Fox, "Many Australians have never seen an Aboriginal Australian"

Say what?! What absolute garbage! LOL

"Absolute garbage," is one of the many stereotypes
that are floating around about our Aboriginal people.
And these stereotypes as research has found can take
many forms and shapes.

Here's just a few about our Indigenous People:

1) They are primitive and nomadic.

2) They are drunks.

3) They are violent.

4) They are un-educated no hopers.

5) They receive too many hand-outs.

6) They don't use the land they get "for free."

7) They get treated too leniently by police and courts.

8) They don't want to work and are lazy.

These stereotypes are myths that are copied from others
without inquisitive verification.

Besides individuals focusing on these stereotypes the
mainstream media's focus on negative Indigenous issues
also creates much hurt when it presents the problems
of individual Indigenous people as being the problems of
all Indigenous Australians.

Of course there's also the fact that some Australians
believe that they are not responsible for the past and
do not owe Indigenous people anything. A view advocated
for many years by some former political leaders.

There are even some people who would deny the distressing
Black arm-band history despite the archival and primary
source records that are available. These people prefer to
shirk the evidence and live in ignorance. It's easier.
They don't want the burden of knowing. Ignoring and
denial, is a much easier matter to deal with.

The Catholic Church seems to have the same idea regarding child
sexual abuse. Ignore and deny and shirk the evidence.

Hi Foxy, it might be truer to say, If they have seen an Aboriginal Australian, many have never had a deep and meaningful discussion with Aboriginal people.
Just off the topic, my partner "T" is involved in a project to establish closer cultural ties between Maori people in Australia and Aboriginal people. Although both are different they have many similar beliefs and things in common, it is good to be able to experience both cultures. It is planned to hold a gathering later this year where such things as foods, song and dance, music, story telling, art etc can be experienced by both. Later we would like to see Aboriginal and Maori exchange visits between Australia and Aotearoa. A friendly exchange of sports, what the Maori call 'pa wars' is also envisaged.

Hi again Foxy, I did say Maori people and Aboriginal people have a lot in common, your 8 points of stereotyping above, many Pakeha wrongly stereotype all Maori in exactly that way. LOL.

Dear Paul,

The exchange and
sharing of ideas and cultures is such a positive step.
Your partner sounds like such an awesome lady.

As far as the Catholic Church in Australia and its
problems are concerned Paul Collins in his book
"Believers: Does Australian Catholicism have a Future?"
states that:

"Nowadays the requirement of celibacy is seen for what
it is: a requirement of church law that could be changed today.
But despite the massive shortage of priests and the fact
that a large majority of the Australian bishops would ordain
properly trained married men immediately, they are hamstrung
by popes and Roman authorities who stolidly refuse to
face up to the problem of the shortage of clergy."

"...And they do this in face of the fact that the fast
majority of Jesus' apostles and disciples were married, including
the first pope, Saint Peter, as were by far the greater number
of priests and bishops in the first 1100 years of the church's
existence. So while it is clear to the vast majority of
sensible Catholics that the church must change its policy
on celibacy, church authorities still resist the patently
obvious."

Experienced church lawyer and former Sydney Auxilliary Bishop
Geoffrey Robinson explains why:

"I believe that the Catholic church is in a prison...
It constructed the prison for itself, locked itself in and
threw away the key. That prison of not being able to be
wrong...Far too often the Catholic church believed
that it had such a level of divine guidance that it did
not need the right to be wrong...even when clear evidence
emerges that earlier decisions were conditioned by their
own time and that the arguments for them are not as strong
as they were once thought to be."

Robinson was speaking within the context of sexual abuse.
This imprisonment in the past has been reinforced by the
doctrine of infallibility, which also conveys a sense that
the church can never be wrong.

It's precisely this according to Collins that the church
needs to confront.

Fox,

That is sure a lot of words but not a single one admitting that what you said was demonstrably wrong, absolute rot. You are making things up.

To quote you again,

Fox, "Many Australians have never seen an Aboriginal Australian"

It is quite impossible for you to admit it when you are wrong.