Resistance to colonisation has rarely been polite. The senator asked questions Aboriginal people are still waiting – after two centuries – to get the answers to
Last year, Australia showed how unengaged and racist this country remains by refusing to insert an Indigenous advisory voice
Right, those are the options. Either you voted yes or you’re unengaged and racist.
If I were, like so many others, to believe what it is I have heard and seen since Thorpe took to the floor, I would be convinced she had broken through the barricades, thrown open the doors, stormed to the front and then proceeding to call his majesty everything under the sun. I certainly wouldn’t get the impression that she, as an Australian senator, attended an event she had been duly invited to, engaged in an act of peaceful resistance by turning her back as God Save the King played and then proceeded to yell a few hard truths about the Crown and the history of this country
This writing is just floundering and bordering on dishonest. While I agree too many people are clutching pearls about it, yelling at the King is what it is. Other First Nations members and elders have stated their disapproval for obvious reasons. While the reactionary “shock” about it is tiring; this side of it is as well. As pointed out it wouldn’t be with the crown these things would negotiated anyway. It would be with the commonwealth/parliament. So yelling at the king during this sort of ceremony about it is not only inappropriate due the event but also due to it being the wrong person to bring this to.
Yes yes rich and poor sleeping under bridges and all that. A convenient excuse that paves the way for never trying to improve things. Besides if we were all equal we would have treaty, as their ancestral rights would be recognised.
I’m inclined to suggest some minor edits… “Either you voted yes or you’re unengaged and/or racist and/or have been manipulated by a brazenly racist no campaign.”
There wasn’t any good reason to vote no, other than you didn’t want rural Aboriginal people to be communicating with the Prime Minister… As that’s all the voice was really about.
Also, a yes vote would have been a small step towards becoming a Republic.
The reasons I saw from the no campaign were 1. Unclear wording in the constitution 2. Bringing race into the constitution (either for all or none) 3. Lack of explanation as to how the changes, again to our constitution, would tangibly “close the gap”. I largely blame labour for it failing. Plenty of nos could have been yes if the campaign was more clear and informative imo but I don’t doubt racism played its part. Blaming it exclusively on racism and political apathy is disingenuous and certainly won’t inform people nor change their minds.
I feel like you could have sought out all that information though… So that’s not “reason” (which is what I said) - that’s you having further questions you could have answered with google, looking into it, and asking around the yes campaign.
Sounds like you fell for the no campaign and were just too lazy to give things a second thought.
P.S The constitution already contains stuff about “race” and identifies Aboriginal Australians as distinct from people who came here. It’s always had race in it …hence your argument that it “will bring race into the constitution” - is again just you not questioning the no campaign.
People being lazy and not bothering to find shit out isn’t the same as “having a reason” to vote no. It IS a reason a lot of people voted no, but that’s not the same as having had a legitimate reason to.
I’m providing some of the reasons I’ve read or heard from the campaign. Not that I support them or their validity. Regardless of whether people “could” have sought it out if labour wanting to put forward these changes the onus is on them address all the “concerns” either directly or by be being more informative in their campaign.
Which is all an aside, my point remains there were other reasons people didn’t vote yes contrary to what the writer of the article asserted.
Cool, but yeah, I do think modern western government are struggling to get messages out in the digital age of media consumption. People don’t have to go look for info, and often don’t care to, so they get bubbled in their own algorithms.
The campaign was plenty clear. People just didn’t want to hear it. “Don’t know, vote no” worked, even though the right response to “don’t know” is “do a modicum of fucking research”.
Right, those are the options. Either you voted yes or you’re unengaged and racist.
This writing is just floundering and bordering on dishonest. While I agree too many people are clutching pearls about it, yelling at the King is what it is. Other First Nations members and elders have stated their disapproval for obvious reasons. While the reactionary “shock” about it is tiring; this side of it is as well. As pointed out it wouldn’t be with the crown these things would negotiated anyway. It would be with the commonwealth/parliament. So yelling at the king during this sort of ceremony about it is not only inappropriate due the event but also due to it being the wrong person to bring this to.
Got another reason?
The same argument that won the gay marriage plebiscite - people should be equal under the law and, by extension, our constitution.
Yes yes rich and poor sleeping under bridges and all that. A convenient excuse that paves the way for never trying to improve things. Besides if we were all equal we would have treaty, as their ancestral rights would be recognised.
and a treaty was explicitly not on the table
I’m inclined to suggest some minor edits… “Either you voted yes or you’re unengaged and/or racist and/or have been manipulated by a brazenly racist no campaign.”
There wasn’t any good reason to vote no, other than you didn’t want rural Aboriginal people to be communicating with the Prime Minister… As that’s all the voice was really about.
Also, a yes vote would have been a small step towards becoming a Republic.
The reasons I saw from the no campaign were 1. Unclear wording in the constitution 2. Bringing race into the constitution (either for all or none) 3. Lack of explanation as to how the changes, again to our constitution, would tangibly “close the gap”. I largely blame labour for it failing. Plenty of nos could have been yes if the campaign was more clear and informative imo but I don’t doubt racism played its part. Blaming it exclusively on racism and political apathy is disingenuous and certainly won’t inform people nor change their minds.
I feel like you could have sought out all that information though… So that’s not “reason” (which is what I said) - that’s you having further questions you could have answered with google, looking into it, and asking around the yes campaign.
Sounds like you fell for the no campaign and were just too lazy to give things a second thought.
P.S The constitution already contains stuff about “race” and identifies Aboriginal Australians as distinct from people who came here. It’s always had race in it …hence your argument that it “will bring race into the constitution” - is again just you not questioning the no campaign.
People being lazy and not bothering to find shit out isn’t the same as “having a reason” to vote no. It IS a reason a lot of people voted no, but that’s not the same as having had a legitimate reason to.
I’m providing some of the reasons I’ve read or heard from the campaign. Not that I support them or their validity. Regardless of whether people “could” have sought it out if labour wanting to put forward these changes the onus is on them address all the “concerns” either directly or by be being more informative in their campaign.
Which is all an aside, my point remains there were other reasons people didn’t vote yes contrary to what the writer of the article asserted.
Cool, but yeah, I do think modern western government are struggling to get messages out in the digital age of media consumption. People don’t have to go look for info, and often don’t care to, so they get bubbled in their own algorithms.
The Liberal party literally wrote all their questions to the Yes campaign and they refused to answer any of them.
The campaign was plenty clear. People just didn’t want to hear it. “Don’t know, vote no” worked, even though the right response to “don’t know” is “do a modicum of fucking research”.