First Contact

[bluecat*dancing]

Did anyone watch "First Contact" on SBS last night and/or the reaction on NITV? It's a three part series in which a group of people who have had no contact with Indigenous people spend time in various Aboriginal communities over a period of 28 days. I was shaking my head at the rudeness and ignorance of some of the participants.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-11-19/sbs-program-first-contact-sparks-social-media-frenzy/5901890

[rabbitearbandicoot]

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@lind9650 wrote:

I have lived in the centre when there were only a handful of white people there. I learned a lot from the aboriginals by asking questions and listening. I have a half - aboriginal daughter-in-law. She is a registered nurse, keeps her house cleaner than what I keep mine and has the greatest compassion, patience and care for my asthmatic son. Their three children are the most caring and respectful towards me, than any of my other family. That's probably the white half - only joking.

 Rabbit - If I wasn't in a good mood, I would tell you what I think about your ignorant comment.

My DIL was raised by her mother in an aboriginal community in Queensland. Her white father skiddadled before she was born.

Next time ask questions before making inane comments.

Erica

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My inane comment as you put it was, as I stated, a joke - a light hearted quip, not meant to be serious.

and why wouldn't her children be caring and respectful towards you? You are, after all, their grandma.

and, if I had asked questions, what questions should I have asked? 

Lots of fathers  'skiddadled'  as you put it. My own grandfather 'skiddadled'  - the one good thing to come out of that is that I have another family that I didn't know I had until a few years ago. An uncle, aunt and several cousins.

[rabbitearbandicoot]

anyway, I am off to watch Doc Martin and then First Contact - it's the last part of a three part series you know. And then after that I may watch Insight  with Stan Grant - a particular favourite of mine - he is talking to the people who went on that journey.

Bye for now.

[2106greencat]

hey rabbits,

you do seem to have a bit of a preconceived idea of the aboriginal people,

this bit from you rabit - she went walkabout for 6 weeks,   why couldn't you just say 'she went away for 6 weeks' ? Why use a term like that simply because she is aboriginal ?

I actually take offence to a hell of lot that has been put on this thread by many posters, but hey - opinions are just that, and other peoples opinions will not change my mind or convince me that racism in any form could ever be acceptable.

My first and last post on the subject, take it as you will.

[lionrose.7]

 Look at the history of the white man, let me see bought alcohol to the american indians and stole there land for a few blankets and booze, same in New Zealand with the Maori's.

Anothe part of the white mans history is to blame the natives, we were only trying to educate them!!!!!

I love the way the American indians has paid them back by opening Casino's, one way to get them back by taking there money haha

[rabbitearbandicoot]

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@2106greencat wrote:

hey rabbits,

you do seem to have a bit of a preconceived idea of the aboriginal people,

this bit from you rabit - she went walkabout for 6 weeks,   why couldn't you just say 'she went away for 6 weeks' ? Why use a term like that simply because she is aboriginal ?

I actually take offence to a hell of lot that has been put on this thread by many posters, but hey - opinions are just that, and other peoples opinions will not change my mind or convince me that racism in any form could ever be acceptable.

My first and last post on the subject, take it as you will.

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No, she actually went 'walkabout' - that's what she told me anyway.

[i-need-a-martini]

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@rabbitearbandicoot wrote:

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@gleee58 wrote:

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@rabbitearbandicoot wrote:

and, before you go off at me ... yes, I know they missed out on their heritage and all that .... but, all in all, much better off - better educated, better opportunities etc.

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They were taken away from families who couldn't look after them - why? because they were drunks, abusers or worse. If I had been a drunk and abused my children they would have been taken away too.

I do not agree with what happened to some of them afterwards - some were taken into, dare I say it, Catholic and or Protestant care homes - I don't envy those poor buggars one bit. But the ones who were adopted by families and brought up well - are better off than if they had been left with their parents. 

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Those statements are unbelievably ignorant of the history of the stolen generation.

Did you not take in anything about what was being said on the show? Perhaps you should have watched rabbit proof fence tonight instead.

They were taken away because it was policy. A policy that started out because Australians wanted the indigenous population to die out and then later due to a false sense of protection.

Entire families were wiped out thanks to these policies.

And what sort of an excuse is it to say it's OK because they "were brought up well".

Your posts have me reeling in disbelief and anger that there can still be people in this country with these kinds of beliefs and attitudes.

[azureline**]

I am lost for words.
I wonder why Sandy didn't appear on insight?

[azureline**]

Besides that lol

[rabbitearbandicoot]

well, I just finished watching First Contact and then Insight.

I think it can all be summed up by the Aboriginal leader's closing comments:

"It's not a one sided effort. We need to hold out our hand as well"

"We have to own the solution ourselves". 

As I have maintained all along, it's OK for the Government to keep throwing money at the problem, but in the end it's up to Aboriginal Leaders to make the difference. I admire the ones that are doing that. Like the women who recognised that booze was a problem and stood up in the community against full strength booze being sold. The result was an 80% reduction in abuse and crime - well done.

The following are taken directly from one or other of the two programs:

As far as the epidemic of FASD - the women who chose to drink while they were pregnant are to blame for that. Or would you have me believe someone else is to blame?

The prison: the guys they spoke to have been in there 11 and 18 times respectively -  the excuse - if an elder ask me to drive them somewhere, I have to do it even though my license has been cancelled. The other guy they spoke to has been in there a number of times for stealing - because it was fun.

Aboriginals  are 15 times more likely to be in prison. WHY? Is it because they are 15 times more likely to commit crimes?

15% of ALL murders are done by Aboriginals and most of those are against other Aboriginals. That's 15% of ALL murdersfrom such a small population.

Why don't they move to the city?

If I chose to live in a remote area have I the right to complain about work possibilities, hospitals and things to do? No!  As the leader said near the end of Insight - the one that chose to move to the city because he recognised that small communities have no hope for his children. The others whose connection to the land is such that they cannot leave. What? I guarantee that a lot of the people that have fled their own countries and moved to Australia for whatever reason (financial or fear) - most of them would have preferred to stay in their own countries had conditions been better but they recognised that there was no future there for them and their children.

Aboriginal sentencing - (this comment from the guy that is involved in Law enforcement - Police Officer?? ) Aboriginals should not be judged the same as everyone else. Their culture should be taken into consideration when sentencing them. What? 

Anyway, I'll leave you now to discuss how racially prejudiced I am.

[i-need-a-martini]

Clearly you watched the program but through glasses tinted with ignorance.

Because although you heard about an aboriginal community that managed to fight against the problem of booze, you obviously missed the intro to that where Weaving noted that the federal government has just removed funding to help with the type of programs these women implemented. How do they fight the problem without funding and support?

And whilst you blamed the women for drinking while they were pregnant, I heard about women with generations of problems with addiction which could be solved with funding for education. Addictions that white people introduced them to BTW.

And whilst you saw a man who couldn't say no to breaking the law, I heard that (aside from the cultural obligations these men had) they lived in communities with hardly any cars and absolutely no public transport living in isloted communities thousands of miles away from the local shops.

And whilst you heard that 15% of indigenous are more likely to be in gaol, I heard that the majority are in there for trivial reasons that no white man would ever be incarcerated for.

4 out of 5 of those people shared your views. And then they changed their attitude about their own prejudices. Why do you think that is?