reply to post by JohnnyCanuck
I have to respectfully point out that you are blinded to the message that he puts forth in his statement by some (partially ego driven) form of
empathy that is obviously derived from whatever your "roles" entail.
The man is simply stating the obvious fact that the situation with Austarlian aboriginals is not helped by the fact that a large percentage are
actually brought up by their parents to think that they are not worthy of making something of their lives and will spend it dependant on welfare
etc... this is an undeniable fact and if you knew anything about the actual reasons for this you would not be so quick to put your 2 cents worth
in.
"Christian ritual cannibilism"... PLEASE !!! many people throughout the ages have practiced cannibalism, why would you single out christians for
doing the same ? and why would you refer to this as "our" christain ritual cannibalism, who exactly do you refer to when you say "our"... I guess
that the answer to this is for your self reflection alone.
Most indigenous peoples (which the Australian aboriginals undeniably are) are a very proud people who stick staunchly to their beliefs and cultures,
the problem that this man quite rightly points out is that pride quite often morphs into stubborness and bitterness and whether those
feelings/character traits are justified or not - they do get in the way of resolutions to the relevant issues today.
Unlike their neighbours across the ditch in N.Z. the Australian aboriginals do have a genuine grievance to take up with the current democratic
govenment, they are the indigenous people and they were treated extremely poorly BUT !!! just how long do you hold someone accountable for their
great, great grandfathers actions ???
I firmly believe that their should be settlements reached and land given back (it might be bit much to ask to dismantle whole cities to do this but i
believe that their is plenty of it still around to hand out once the government has paid out current land owners to return whatever is deemed by both
parties to be reasonable).
However, you cannot expect to have the proverbial cake and eat it too... you now have your land back - either go back to your old ways of surviving
off the land (eating huhu grubs and plant roots etc) or do something with it to make a living off and pay your way in a modern day society that like
it or not is here to stay - NOBODY has a god given or born right to welfare payments !!! and using them to finance alcohol and drug addiction is not a
career to be endorsed by parents or anybody else for that matter !!!
The problem with this is that probably 1 percent would be prepared to go back to the old ways of living off the land (ironic as this is what they seem
so unshakingly keen to protect) and roughly the same percentage would be prepared to work the land to pay their own way in todays society... the
reality is that if that was the case then they would either be already living off the land or have jobs as we speak.
What these situations unfortunatley create is an environment where racism is not necesarily condoned (more tolerated) if its directed towards a group
of people that you have some form of historical grievance with, the simple fact of the matter is that racism is not ok PERIOD ! and if you want to
lead a lifestyle that fits socities stereotypes then dont complain if you personally get lumped into that basket... this is not racism, this is a
statement (or point) of fact.
The issues are the same world wide in many countries... regardless of history and how people ended up where they are today - you cannot change the
past and each individual within evrey race and creed needs to look at themselves, be accountable for their own actions and live a daily self
sufficient existance.
If you choose not to live in the bush or desert etc and want to lead a civilised existance with a house, running water and power, drive a car etc then
you have to abide by the laws, get a job, pay your taxes and put food on the table for yourself and your family that you purchase with the money you
earned through finding employment and so on.
All these theories on colonisation being the cause for a certain race of people being over represented in all the wrong statistics is merely a weak
and pathetic excuse for the above mentioned racism and lack of personal accountability to rear its ugly head.
In summary - While you may be correct in the way you have chosen to word you reply (their sacred land) I dont think its relevant to compare
"objects" that you have stewardship over in some sort of professional role to a lake that is (at present) in the public domain.
