “ cultural endophobia”.
Tautological accidents are always on the cards after surfing for hours during the midday heat of the monsoonal doldrums. Looong walls in oil-slick glass may seem like an easy feat till you realise that despite being immersed in (30 degree!) water you are continuously sweating your arse off. Cue dehydration / sun stroke.
A condition that a few cold Bintangs may superficially alleviate but not completely rectify. Burp.
Slackjawedyokel. Enjoying your stuff for sure., across all threads. More power to you.
We’ve a great diaspora of folks putting in their two bobs worth, makes for a great melting pot of madness and mayhem.
Let’s face it , we are here because we surf or like surf stuff, all this trash talk is just a race to see who can pump their chest out the furtherest. Just a bit of fun. AW
Funny isn't it. I shared....shared being the important word, a post by an indigenous woman about how happy her family felt when Rudd said sorry, and i questioned how they might have felt post voice.
Even had some saying how they might be trying to bait me with some of their comments, not realising, they themselves had been baited for exposing their racism for what it is. Thanks by the way.
Anyway.....post voice....but i'm sure the anti voice crew above, that still want to deny indigenous Australians any control, know better.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-01-26/australia-day-impacts-of-indigeno...
No wonder if getting your news from abc, worked out well for your man Rudd.
Nice play on the racist card.
He was appointed as Australia's Ambassador to the U.S. by the Albanese government in March 2023.
That ABC article was everything wrong with the ABC. Political agitation from a state broadcaster with a legal requirement to political impartiality written into its statutory obligations .
Slackjawedyokel wrote:That ABC article was everything wrong with the ABC. Political agitation from a state broadcaster with a legal requirement to political impartiality written into its statutory obligations .
and bought to you by the tax payers of Australia
Ever seen a rainbow serpent BD/SR :)
https://www.news.com.au/finance/economy/australian-economy/wa-man-faces-...
^ very amusing article, if you can stomach bolt for more than a minute. Having a laugh about retarded wedjela interpretations of cultural heritage laws (that have clearly been appropriated and bent-to-fit, cos some karen down-çreek has gotten the huff).
I agree, if the local elders they described (that liked the bridge and laughed at the idiots prosecuting him) had been in charge of their own cultural heritage laws, none of the wasted time and taxpayer money would have flown to the Dept of Planning. What clowns.
Sounds like the Elders needed more of a Voice.
On Monday , it is the 50th Anniversary of the discovery of Mango Man and Woman ! ( told 2 me by a friend and NOT checked ) .
Before this couple were found by a Geologist ( who lives in a shack in Brighton I am told by a friend who is driving up for the Ceremony ) , our FNP were thought to have lived here for 6-12 000 years ?? .
This Couple , BLEW these numbers OFF the Charts , straight past 40 000 + .
Gosh , the couple lived in a Lake System thats now Dry as , and Red .
FNP have lived through probably 2 or 3 Ice Ages , on our Continent .
The whole middle of Australia , could have been a fn Inland Sea , a couple of times ???
What an amazing history !
The couples skeletons were taken to Sydney Uni for Uni Stuff .
The guy who found them , apparently , helped to make sure this remarkable pair , were laid to rest , as their FNP , thought best .
Very happy ending , imho .
Pop Down wrote:On Monday , it is the 50th Anniversary of the discovery of Mango Man and Woman ! ( told 2 me by a friend and NOT checked ) .
Before this couple were found by a Geologist ( who lives in a shack in Brighton I am told by a friend who is driving up for the Ceremony ) , our FNP were thought to have lived here for 6-12 000 years ?? .
This Couple , BLEW these numbers OFF the Charts , straight past 40 000 + .
Gosh , the couple lived in a Lake System thats now Dry as , and Red .
FNP have lived through probably 2 or 3 Ice Ages , on our Continent .
The whole middle of Australia , could have been a fn Inland Sea , a couple of times ???
What an amazing history !
The couples skeletons were taken to Sydney Uni for Uni Stuff .
The guy who found them , apparently , helped to make sure this remarkable pair , were laid to rest , as their FNP , thought best .
Very happy ending , imho .
PopDown.
A fruity take on a great story. I think you’ll find it’s Mungo not Mango.
Mungo National Park, NSW
The Willandra Lakes system (now dry) is a plethora of human, zoological and botanical history. Check it out or even better, visit the place, it’s outstanding.AW
ashsam wrote:Slackjawedyokel wrote:That ABC article was everything wrong with the ABC. Political agitation from a state broadcaster with a legal requirement to political impartiality written into its statutory obligations .
and bought to you by the tax payers of Australia
Ashsam. You are doing a great injustice to the good folk of the Greater Coffs Harbour area with your infantile point.
For a person who is in their mid to late 40’s and is a father, I do hope your mindset is not infectious.
What a petty outlook on life you have acquired from someone. Your parents, maybe ? AW
Lol , gosh AW , I only looked it up yesterday , 2 .
Mango Brain Pop , 4 sure , very fruity , as usual , unfortunately .
Maybe , lol , it was a spieling checherb error ?
Lucky U are on the ball and I am at least happy there were no other Fruit Loopy things , I mentioned in that post .
My mate said he would take me up there , AW , so now on my 2 do list .
AlfredWallace wrote:A fruity take on a great story.
haha, quote of the day AW
.
AlfredWallace wrote:ashsam wrote:Slackjawedyokel wrote:That ABC article was everything wrong with the ABC. Political agitation from a state broadcaster with a legal requirement to political impartiality written into its statutory obligations .
and bought to you by the tax payers of Australia
Ashsam. You are doing a great injustice to the good folk of the Greater Coffs Harbour area with your infantile point.
For a person who is in their mid to late 40’s and is a father, I do hope your mindset is not infectious.
What a petty outlook on life you have acquired from someone. Your parents, maybe ? AW
don't think so
https://www.abc.net.au/news/elections/referendum/2023/results?filter=all...
ashsam wrote:Ever seen a rainbow serpent BD/SR :)
https://www.news.com.au/finance/economy/australian-economy/wa-man-faces-...
Classic. Speaking to Andrew Bolt about it. Imagine if discussion had changed from the Rainbow Serpent to the Rainbow Flag. That would be worth watching.
AlfredWallace wrote:ashsam wrote:Slackjawedyokel wrote:That ABC article was everything wrong with the ABC. Political agitation from a state broadcaster with a legal requirement to political impartiality written into its statutory obligations .
and bought to you by the tax payers of Australia
Ashsam. You are doing a great injustice to the good folk of the Greater Coffs Harbour area with your infantile point.
For a person who is in their mid to late 40’s and is a father, I do hope your mindset is not infectious.
What a petty outlook on life you have acquired from someone. Your parents, maybe ? AW
Took the words right out of my mouth AW....without the alleged incessant happy hour profanities of course. ;)
southernraw wrote:AlfredWallace wrote:ashsam wrote:Slackjawedyokel wrote:That ABC article was everything wrong with the ABC. Political agitation from a state broadcaster with a legal requirement to political impartiality written into its statutory obligations .
and bought to you by the tax payers of Australia
Ashsam. You are doing a great injustice to the good folk of the Greater Coffs Harbour area with your infantile point.
For a person who is in their mid to late 40’s and is a father, I do hope your mindset is not infectious.
What a petty outlook on life you have acquired from someone. Your parents, maybe ? AWTook the words right out of my mouth AW....without the alleged incessant happy hour profanities of course. ;)
Lucky for you that foul mouthed rant has been removed or I can’t find it, probs the worst personal attack I have ever read on here. Get some help.
ashsam wrote:southernraw wrote:AlfredWallace wrote:ashsam wrote:Slackjawedyokel wrote:That ABC article was everything wrong with the ABC. Political agitation from a state broadcaster with a legal requirement to political impartiality written into its statutory obligations .
and bought to you by the tax payers of Australia
Ashsam. You are doing a great injustice to the good folk of the Greater Coffs Harbour area with your infantile point.
For a person who is in their mid to late 40’s and is a father, I do hope your mindset is not infectious.
What a petty outlook on life you have acquired from someone. Your parents, maybe ? AWTook the words right out of my mouth AW....without the alleged incessant happy hour profanities of course. ;)
Lucky for you that foul mouthed rant has been removed or I can’t find it, probs the worst personal attack I have ever read on here. Get some help.
haha. Righto warrior.
Whatever helps you suck your thumb to sleep at night, i'm happy to go along with.
southernraw wrote:ashsam wrote:southernraw wrote:AlfredWallace wrote:ashsam wrote:Slackjawedyokel wrote:That ABC article was everything wrong with the ABC. Political agitation from a state broadcaster with a legal requirement to political impartiality written into its statutory obligations .
and bought to you by the tax payers of Australia
Ashsam. You are doing a great injustice to the good folk of the Greater Coffs Harbour area with your infantile point.
For a person who is in their mid to late 40’s and is a father, I do hope your mindset is not infectious.
What a petty outlook on life you have acquired from someone. Your parents, maybe ? AWTook the words right out of my mouth AW....without the alleged incessant happy hour profanities of course. ;)
Lucky for you that foul mouthed rant has been removed or I can’t find it, probs the worst personal attack I have ever read on here. Get some help.
haha. Righto warrior.
Whatever helps you suck your thumb to sleep at night, i'm happy to go along with.
Hey Southern... what happened to the Palestinian thread? Taken down maybe?
No idea Harry, it's probably still there but been inactive..
but if anyone wants to have a good gander at some proper 'foul mouthed rants'..the worst they'll ever see, and wants to get on their high horse, that's as good a place as any to go....unless of course, it's just a personal beef. Which it obviously is.
Same as he always was ya know. Didn't like being labelled a racist for his disgusting and vile language about indigenous people. Whoops.
But yeah, israel/palestine thread...peaches brah! hehe.
Hope ya well Harry C.
@harrycooper , click on forum , then scroll down to bottom and you’ll find politco , click on that and you’ll see the thread . There’s usually 8 threads on the front page, if know one is commenting on a particular thread it moves down a notch and eventually back to its thread title eg wax on or wax off or politico etc etc . As soon as someone comments again it will be on front page and stay there until no comments are getting posted . Unless something has changed and admin has had a gut full .
200 years of cause = Alice Springs/Darwin...etc etc.
Lucky alot of you muppets voted NO!
We wouldn't want anything to change that doesn't affect us would we.
As good a representation of what's really happening West of the Divide in the major centres as you'll get a chance to see.
But the muppets won't see the cause. They'll only and always blame the effect.
BD on the drink again insulting people lol
Your type are part of the reason people voted No.
No means No get over it.
Arseham the original racist.
Same as he was.
southernraw wrote:Arseham the original racist.
Same as he was.
What about your post about english ppl? remember that rant?
That video of a.s. was shocking, the statistics he gave regarding all the crimes etc, the one that got me was the racially motivated attacks, i thought what u mean the fnp attacks on white ppl? ...that is racism fnp style.
Still read the swellnet every now and again been poorly, ok now,
Just bcoz we, about 63% of ppl want a full audit and royal commision into the failed "aboriginal industry" (scam) ...and this has come about bcoz of the voice campaign highlighting the cost and dysfunction of their "communities",
We are not racist for voiceing our opinion.
Here we go, looks like the mentally challenged have bubbled to the surface again.
How’s your selfish, inwardly looking lives going ? Not so good by the look of it.
Heard of the ‘Selfish Gene’. Worth the read IMHO.
Give it a break, next thing you know our ‘in house’ xenophobe will be back in action and we certainly don’t need that, or maybe a few of you do!!! AW
ashsam wrote:BD on the drink again insulting people lol
Your type are part of the reason people voted No.
No means No get over it.
Yep again same deal from AW above, if people share different views they insult them, kind of made the vote result all that much sweeter though.
BTW. Started watching this doco actually looks pretty decent, will have to watch it all latter when get a chance.
That says more about AW & BD/SR than those they are insulting.
I watched that vid ^^^^
both hilarious and tragic
sad, that US gangsta culture has had such a huge influence in aboriginal society...
sad, that things have been allowed to get so out of hand...
sad, that alice is such a ghost town by day, then by night... that happens...
it's kinda 'a party' ...but fuck me, so much misery... and waste of resources, $$$ and otherwise...
near impossible to turn that train around
and sadly, I reckon a voice would achieve fuck all...
as has been stated, there's many voices already... not being listened to...
not least from labor's own side
city slickers - and the general evolution of 'the left' of politics - are just too culturally and ideologically different to what's out there...
world's apart
https://nit.com.au/22-02-2024/9914/marion-scrymgour-says-youth-laws-aren...
ironically, aboriginal culture is more aligned with 'tough love' over contemporary pussy footing approaches
Disagree about the voice not making any difference Sypkan. I think it can't get any worse in places like Alice. Ripple effect of the voice over time can only have been better.
There's so many layers of symbolism and real world application of how the voice would have worked positively....but we'll never know now.
Agree with the rest of your post. It's pretty fucked hey.
I like that this dudes vids always manages to uncover the good in people though. Most people are inherently good. Doesn't matter what colour.
Cheers.
Uni assignment i did a few years ago. This is my take on things. I'm sure this will ruffle many feathers. I hope so.
Love Blue Diamond x
The Necessity of Reparation for Historic Injustices
Introduction – Compensatory Justice
Disparities between the standards of living of humans on this planet have long been a part of our history on this planet. From the wealthy nations of the West to the developing and undeveloped nations on this globe, the diversity in the quality of life when viewed from a moral standpoint are without a doubt grossly unfair.
In this paper I will look at why historic injustices do require some form of reparation. I take a strong stance that we are more obliged to solve current injustices than to provide reparation for every act of injustice in the past. In doing this I will first investigate the historic injustice of the Aboriginal people of Australia and I will look at the argument that they are entitled to some form of reparation and why.
I will incoroporate some interesting views from Jeremy Waldron, Robert Nozick and others which will help me slowly build to my conclusion that reparation should be in the form of Non Indigenous Australians surrendering some of our priveleges as a form of reparation.
Historic Injustices to Indigenous Australians:
Australia the continent was well inhabited for many years long before white settlement. It is commonly known that in 1788 Australia was colonised as a country under the rule of the British Empire, with total contempt for the fact that it was already inhabited by a native indigenous race of people.
The way the original inhabitants have been treated, including forced assimilation, execution, stolen families and not even allowed to be recognised as citizens for a large part of white Australia’s history are also well known facts. (Poole, 1999,pp114-142)
There exists now a situation where there is a large divide between Aboriginal and non Aboriginal Australian’s that can be traced back to the moment Australia was invaded by English settlers and the brutal and unfair treatment that has followed.
So at this point now, in 2013 what is the just and fair way to make amends for past actions?
I would argue that a moderate to large amount of reparation is overdue for this nation of people, the Aboriginal people. But there are many challenges to this view point especially that of how much reparation, and what sort of compensation.
Past injustices or present suffering?
One of the questions raised in an issue like this is whether it is better to provide compensation or reparation for past deeds, which have already been done in a previous generation and cannot be changed, or whether it is better to now provide assistance to those who are suffering in their current situations and consider that as a form of moral duty.
To understand this we need to delve a little deeper into this issue and hear some differing viewpoints.
Firstly we need to understand what the best way to provide reparation. How do we judge what is the best way of giving back and how much? Jeremy Waldron states “The historic record has a fragility that consists, …in the sheer contingency of what happened in the past” (Waldron,1992,p5 )
This is saying that we can’t trace every single injustice back to the original act therefore reparation for every act would be almost impossible because it would ultimately be guess work.
In this statement he has an objection from Robert Nozick who believes it is in fact possible to address this problem by “changing the present so that it resembles how the past would have looked had the injustice not taken place” (McKenzie, 2013)
This would be a way to ultimately provide maximum reparation, but is it the correct approach? I believe this is a fairly radical approach, although it does have some merits in the fact it would be working in a positive way for indigenous people, I don’t think it is entirely the right way to deal with these issues but it is on the right track.
Waldron argues that it is based on too many unknowns. “The status of counterfactual reasoning about the exercising of human reasoning of human freedom is unclear”(Waldron 1993,p10)
Which leaves the question somewhat open about the sort of reparation that is required, but provides one clear answer to the key question. Both agree that yes, reparation to some extent is required. But how much and in what form?
Another philosopher who leans more towards Waldron’s views is Kymlicka. He is somewhat more straightforward in his assessment that property rights in particular for Aboriginals would create “massive unfairness” and also he maintains the argument “Aboriginal rights must be grounded in concerns about equality and contemporary disadvantage. (McKenzie, 2013) I agree with both these views but I don’t think they provide any active solutions.
The Solution?
So if its not handing back all of Australia’s land to the original inhabitants that is the most appropriate way to deal with past injustices, then what is?
I look at the current country I grew up in, as a white Australian. I ask myself why I never had Aboriginal friends growing up, no understanding of Aboriginal culture and why my basic understanding of Indigenous Australians is mostly 200 years old. I look at our flag, a symbol of a nation that stole a country from its original inhabitants, with no recognition of the Indigenous people at all on it. I see that Australia considered Indigenous people as less than people until only 40 years ago and I see the way that Indigenous Australians live a completely separate life to the way of life I know as an Australian. I see that the only indigenous politician I am aware of is a former Olympian and it is because of this fact of her sporting status that I know this. I see no collective power or representation of Indigenous Australians and I see non Indigenous Australians,( a culture built on a history of stealing a land and mistreating its people) still taking, taking as much out of this land as they can, with little to no regard of sharing or giving to the original inhabitants. I see a government that says lots of words about ‘closing the gap’ and bringing the living standards of non- indigenous and indigenous Australians closer together, but apart from nice words, there is no conviction, no follow through, just assimilation , and all that still remains are injustices.
As stated by Sparrow, “Continuity gives rise to responsibility on part of present generations of Australians for our history”.(McKenzie,2013). Although deeds happened in the past beyond our control, what we do now to either ignore, or rectify these issues will reflect on us in history. So if we choose to do nothing, we are contributing to the history of the mistreatment of non- indigenous Australians. And this is simply unacceptable in my opinion.
Conclusion
So what is fair? I believe that the way forward is a surrendering of some of our privileges as non- indigenous Australians. The simple fact is it was morally wrong without a doubt what has happened in the past. And it is also morally wrong without a doubt to ignore these facts and not offer some form of reparation in the present. But how much?
I think that going back to Robert Nozick’s argument is a start. I think Nozick is wrong to make the present resemble the past in every aspect. But I do think that it would be reasonable to restore some aspects of the way things should be. The things that happened in the past were out of our control and we can’t go back to changing the way things were. But we could change the way things are.
For some examples. Why not give at least 50% of political power to indigenous people? It surely would be a fair thing to do considering this is their country. Media control. 50 percent. Industry. Realestate. The list goes on. Why do we not acknowledge the indigenous people on our flag, or better still use their flag? Why is Australia still a part of the Commonwealth when it serves little purpose to any of us and serves as a constant reminder to Indigenous Australians that they are still controlled by the original invaders. These to me are fairly simple reparations that would have minimal impact on Australia as a whole. Perhaps, it would alter the way we live but I think it is our responsibility, morally to forfeit some of our privileges for the greater good. Basically a little bit goes a long way.
In closing, it is a fact that a huge injustice occurred to the Indigenous population and suffering continues to this day. There is no easy solution to such a burden of pain. I believe the only solutions are for the non- Indigenous population to take responsibility and sacrifice our own way of life to bring about an overall equality. Sacrifice is not an easy word. But it all comes down to right and wrong. We are in a position to give, in this current generation. What are we so scared to lose, that was never ours in the first place??
Bibliography
McKenzie,C.”Prof” (2013), Lecture, Historic Injustices and Indigenous Rights, Macquarie University
Poole, R. (1999). Nation and Identity.Routledge, London, pp.114-142
Waldron,J. (1992). ‘Superseding Historic Injustice’. Ethics, 103 (1), 4-28
References
Poole, R. (1999). Nation and Identity.Routledge, London, pp.114-142
Waldron,J. (1992). ‘Superseding Historic Injustice’. Ethics, 103 (1), 4-28