Dear Joshephus,

You wrote;

“SteeleRedux, I note you are not happy with Australia's past or its present, that you cannot accept the past as history and move on.”

Oh no mate, I accept the past as history, the trouble is you don't. You want to either ignore or revise it. Without that acceptance, and you are a shining example of it, how can we properly move on? You and others like you are keeping us mired in this when it should be worked through with empathy and good grace, none of which you are exhibiting.

Look I am prepared to love this country warts and all. Our beginnings as a nation were not pleasant at all. It was filled with violence, death, destruction and dislocation far more than for instance New Zealand, but we have managed to strive towards a fairer more compassionate nation. Still a way to go though.

As I have said before you really need to get aboard or get out of the way mate.

Josephus, we are all here to express opinions. If Steele is unhappy at how he got here, his feelings and opinions are to be respected.

If some wish to undermine his reasons for feeling as he does, then they must expect to be challenged. I support him in bringing whatever he can to the table to support his view, as the more information there is the more we can inspect and inform our own beliefs.

I'd support him in his view that to be Australian is to be as knowledgeable, and acknowledging, as we can about the past before we form our opinions about matters affecting aborigines. The expression of informed opinion is what we want here, isn't it?

Jayb,

The IPA poll: " .... only 11 percent think it should be moved from January 26....."

If that poll could be replicated by a much larger sample, I would tentatively suggest that only a slightly larger proportion might vote in a referendum for the latest demand by the Indigenous Recognition advocates - that for a separate Indigenous representative body to observe and comment on any legislation presented in federal parliament. Say 20 %: not really enthusiastic support for the notion.

After all, people are not silly: they would be aware that a separate body which can observe and comment on legislation would also, by implication, have the power to disapprove of any legislation, No, they would not have a direct veto, but their disapproval with any particular piece of proposed legislation could conceivably be transformed into outright opposition on the streets. In fact, the very fact that such a body does not have any veto powers could be turned into yet another injustice wrought by an unjust system on helpless and innocent First Nations people, yet another pretext for mobilising.

But that's all part of Plan A. So far, the tragedy for Indigenous people is that there is no Plan B.

Joe

Look at all the ridiculous arguments being put forward just to deny the aborigines amongst us a better day to celebrate Australia.

Apparently we can't trust historians about the massacres so let's stop it for that reason.

Even though we managed to wipe out most aborigines we were better than others so we deserve a pat on the back... What an imbecilic position to hold.

You dills that follow that as reasonable thinking could suggest that seeing not everyone has been molested by religious institutions we should send letters of praise because it could have been worse...

We took 1000s of years to get to where we are now as we are a blended country from many nations...but you people expect the aborigines to get to our level in 230 years when you couldn't do it given the same circumstances. Hypocrites much?

The changing of Australia day to a day that best suits our aboriginal brothers is the moral thing to do - It is that simple.

So I guess you guys who object so strongly on this issue are probably immoral and don't give a damn about the much trumpeted "fair go" especially towards people who have black skin and come from a hunter gatherer background.

Time to unite this nation and ignore the nay sayers of this world by changing the date for the benefit of all Australians.

Time to leave the backward thinking pro 26th Januaryites in histories dust like we did with the anti gay marriage crowd. (oh look many of you who lost that vote are trying to hold Australia back again on this issue...What a shock!)

Time to "Do unto others", (someone important in your lives apparently said that but hey you ignore most other things he said), for the benefit of the nation and to ignore the nay sayers.

CHANGE THE DATE!

Sel-Opinionate2,

I'm intrigued by your assertion that " .... you people expect the aborigines to get to our level in 230 years when you couldn't do it given the same circumstances."

The great majority of Indigenous people in Australia live in urban environments. They or their ancestors have got up to 'our' level. The ancestors of many did so a very long ago. I'm thinking of my late wife's great-grandfather, born around 1848 on the Coorong here in SA, who worked for some years as the gofer for the Protector, Dr John Walker (1863-1868) and later took out a land lease. His numerous children averaged ten years' schooling, from around 1880 until after his death in 1905. Most went straight out to work as shearers, etc., since not much else was open to them. English was his, and their, first language. I've lost count of how many of his descendants would now be university graduates, certainly fifty, dating from 1964 probably up to the present.

So perhaps you might like to qualify your off-hand remark; as it stands, it is rank, if quite common, racism.

Joe

Changing the date will not change history or the hurt some maybe experiencing. The agenda is to remove white skinned people, the Westminster Democratic system, the rule of whitefella Laws that imprison blacks, and implant an aboriginal Government and laws.
They believe they are still being killed, supressed by capitalism and imprisoned under British Justice.

This is their mantra.

"Our common enemy is capitalism. Let’s unite to fight it together and win that better world, with a Treaty as its cornerstone.
Until then, every day is a day of genocide in Australia. There is nothing to celebrate until we are all free."
https://independentaustralia.net/australia/australia-display/australia-day-changing-the-date-changes-nothing,11129.