Canberra Australia Day Weekend, a political view.
If you do not like right wing rants read no further!
While I was enjoying a wargaming Australia Day weekend I was momentarily distracted by the front page of a newspaper. Why was the Prime Minister being dragged by a security guard? And why was an Aboriginal woman grinning as she held her shoe?
A day or so before this happened some commentators of the left were attacking the Australians who dared to proudly fly Australian flags from their cars. Surely, they said, this was racist!
Well, my first reaction to seeing such flags on cars was that they looked very silly but on hearing the attacks on the practice I felt like acquiring some of my own flags and flying them!
So, back to Julia Gillard. I can't say I'm her biggest fan but she is our elected leader and deserves at least the minimum respect of not having to flee for her safety. It turns out that the event was triggered by a false rumour, leaked to Aboriginal leaders, by one of her staff, that the Opposition leader, Tony Abbot, had called for the tearing down of the Aboriginal tent 'embassy' in Canberra.
There are a number of points to be made. Firstly, Tony Abbot said no such thing
In fact he said Aborigines had achieved much and that the 'apology' made for the 'stolen generation' - he did not mention that the definition of stolen generation is debatable- had been a good thing. However he said it might be time to 'move on'.
As a result the event Mr Abbot and Julia Gillard were attending was besieged by a mob of Aborigines banging on the glass windows, swearing vociferously and making violent threats. Both leaders were whisked away by security officials and police.
Some Aborigines threatened to sell Julia Gillard's dropped shoe on EBay but later changed their minds.
Some Aboriginal leaders, to their credit, condemned the mobs actions.
The police said no charges would be laid.
My observations are: a/ violence needs to be met with the full weight of the law, (just as it should have been in the London riots), b/ selling stolen property is a crime, c/ our PM needs guaranteed security, c/ I thought we had free speech or maybe that is just in America (I'm thinking of the racial vilification laws that were used to nail journalist hero Andrew Bolt), d/ for a conservative politician Tony Abbot is very wishy washy - he should have said to tear down the 'embassy'.
When Australian and other cities were recently occupied by protesters 'tent embassies' they were tolerated for a couple of weeks. The Aboriginal one has been in Canberra for years and it is time it went.
Like most indigenous peoples around the world the Aborigines suffered depopulation from disease, lost hunting grounds and massacres. Those of the left would like this to be laboured upon in schools with an emphasis on the massacres. The fact is that any fighting force which is out classed can be massacred. It happened to Custer when the Indians had greater numbers and better weapons than his cavalry. It happened to whole cultures such as the Aztecs because their superstitious beliefs and combat techniques and weapons led to their defeat by the better armed and better motivated Spaniards.
What the left does not want mentioned though, is the practices of cannibalism and infanticide practiced by the Aborigines. Escaped convict William Buckley lived with Victorian Aborigines and related this in detail. He is one of many sources. The kidnapping of Aboriginal women by Aboriginal men and their violent treatment is not to be mentioned either. The Aztecs, by the way, sacrificed at least 40,000 people a year.
The Australian Aborigines have experienced many unpleasant outcomes of contact with Europeans. This is not to say that pre-settlement was a garden of Eden. Aborigines have also enjoyed much that advanced industrial culture has had to offer. For over half a century Australian governments have spent billions of dollars on Aboriginal welfare. In fact it has bred a culture of entitlement among Aborigines and resentment among poor white Australians not able to access the same benefits.
Finally, what would happen if members of real embassies such as the German, Indonesian or Danish embassies attacked the building the Prime Minister was lecturing in? Expulsion of ambassadors and severing of diplomatic relations would be the mildest result. The event has certainly done nothing to gain sympathy for Aboriginal advocacy.
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Since the above blog entry was made the site has been blocked from schools. What was I saying about balance and freedom of speech?
While I was enjoying a wargaming Australia Day weekend I was momentarily distracted by the front page of a newspaper. Why was the Prime Minister being dragged by a security guard? And why was an Aboriginal woman grinning as she held her shoe?
A day or so before this happened some commentators of the left were attacking the Australians who dared to proudly fly Australian flags from their cars. Surely, they said, this was racist!
Well, my first reaction to seeing such flags on cars was that they looked very silly but on hearing the attacks on the practice I felt like acquiring some of my own flags and flying them!
So, back to Julia Gillard. I can't say I'm her biggest fan but she is our elected leader and deserves at least the minimum respect of not having to flee for her safety. It turns out that the event was triggered by a false rumour, leaked to Aboriginal leaders, by one of her staff, that the Opposition leader, Tony Abbot, had called for the tearing down of the Aboriginal tent 'embassy' in Canberra.
There are a number of points to be made. Firstly, Tony Abbot said no such thing
In fact he said Aborigines had achieved much and that the 'apology' made for the 'stolen generation' - he did not mention that the definition of stolen generation is debatable- had been a good thing. However he said it might be time to 'move on'.
As a result the event Mr Abbot and Julia Gillard were attending was besieged by a mob of Aborigines banging on the glass windows, swearing vociferously and making violent threats. Both leaders were whisked away by security officials and police.
Some Aborigines threatened to sell Julia Gillard's dropped shoe on EBay but later changed their minds.
Some Aboriginal leaders, to their credit, condemned the mobs actions.
The police said no charges would be laid.
My observations are: a/ violence needs to be met with the full weight of the law, (just as it should have been in the London riots), b/ selling stolen property is a crime, c/ our PM needs guaranteed security, c/ I thought we had free speech or maybe that is just in America (I'm thinking of the racial vilification laws that were used to nail journalist hero Andrew Bolt), d/ for a conservative politician Tony Abbot is very wishy washy - he should have said to tear down the 'embassy'.
When Australian and other cities were recently occupied by protesters 'tent embassies' they were tolerated for a couple of weeks. The Aboriginal one has been in Canberra for years and it is time it went.
Like most indigenous peoples around the world the Aborigines suffered depopulation from disease, lost hunting grounds and massacres. Those of the left would like this to be laboured upon in schools with an emphasis on the massacres. The fact is that any fighting force which is out classed can be massacred. It happened to Custer when the Indians had greater numbers and better weapons than his cavalry. It happened to whole cultures such as the Aztecs because their superstitious beliefs and combat techniques and weapons led to their defeat by the better armed and better motivated Spaniards.
What the left does not want mentioned though, is the practices of cannibalism and infanticide practiced by the Aborigines. Escaped convict William Buckley lived with Victorian Aborigines and related this in detail. He is one of many sources. The kidnapping of Aboriginal women by Aboriginal men and their violent treatment is not to be mentioned either. The Aztecs, by the way, sacrificed at least 40,000 people a year.
The Australian Aborigines have experienced many unpleasant outcomes of contact with Europeans. This is not to say that pre-settlement was a garden of Eden. Aborigines have also enjoyed much that advanced industrial culture has had to offer. For over half a century Australian governments have spent billions of dollars on Aboriginal welfare. In fact it has bred a culture of entitlement among Aborigines and resentment among poor white Australians not able to access the same benefits.
Finally, what would happen if members of real embassies such as the German, Indonesian or Danish embassies attacked the building the Prime Minister was lecturing in? Expulsion of ambassadors and severing of diplomatic relations would be the mildest result. The event has certainly done nothing to gain sympathy for Aboriginal advocacy.
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Since the above blog entry was made the site has been blocked from schools. What was I saying about balance and freedom of speech?
Thanks for entry on this incident. I listen to an Australian podcast that is "liberal" in content that also criticized the mob's actions.
ReplyDeleteMy blog is now blocked by the Education Department. Hmmmmmmmmmmm
DeleteI did see photos your PM at the riot. She looks a little like the actress Tilda Swinton, but she's a little thick in the ankles.
ReplyDeleteWonderful Mexican figures James - a real delight!
ReplyDelete