John Dawson

Are you the John Dawson mentioned in the piece Foxy urges us to read titled "The trouble with Keith Windschuttle"?

Quote:

"A new front was opened last night in …the culture wars. Columnist Frank Devine launched two books published by Macleay Press - Keith Windschuttle's The White Australia Policy and John Dawson's Washout…."

Here is a link:

http://www.kooriweb.org/foley/news/wd8dec04.html

Foxy,

Gerard Henderson's piece does not exactly support your claims. For instance he writes:

"As with The Fabrication of Aboriginal History, the strength of Windschuttle's latest book is that the author goes back to the original sources to make his points and to discredit his opponents…."

Precisely the point I made and the reason why I tend to put so much credence on Windschuttle's writing.

Henderson then goes on to criticise Windschuttle for instances in which he did not refer to primary sources.

I have come across many sources that slam Windschuttle. However those I've seen level all sorts of accusations at Windschuttle but do not back these up with evidence. Mostly it seems Windschuttle's critics simply don’t like what he writes.

In general I tend to believe historians who refer to primary sources. I tend to distrust those who engage in overblown rhetoric without the evidence to back up their claims.

But I could be wrong. When it comes to Australian history I am a tyro.

QUESTION

Why the almost exclusive focus on a stolen generation anyhow?

Assuming there was a stolen generation, at most a relatively small minority of Aborigines would have been affected. For the vast majority of Aborigines it would make no difference to their lives.

It seems to this observer that there is plenty to apologise to the Aborigines about IN THE HERE AND NOW about matters which are beyond dispute and which affect the majority of Aborigines.

Example: A life expectancy almost FIFTEEN YEARS below the Australian average.

Could it be that focussing on what may have happened in the past is a cop out, an excuse, for not facing up to the rather awful present?

Yes I've read all the books Foxy, and all the attacks on Windschuttle. And I've read Windschuttle's book. He backs everything he says with facts and figures and logical analysis. The academics hate him because he exposes their fabrications. But even with the whole pack of them baying for his blood they can't counter his book on factual grounds, so they huff and puff and misrepresent and slur. And people like you swallow what they dish up without checking it out by reading Windschuttle for yourself. Then you go round calling him a David Irving without knowing what you’re talking about. I investigated the accusations made by Windschuttle against the academics and those made bt the academics against him. With a very few exceptions, his stood up to scrutiny and theirs didn't. For details read my book: Washout

Interesting post John Dawson if that's who you are. I mean no offence. You may be John Dawson. But, realistically, there is no way I can verify your identity.

I want to make it clear that unlike Winschuttle and John Dawson I am not contesting ALL of Aboriginal history, merely one aspect of it.

Was there a "stolen generation"?

There has been much vituperation. Most posters don't like Windschuttle. They don’t like my suggesting that maybe, just maybe, he has a point when it comes to the stolen generation. There have been ad hominem attacks aplenty but nothing in the way of new sources of evidence that would discredit Windschuttle's thesis on THIS topic.

Foxy, all my Google searches on Windschuttle revealed is that he has outraged a lot of people. So in his time did Charles Darwin. In fact he still does.

But outrage is not evidence.

However I would like posters to consider a DEEPER QUESTION.

What would be more meaningful to Aborigines, the vast majority of whom are unstolen?

"Sorry we stole you?"

"Sorry you are deprived of 15 years of life. We are going to do our best to close the gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal life expectancy in Australia within a generation."

Quote from:

http://www.aihw.gov.au/mortality/life_expectancy/indig.cfm

"…Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have a much lower life expectancy than the general Australian population. Indigenous Australians born in the period 1996-2001 are estimated to have a life expectancy at birth of 59.4 years for males, and 64.8 years for females. This is approximately 16-17 years less than the overall Australian population born over the same period…"

"…Australia appears to compare poorly with other countries for Indigenous life expectancy at birth. For example, Registered Indians (Aboriginal people) in Canada have an estimated life expectancy of about 6-8 years below that of the non-Aboriginal population."

Unlike stolen generations the truncation of Aboriginal lives as an undisputable FACT.

oh lordy..now we got stolen gen..'''deniers''...just like im a holy cost denier..and a man made global warming deneyer..

now we have the stolen generation deneyer...for what a a sceptic...but one in denial...the dead cant reveal the reason for their abuse...

its beyond despute that colenisation of others land...by murder rape genocide..oppresive policing..de facto courts...are all sure signs...

look at the prisons...where 2/3 percent of the general/population become 65 percent of the prison/population...their abuse is revealed by the simple facts of them dying and being in jail..clearly there is sepperation..from their birth right...

but that is incidental..to the blind...who must support oppresive/genocidal..colinisation of others lands

believe as you chose...there have been genicidal hollow costs all over the globe...those who favour these powerplays...are in denial..sceptic...to justify its ongoing perversions/globally..

and specificly ..in the 'holy'..lands that belong's to god alone..and thus to us all..

not just you with the guns/the cynanide/and sulpherous..cluster..atomic/bombs...and a lobby that controles media and global poli-tricks...war policing finance ebtre-taint-ment..the arts and any other agency...that favours its own...with belief..and any other with sceptisim

Windschuttle is a pedantic toad who gained notoriety by finding relatively minor errors in the footnotes of the work of his academic betters. He became the darling of the racist lunar right during the Howard years by providing them with the appearance of historical evidence for their denialism, and the pretence of intellectual substance to Howard's refusal to engage in the act of reconciliation of the Apology to the Stolen Generations.

As far as I can tell, John Dawson appears to be a nobody who has attempted to cash in on Windschuttle's moment in the sun. Albrechtsen's just a lunar right media shill attempting to make as much noise as she can while she's still got a column in which to do so. Both Albrechtsen and Windschuttle were blatant political appointees to the ABC board.

With respect to the Stolen Generations, the overdue Apology given by Kevin Rudd on behalf of the nation was a welcome first step along the path to healing and reconciliation. It's unsurprising that someone like Albrechtsen or even Dawson would want to reopen those old wounds, but I'm wondering why a South African immigrant like stevenlmeyer wants to belatedly put the boot into the appallingly treated Indigenous people of his adopted country.

The Stolen Generations debate has been done and dusted, and the racist denialists lost. Apparently some of them still have axes to grind.

Yes, they don't seem to be able, amongst other things, to provide a legal basis for their assertions.

We could of course examine the legislation as it provided for:

1. Full Bloods
2. Half's
3. Quartets
4. Octets

And an examination of the ideology of the race scientists could lead you to conclude that they believed that once the original people were bred out past 1/8 that they were "white enough."

We could also have a look at the legislative underpinnings of, what was the title, something like, Chief Inspector of Aborigines and examine the directives pertaining to the office.

The film, was it called "Rabbit Proof Fence" shed some light on the history?

..

What concerns me is that the simplistic and unfounded in historical and legal fact assertions made by the deniers do appeal to the general prejudice of the ugly side of Australia. And they seem to have a considerable war chest for propagating their vile puke in the media in a variety of psychologically cunning ways.

..

All things said and done, if we are all Australians, what does it matter if the Original people have a lion's share of the wealth? Hmmm .. alas .. the prejudice of ill gotten gains and power.

*Chancellor Palpatine*
" ... All those who gain power are afraid to lose it. ... "

Incidentally, is their any truth to the rumor that a seriously significant vein of gold has been discovered under the Perth region?

I think it should be classified as *Woggle Poo* and Birth Right Inheritance for the Swan River people to ensure they are, well to do.

;-)