Hi Paul,

That infantile notion, so common on the 'Left' these days, of either/or - if you don't support Position A, then you must support Position B - Black OR White, what they used to call Manichaeanism, has surely had its day ? There is an infinite variety of Evils: we have seen it in Zimbabwe, and we're about to see more of it with the Crocodile taking over from the Octopus. If I was a believer, I would be praying for the people of Zimbabwe: how long before Mnangagwe cracks down ? A month ? Two ?

The problem with corrupt political systems, whether here in Indigenous Australia or in Zimbabwe, is that the way 'out' from them is incredibly difficult to find: corruption corrupts everybody, more so towards the top of course, but all the way down in diminishing returns: payback for loyalties. The political expression of the Indigenous push for ever-more rent-seeking was the 'Recognition' ploy: nobody was ever going to enact it, i.e. set up a separate State and go 'out there' to be with their people, urban elites were going to stay firmly in their urban enclaves in the inner-city, apart from their State-funded trips. 'Recognition' was always a scam, to garner more and more public funding, to be distributed through Indigenous patron-client networks, right down to the smallest 'community'.

But there seems to be no Plan B with such scams. I fear that, even in Zimbabwe, there is only Plan A (ii). Remembering back to the days of Marcos' Philippines, it's obviously very difficult - eventually impossible, it seems - to move away from a corrupt patron-client hierarchical system to anything like democracy and reward-for-effort. Overthrow, then what ?

In Indigenous affairs here, instead of rent-seeking, I've almost craved for economic initiatives, any initiative, to work, but instead - at least in the 'communities I'm most aware of - activities have been wound down to nothing: literally, in one case, where a 300-acre almond orchard is now dead and the 'community' abandoned, having fulfilled its purpose of attracting funds on a massive scale.

[TBC]

[continued}

How to encourage a population away from personal rent-seeking, and to appreciate the effort-outcome link, given the economic potential of the resources that Indigenous 'communities' now control ? Noel Pearson touched on the problem, his observations about how difficult it is to get people to step down from the 'welfare pedestal' and get into work - and to thereby get their kids to see the point of education - now, that's a Plan B. How to operationalise it, when the elites - and their non-Indigenous brokers - are doing so well out of Plan A ? What, thirty billion isn't enough ? Thirty billion and barely a single vegetable garden in the whole country to show for it.

Sorry for getting off-topic :)

Joe

A homosexual in a 'long term relationship with a man' has been sacked from South Baptist College, WA, because the principal will not employ a person who is openly 'gay' (homosexual).

It seems that the character above was keeping his private life quiet, but was emboldened by the 'victory' of the YES crowed to cock a snoot at his employer. Tough luck for him that the principal has a backbone, and is prepared to test the water.

ttbn, he would have been easy to sack if he was black, his colour would have given him away. If he had been physically disabled then no problem flicking him, a missing right arm is a dead set gimmy. Now being homosexual is a bit more tricky, many of those devo's try very successfully to pretend that they are "normal", like Baptists. But we know better, a good Baptists can always spot an odd ball. Nothing like a bit of backbone is there.

Ttbn,

It's neither right to sack a bloke for being homosexual, nor to sack one for not being homosexual. The legal position would be that both have equal rights not to be sacked. We can disagree with that, but it's the law.

Cheers,

Joe