The Climate, Environment and Energy Thread

[Thryleon]

I’m sorry Thry but that is a complete misunderstanding of what is a complex situation.

Kevin Rudd quite rightly offered an apology for government policies that, while probably well-meaning, had dire consequences for Indigenous Australians.  Rudd’s apology had nothing to do with Lang Hancock’s genocidal rant.

It’s worth noting that Hancock was advocating genocide in the 1980s.  When did the Ottoman Empire displace the Byzantine Empire?

One could also ask when was the Islamic Al Andalus empire overthrown by the Christians (with the pagan Vikings running interference)?

Your cultural heritage doesn’t give you insight into the colonial treatment of Indigenous Australians, Melanesians, Polynesians, Native Americans, South Asians, etc.

The pogroms and death marches were instigated less than 100 years ago.  Turkey invaded Cyprus (dressed up in a humanitarian peach keeping mission) after the British withdrew in 1974.  These things are a lot more fresh than people think, yet here i am born in 1982, understanding that the landscape at the time is very difficult to view through a modern lens, and that is the crux of the issue.

Healing, isnt about an empty sorry.  These comments were made 30 years ago, when the "Oakleigh wogs" were a rough and tumble group from suburbia who terrorised innocent people in the name of protecting themselves.  My father drove a taxi, was beaten and robbed by a customer who called him a bloody wog along the way to leaving him hospitalised whilst he was simply putting himself through school.

The point being, that bad people say and do bad things and how we view them 30 years later 1980 vs 2022.....  These people were not even born at the time, and nothing came of the commentary and some of those beliefs were quite commonplace at that time amongs bigots and people of that persuasion. 

Without wanting to say that I understand better than anyone else, I think I am qualified to state I understand better than you think I do, and its because I myself have decided that its better to let it go and stop this from shaping your future.

On a personal level, I have grown up feeling very much a fish out of water.  Not really identifying with Australia because of my Greek heritage. and culture has at times led to people telling me that I should just head back to where I came from and then when I go on holiday being called an Australian by the Greeks.  Thing is, this can be a problem, or a good thing depending on how you look at it.  I don't think we need to silence people who are speaking out about issues, and potentially, further just maintaining the status quo, or actually making matters worse.  You will all no doubt understand that there is a certain level of angst between Macedonians who claim not to be of Greek heritage, and Greeks who declare that the only true Macedonians are Greek.  This is, I recognise that history has made this murky, and modern nationalism has shaped these mentalities to the situation where two differently alligned people currently are butting heads over the names, cultures, and history of the region.  Thing is, It all goes back to the same old same old chest thumping, modern borders are drawn and re drawn over and over again, and sometimes people of some political persuasions are in favour, and others are not.

The crux of the problem is simply one of interpretation and the issue is one of Balkan Politics.  Rather than getting angry about it, its easier to recognise that this landscape has changed a lot, and anyone declaring a truth is only declaring one version of it.  Hancock likely stated racist views.  Gina shouldnt have to pay for it or apologise for it if she doesnt show them herself.  How does her organisation do its business?

https://www.hancockprospecting.com.au/pr...community/

So sponsoring NAIDOC week since 2012 isnt enough?