I mused recently about how constantly vigilant a white Australian of advanced years (me!) must be to try to remove any vestiges of racism from his ancient, creaking body (me again!)
And trust (me!), for someone who grew up in the 1950s and 60s and hails from north Queensland stock those racist traits elements lurk there and stubbornly resist removal.
An example: rather unfairly, I have in the past thought the welcome to country has gone too far. International sporting events maybe but at the front door at Coles or the grandkids’ prep class? I know some leftwing friends who harbour similar thoughts. But before you shame me by hanging a banner with a big letter R over my head and those of others, please hear me out.
Rather ashamedly, I’ve only recent got to learn the way our First Nations people used the welcome to country to neighbouring mobs seeking entry to their territory. It’s rather nice, really. “Gidday and come on in and share some tucker if you have no intention of stealing our women.”
But my beef has always been with such welcomes being delivered by activists who bang on that the land they’re standing on was, is and will always be Aboriginal country and who make it clear that land has never been ceded to anyone. Hint: a treaty and significant reparations are coming.
I’ve often cringed, not because they’re proud of their bloodlines and they sure as hell did have sole ownership of the place for tens of thousands of years and can be forgiven for being a little overzealous, but because these comments are fruit for the sideboard, money for old rope, for the cookers, racists, white supremacists, proud boys, Trumpers, conspiracy theorists, religious nutters and general sadsacks who think life has unfairly passed them by, such as the racist, bog-stupid Pauline Hanson and her moronic followers, the target audience of the radio shock jocks and Newscorpse columnists and of course, far, far too many members of the Liberal and National parties.
That’s a big target group there, and Yes campaigners should never underestimate the damage done when the likes of federal Shadow Minister for Indigenous Australians Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price bag the welcome-to-country custom. Shame on her by the way. Maybe she needs some Gary Johns’ authorised DNA testing.
Every time a welcome to country goes over the top, the talk of a treaty and all sorts of reparations down the track becomes fertile ground for the No! mob to spread their bullshit as thick as they like, despite all logic and history telling us that such things will be largely symbolic and no-one is going to end up paying rent to live in their own homes or that the first Nations people will end up owning most of the joint and black states will spring up everywhere. Right, little Johnny Howard? One of the first low-life racist pricks to start this sort of nonsense.
If you don’t think all this shit is having an effect, look no further than Anthony Albanese’s clumsy response to a week-long attack by the Opposition: “LOOK OUT! A treaty is coming and it’s not too far down the track”. He instinctively saw the dangers just didn’t respond as well as he should have.
Another thing that won’t be happening is a whole swag of Australian cities and towns being forced to change to their original Aboriginal place names if the referendum succeeds.
If the vote does go down, perhaps we can blame the ABC and the recently completed women’s World Cup football for that. All those venues identified by their Aboriginal names, and sometimes first! It had the likes of Andrew Bolt and Pauline Hanson, the aforementioned national leader of the non-indigenous One Nations people frothing at the mouth and wetting themselves from the excitement of the damage they could inflict over the practice.
Brisbane is not going to be renamed Meanjin in my lifetime, nor my grandchildren’s, most likely. Ditto for Sydney turning Gadigal, Melbourne Naam or Perth Boorloo, but that hasn’t stopped the likes of Bolt and Hanson throwing stupid, illogical, red-meat arguments to their equally moronic followers.
The Yes campaign is in trouble if the polls are correct and the reason is that there are a lot of people out there sadly responsive to a No campaign based almost entirely on bullshit, lies and mindless fearmongering.
Makes someone (me!) almost ashamed to be an Australian.
Don Gordon-Brown
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