My personal experiences over 30 years in remote communities are for me a far more accurate benchmark to comment than some academic browsing around for 3 weeks & then leaving as a fully qualified expert on remote communities. They blatantly refuse to accept anyone's word other than another academic or an indigenous who tells them what they want to hear. This is why we have so much ongoing disunity. One lot is too ignorant & the other is to opportunistic. Integrity does not get its foot in the door. Its alway the abusers & the abused, never the successes of people living in harmony. I live in a community which was very cohesive with clubs & various social functions until Wayne Goss took the reigns in Queensland. All of this has now eroded to nothing & to add insult to injury the Bligh outfit has thrown the communities to the dogs of bureaucracy with Council amalgamation.

Dear Joe (Loudmouth),

As I stated earlier - it is now possible to explore the
past by means of large number of books, articles, films,
novels, songs and paintings. Many voices have filled out
the space once claimed as the Great Australian Silence.
All you have to do is some research - from reputable
sources - go to your local or state library - they have
entire collections of this issue. Look up articles on
Keith Windschuttle if you don't like the link I provided.
There's plenty more on him by many sources.

However, I must admit that considering your background -
I am perplexed at this apparent gap in your knowledge.
Black arm-band history is often distressing, but it does
enable us to know and understand the true history of this country.
Not the romantic version that many of us were taught and still
believe as factual to this day.

Anyway, believe whatever you want - it's your own affair.
And the reasons for doing so are your own as well.
History will judge events in due course - no matter
what you or I say or do.

cont'd ...

Dear Joe (Loudmouth),

BTW: The "one Page," as you referred to the link
I gave to Bonmot - was from the University of
Tasmania. Did you click onto the "Frontier
Conflict," reference at the end of this article?
If you had you would have seen the vast bibliography
that was given for other reading material on this
subject. There were many references listed that
you could pursue - if you're genuinely interested
in finding out more.

I've just come across the following two links
that may put things into their proper perspective
for us:

http://newmatilda.com/2012/01/27/mob-violence-wasnt

And -

http://newmatilda.com/2012/01/27/real-tent-embassy-story

Lexi, you're spot-on:

" ... believe whatever you want - it's your own affair.
And the reasons for doing so are your own as well.
History will judge events in due course - no matter
what you or I say or do."

Well, a bit of genuine research helps of course. And I've been doing that for more than forty years now - and come out the other side in the process. I'm proud that we made the first Aboriginal Flags from 1972 onwards, for example, and nobody can take that away from us.

I'll stick by what I wrote: that from now on I will believe in what I have evidence for, not gut-feelings, not romantic versions, but hard, mundane reality.

So it goes without saying that I will keep trying to work and fight for genuine Indigenous rights, to comment on wrongs when I see them, such as 'self-determination', and on progress when it occurs, as in higher education - no thanks there to the self-serving Indigenous academics or their minders.

Indigenous people do not need lies, or scams, or frauds, or bullies. They need reality. Their cause is just, it is a hard and bitter struggle, but it is one which they will win, I'm sure of that.

Joe

let the law take its course.
Belly,
you didn't specify which one. The one that protects the perpetrators & persecutes the decent ? Or do you think there is actually a law as such which deals with fairness ?