Rainier, given that you and Aka continually fail to substantiate your claims and make silly accusatins about me, I suspect you are one and the same. Anyway, now as for quoting my father (Col Dillon) what you did not quote is that he has never let the racist attitudes of others defeat him, and he has never made it an excuse for any aspect of his life. Further, my father supports me 100% in everythng I do and is in total agreement with me.

"I just don't have the strength at the moment (or indeed the inclination) to unpack and repack Dr Dillon's delusions, unsupported assertions, twisted contrarian logic," well how convenient that is. I put the challenge to you as I have put to Aka: If racism is a major cause of the problems facing many/some Aboriginal people today, then why the hell are so many doing very well for themselves and are an inspiration to the country? Checkmate.

For Aka
“I do not feel inferior or feel that others have more power over me than I do.”
Well that’s good then. So I will assume that if somebody with a racist attitude towards you it has no effect on you whatsoever. I must have misinterpreted you when you make statements like “Racism contributes to the ongoing gap in life expectancy and wellbeing of Indigenous Australians” or “Indigenous people from all walks of life, well off and destitute, talk of racism affecting them. …” or “I have seen racism's effects on kids at school, people seeking health care”

“Your attempt at high-brow discussion on racism does not take into account that by year 2 an Indigenous child internalises that they are expected to be inferior, with lesser expectations for success and more negative stereotypes to contend with”
Maybe what they are internalising is the disempowering trash they repeatefly hear from adults (which includes some grandmothers) that the opinions of others is enough to upset them, make them feel inferior etc. Of course the ‘adult’ in their life does not have to speak this message of victimhood, they can communicate it quite effectively non-verbally. Please google “self-fulfilling prophecy”.

Aka, you keep on pumping out the same poisonous message (which you fail to substantiate) that “Aboriginal people feel inferior, therefore it must be caused by racism”. I can only think of one reason why you fail to support your arguments.

For Aka
“Anthony, I think you are trolling with this piece to try to gain approval in the mainstream society you cherish”
Nice opinion, but like many of your other opinions, they are simply just that – opinions. I submitted this piece (and please check out all my other pieces on The Drum) to help empower Aboriginal people given that they are continually disempowered by members of the victim brigade with the sick messages of “you’re a vicitm of the white man”.

“You use assertions instead of proof. I would like to see what proof you have to back up your stance.”
Too easy. You accuse me of the very thing that you do (this is called projection by the way). I have asked you many times to substantiate your claims, but you fail to. The best you can offer is “well other people say the same as me so I must be right.” I have provided proof to you many times. I shall do it again. There can be no greater proof that people are not upset or disadvantaged by the racism, colonisation, etc. then by the fact that many, many Aboriginal people in this country are doing exceedingly well despite the racism you keep on telling us about. And I notice that you still have not addressed this inescapable observation. “Racism” is just a convenient excuse used by people like yourself.

Aka, I am curious, what is your opinion of someone who thinks “Well it is in the literature, so it must be true”. Or “Many people believe it, so it must be true”

I agree with one of the other contributors here: when questions are asked, then they should be answered.

As you write, Aka, in many cases,

" .... by year 2 an Indigenous child internalises that they are expected to be inferior, with lesser expectations for success and more negative stereotypes to contend with."

And who do they get so much of this stuff from to internalise ? Let's be honest and admit that often, it is directly from the parents and other relations.

I remember one mother on the mission cursing her child for eating her Easter egg, in rather unimaginative but obscene terms, for about two hours. She hadn't bought him an Easter egg, only one for herself.

I recall another mother who was cursing her three-or four-year-old for some minor infringement: "You little Black c$%^, you F&%$@ing Black ape." And be honest, you must know it happens.

I was working one time organising Aboriginal career workshops for school-kids, and somebody in the head office said to me that some parents probably wouldn't like their kids to be getting career advice, and maybe getting more educated or trained than the parents. I promptly said that those kids should be taken off those parents. And I'll stick by that: kids are not the property, the belongings, the chattels, of parents - they are the RESPONSIBILITY of parents. If the parents don't think their kids are precious, then they don't deserve them and they shouldn't have the power to destroy their lives.

Yes, I think I'll stick by that.

So what do many Aboriginal kids internalise ? That it is proper to act the stereotype ? That Blackfellas are low, worthless ? I also recall a couple of brothers arguing bitterly over something incredibly trivial and one calling the other "Well, you're just Black." To which the other brother replied, "Yeah, well, you're double Black." What would kids learn by listening to that sort of talk ? Would this have anything to do with the phenomenally high rate of suicide of Indigenous young people, especially in settlements ?

I'm sure racism and internalisation happens, Aka, but it's not all cut and dried, and from just one source.

Love,

Joe

Anthony,
read my previous post carefully.

I said "by year 2 an Indigenous child internalises THAT THEY ARE EXPECTED to be inferior...", I did not say they felt inferior - they just get the picture of the social script. I have seen kids disengage with school because they don't like the crap they are fed, but most I know are very proud and confident in their identity.

Don't make stuff up - I have not said that Indigenous people feel inferior at all. I have said that racism is real and that it has a negative effect on Indigenous Australians. Don't misquote - it is a sin.

As for 'the literature', as a researcher surely you know that reviewing literature critically does not mean that you can simply dismiss rigorous research undertaken by the likes of the AMA (non-Indigenous research). Their research findings were unexpected and alarming. Rejecting 'the literature' simply because it does not support what you want to find is a serious flaw for any researcher.

Your reasoning is also flawed if you draw on the many Indigenous people who have achieved well in society. Some, as I am sure you will have have heard, is because they assimilated and think 'white' - they are tamed, while others have achieved simply because they worked hard, found ways to overcome or deal with difficulties (like racism), and some saw a break and grasped onto it, worked hard etc.

It is not either or. Being successful does not exclude experiencing racism or other knocks. Just as experiencing racism does not exclude someone from achieving success.

You fool yourself if you think that racism is an excuse. It is a part of the problem facing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and it contributes to the poor health outcomes. With your closed mind, rejecting the literature on research, it is very concerning that you are researching Indigenous health and well-being, and mental health.

FYI the working together book is on Indigenous mental health by some significant authors. Researching mental health I would assume you would know the book. Very odd indeed.

>>Why bring up the Holocaust?<<

Because the Warsaw Ghetto is a concrete example racial segregation. Something which you claimed was only regarded as a negative by a small number of people. But I think that nearly everyone in their right mind would agree that the racial segregation which occurred in Nazi ghettoes was a moral travesty.

>>I was born in 1967 in Victoria and I'm neither Jewish nor German, so why would I have an opinion one way or another?<<

So what? I was born in 1982 in New South Wales which makes me Australian with a predominantly Irish Catholic heritage. How does that disqualify me from recognising an immoral act as an immoral act? Is an action only wrong if it negatively effects you personally, or are some misdeeds so immoral that it doesn't matter who the victim is?

I'm not a teenage girl and I'm not a Lebanese Muslim: I still find the actions of a notorious group of gang-rapists some years ago completely sickening even though their crimes have had no direct impact on my life. Ditto the crimes of Jack the Ripper, slavery, the infanticidal practices of the Spartans, the Nazi ghettoes, etc. I think some things are simply beyond the pale even if they happened in the past to somebody else and it doesn't effect me. Don't you?

TBC