"Me personally, I don't really care about the whole issue too much."

I feel similarly, AC. I feel lucky to have grown up and lived in the best times in Australia. Those times have well and truly gone; they won't be back. Australia is well on the way down hill. I'm glad that I won't be around when the younger generations start reaping what they have sown.

Armchair Critic,

What do you reckon?

How about we name all the low-life scumbag politicians, bureaucrats and business people in Australian history who have been responsible for the demise and ill-treatment of Australia's First Nations people?

Believe there are plenty of them!

I can feel my ancestors sternly telling me to correct my earlier comment.

They tell me to tell you all that they came from Scotland, NOT ENGLAND.
- Maybe the original bloke was sent as a convict FROM England, I dunno.

Hey ttbn,
Yes, the next generation sure are going to have to reap what they've sown at some point, and it'll be messy I expect.

Hey Mr Opinion,

'How about we name all the low-life scumbag politicians, bureaucrats and business people in Australian history who have been responsible for the demise and ill-treatment of Australia's First Nations people?'

What do I think?
Umm, well we COULD do that, and maybe we SHOULD.
- But playing the 'blame game' alone probably wont get us anywhere,
...Unless we do something else as well.

What else can we do other than blame?
(and yes I suppose certain people and representatives of past governments, who have done harm that still lives in the minds and hearts of the indigenous should be held to account - on some level);

But account to what exactly?
Half of those people were probably doing what was normal in those days.
Recent times maybe not, could we have done more, probably.

Do we come to some sort of agreement on fairness;
Or because British colonised Australia 200yrs ago, white people will get the blame for everything no matter what they do?

Where do we go moving forward?
Race and identity politics, seems to focus on what makes everyone individual and different;
And it seems to cause more conflict just for the sake of it.
- Instead of focusing on what makes us all similar.

I dunno where were headed, I'm pretty sure I'm in the group that says the 'idiots are running the asylum' in 2021
- So I expect a crap outcome whatever way it goes.

I could hope for the best, but it seems unrealistic.

Some of these people way back in history might have done good things for the establishment of our country, whilst also treating indigenous people in ways that cannot be forgiven;

How do we try to figure that out?

Lets say someone back in 1880 did great things to establish the nation, whilst at the same time would happily shoot an indigenous on sight if one was on HIS property.

Do we tarnish good things a person did because of bad things they also did;
When in their times it probably wasn't considered wrong or abnormal to treat then the way they did.

What do we do then start defacing cemeteries?

"That guy back in 1880 he was a bad guy!, I'm gunna smash his tombstone!"

Where does it all end, and DOES IT EVER end?
And what does everybody want or expect ME to do about it all?

In 2021, they want me, a white male to lay on the ground in the fetal position and pee myself a little bit.

You know -
Denounce the patriarchy
Acknowledge my white privelidge....
etc. etc.

Pfffttt.

Given the rapacious nature of capitalism - and all pre-capitalist forms of political power as well - does anybody seriously think that, if Britain hadn't colonised the continent of Australia and, in 1901 approved the establishment of a political entity called Australia - that no other colonial power would have ever tried to colonise the continent ?

We can flog ourselves with tree-branches all we like, wear sackcloth and ashes, but nothing will change that pretty obvious fact.

The British under Phillip beat the French under La Perouse by a couple of weeks. And the Spanish by around four years.

Children may wonder why, in most large coastal cities around Australia, there are gun emplacements with huge guns pointing out to sea. "Why are they there, mummy ?" they must ask. "Buggered if I know, dear," their loving mother might answer. When were they built ? In the 1850s. Why ? To repel the Russians.

Thirty years later, it would have been the Germans.

Fifty years later, the Japanese. Etc. Etc.

So is there any mug out there who thinks it may have been possible for Aboriginal people, in their thousands of clan countries, now called 'nations', to continue on with their foraging lives ?

Let's move on, suck it up and celebrate 1.1.1901 as the day that Australia officially began as a political entity for the first time in the history of the Australian continent.

Joe

Armchair Critic,

I reckon just a good old name and shame will have to suffice.

There are still plenty of people around who don't want to be named and shamed.

I say: STICK IT TO THEM.