I won't comment on the interracial marriage question although it was the main focus of the writer. About Whoopie, we should remember that she is first and foremost a comedian and attribute no significance to her tasteless and foolish remark. This was a feable attempt to get a laugh.

Oh my, how sensitive we are. I would suggest from Whoopi's comment that perhaps domestic violence is a way of life for the African Americans too and in a backhanded way she was patting Barak on the back for not going down that road.

The rest of the article gives the lie to those who blame the whites for trying to breed the blackness out of our aboriginal population. They have been doing it themselves, quite successfully and in fact the trend has generally been led by their leaders, most of whom have white spouses.

David

Oh the same old culprits pushing the white Oz policy.

David VK3AUU. remember the apology? It was about the stolen generations. This means that many people do not know their close relations so the safest is to marry out.

You also forget to remember the mass genocide (what was often called dispersals that actually means murder)that cause great depopulation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. And while you are busy remembering you might also recall from your vast reading, as obviously you consider yourself an expert, about the intoduction of diseases, relocation of peoples at the whim of whomever wanted land or obedience

Those wishing consider seriously issues and difficulties facing multicultural families could start reading examples in the Alice Springs News www.alicespringsnews.com.au

AliceSpringsNews provides easy to use archives with Google search within.

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Aka,

I've read a lot of bullshut over the past fifty years but your totally unsupported comments rank with the best. Intermarriage because people are afraid of marrying a relation, because there are so many Stolen Generation people ? Utter crap. The sort of stuff a passionate and well-intentioned but utterly misled person in Chicago or Manchester might view Aboriginal affairs, but not in my experience.

I've been happily married for 43 years to an Aboriginal woman and still regard her as my best friend. This morning she was telling me about endorphins, and the importance of at least one hug per day, at least seven seconds long, to produce enough endorphins: sounds good to me.

Very few people from her community were ever taken away (and they almost all came back in less than a year) but the rate of intermarriage is very high: in one family of cousins, about a dozen or so, every person has married out, sometimes twice. Of course, another set of cousins have each married an Aboriginal spouse, but the average probably cracks out at 80-90 %.

A common feature of intermarriage is that both partners are working, since after all, that is how people meet. I don't think that people go out of their way to meet and marry someone from another group, but if a minority makes up only 1% of a population, chances are that 99% of their friends at school, and later their work-mates, will not be from that minority. So 80-90 % intermarriage should not surprise anyone.

But what on Earth has Whoopi's comment got to do with anything ? And what's it got to do with intermarriage ?

Joe

Loudmouth, I see nothing about Whoopie's comments that was pertinent to the main thrust of the article. I can only guess that perhaps the author threw it in only to attract attention. Others may see it differently but as I said, "I won't comment on the interracial marriage question although it was the main focus of the writer." It was only my interest in pointing what may have stimulated Whoopie to make such a remark.

Congratulations on your 43 year marriage Loudmouth Joe, and I am pleased to hear that your wife's mob did not suffer from the forced removal that so many Indigenous Australians did. I know of many people who this is very relevant for.

Far from being crap, the issue of loss of knowledge of relationship is very real. Perhaps not so much from your wifes mob but for a lot of us this is so. Either loss of kinship knowledge, or too closely related community for a relevant partner to be found.

Then of course there is the love/lust factor and there are a lot more non-Indigneous people out there to chose from.

I married outside the mob and am very happy - children and grandchildren are our blessing.

Just as you spoke about your experiences I speak about the above issues from experience, personal experience and not on behalf of my husband

Mr Hagan,

Not sure how you linked to two topics of your discussion.

Whoopi's comments have nothing to do with mixed marriages?

Whoopi has often said that humour should have no boundaries. If the other members said the same comment then they would be considered racist. It seems the same as many of their discussions on the N-word.

Humour is the last final frontier. Not many are willing but many are fabled.

Loudmouth

Thanks for your balanced response and congratulations on your 43 years marriage. Hopefully we will hear you getting louder!