...has been driven into the heart of the country called Australia. The name of this country is of course not the same name for country that the Original People...whose DNA is entwined with the very molecules of earth of which it is made... would call it. But it is the same place geographically. Not spiritually, not culturally, not familial or environmental... Terra Australis, was the construct of British Imperialism and its defence forces... for which the continent was named. In 1768, Captain Cook, the British Navy Officer (well he was actually only a lieutenant at the time) had been given sealed orders by the British Admiralty to find this rumoured treasure of rich and fertile land tucked away deep in hiding from the rituals of other and one could argue, barbaric cultures, somewhere in the southern oceans of the globe. Cook arrived, made landfall once or twice and then claimed an entire continent for his government with no particular point of reference. The land was here so he just stuck a flag in it. Which really about sums up the entire invasion of the Aboriginal land which he and his antecedents never had a right to claim. They had no idea they had stuck a spear into a living organism that had connections with its animals and people and environment that were far beyond the comprehension of a naval bureaucrat working for a foreign government .I believe this last week has demonstrated one of the most seminal moments in the history of this country, since that invasion...far outweighing the spectaculars of national pride with events like the Sydney Olympics, the centenary of Anzac Day or even the day Pharlap last ran a race here... because in these last seven days we have come to the truth of the matter of who we are as a nation. We are racist. And for the vast majority of white people they don't have a clue why. Adam Goodes, who I have written about before on this blog is an exemplary man. His background as an Adynamathanha and Narungga warrior who is a great and graceful athlete, whose charm and intelligence shines when you see him speak, is now at the centre of a storm of intense debate about racism. He has been derided, abused and vilified by people who have shown up at the games he plays in his chosen sport to boo him. There is no reason for that other than they are racially motivated to try and bring a proud and decent man into the dust because they themselves are ignorant and quisling remnants of an illegal and brutal past. Let me explain. Australia as a continent has been the country of over 500 Aboriginal tribal groups for upwards of 60,000 years. These are the rightful sovereign owners of the land. They are not extinct or "traditional" custodians. They are the living breathing people whose land the 'Nation' of Australia is built on. It is a separate and distinctive country, with its own laws and I believe a far more sane and sophisticated way of being and living than what we are surrounded with now. The "Nation" of Australia is a corporate construct. According to the official website of the British Monarchy the British monarch is also the "Queen Of Australia". We as Australians... still...are part of Foreign Imperial law that does not originate on this continent. There has never been an official treaty between the two sovereign nations. The one that consists of 500 Aboriginal Tribal Nations and the one that is headed up by the Queen of Australia. Therefore the Occupation of the Continent of Australia is illegal in anyway you look at it. Now lets look at why so many white people don't even understand their own racism. When I grew up I was taught about Captain Cook (paying attention? yes he was only a Lieutenant) arriving at Botany Bay. I didn't know the first thing he did was shoot a few of the brave Aboriginal warriors that came down to warn him off. Not a great start to a "nation" and something I only became aware of in the last few years. They probably ran at Cook and his landing party with spears and in their protocols this undoubtedly would have been enough to show displeasure at the landing by demonstrating superior athleticism and fire power. The landing party, instead of demonstrating their 'manhood' and ability as warriors, in a one to one manner, retreated, firing guns and taking the life of the first casualties of the war between Aboriginal people and the invaders. Of course the finer points of this has never been widely explained. That a culture would find that killing something that threatened them was a viable alternative to retreating and trying to find common ground in a space where they did not belong is not exploration or 'discovery'. It is a declaration of war to gain control over vast and rich territories. The British Imperial Forces did this everywhere. They invaded places. Ask anyone from India to America and Afghanistan.For those of the ilk of Andrew Bolt, a journalist for the Herald Sun and the son of Dutch immigrants it appears that the history of this action has never been fully comprehended. Bolt's denials of the history of the invasion of this country has somewhat deteriorated into a kind of mania recently. The war in Australia between white and black has never been openly declared. The history of the "Nation of Australia" has been manipulated by the Bolt's of this world whose statements worm into the brains of those that would settle for anything that the power elite of information would have them swallow. Bolt would only have Aboriginal people as deep "black" in colour and grateful to their masters for what opportunities they have been given to "better themselves." Insulting and racist sentiments.So back to Adam Goodes. He has no longer been content to do what the Bolt's of this world would have him do. He has taken pride in his athleticism and joy in his culture and demonstrated his superior talents in a field of play. He has taken his responsibilities seriously as the head of the "No Room For Racism" campaign and been an advocate for young kids all over the country. But Goodes has done something more. He has shown by carrying "The Invisible Spear" onto the field of play (by doing a dance mimicking carrying a spear in celebration of a goal) what the actions of those first warriors must have been to those long ago invaders. Those warriors and indeed Goodes, were displaying their superiority. What the British Invaders and the Andrew Bolt's and indeed, the people who have swallowed their mythology have no answer for is how to reply to someone that is quintessentially more than them. More of this country, more of an athlete, more honest and more cultured. They have only the tools of the ignorant...like the original prisoners that came here, their way is brutality either with a bullet or a boo. It is telling. This continual racial vilification is just another attempt to undermine the progress of Aboriginal people in reclaiming their country on at least some levels and to deny them of their sovereign rights in their own country by causing psychological damage. It will not win. When the greater majority of Australians realise that we must have a real and meaningful "Treaty" with the Original People of this country and not a mere swipe at "Constitutional Recognition" then perhaps Adam Goodes display of his manhood will not be so threatening to those people who would deny they are racist.
equality