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]

I just had a look back at my posts - I said $680 all the way along..... not $700??

and, it was for a 4 bedroom house - $80 fortnight

[gleee58]

nit picking is so much easier than trying to reach understanding of the issues.

[gleee58]

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014/11/20/first-contacts-bo-dene-i-cant-believe-i-was-so-naive-a...

When Bo-dene Stieler returned from her journey on SBS's First Contact, her life was turned upside down. But, as she writes in her own words, her experiences on First Contact helped her get back on her feet.

[rabbitearbandicoot]

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@gleee58 wrote:

nit picking is so much easier than trying to reach understanding of the issues.

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nit picking? 

Then you explain to me so that I can 'reach an understanding of the issues'.

[azureline**]

I didn't say you left out anything................I suspect the editing did.

[azureline**]

and no, the guy at the hostel didn't say you couldn't go there........... he said there were other options. That doesn't mean if you had no money, you would not be allowed.

Also, the woman was a bus driver, she may not really know........ I believe she was guessing

[rabbitearbandicoot]

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@azureline** wrote:

and no, the guy at the hostel didn't say you couldn't go there........... he said there were other options. That doesn't mean if you had no money, you would not be allowed.

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Yes, the other options would be: sleep in the car (if you had one), sleep on a park bench, sleep in the park .. etc.

Anyway, fortunately, I have never been faced with such a choice - well.... I have actually but we won't go there.

[azureline**]

No, not those options.

Wow, amazing turn around for Bo Dene.

[gleee58]

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@rabbitearbandicoot wrote:

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@gleee58 wrote:

nit picking is so much easier than trying to reach understanding of the issues.

---

nit picking? 

Then you explain to me so that I can 'reach an understanding of the issues'.

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You're selecting tiny tid bits to pick apart in the argument that aboriginal people experience racism and prove that white people experience greater racism instead of looking at the big picture from the early days until now to understand how racism still impacts on their lives.

[azureline**]

I have experienced firsthand the effects that alcoholism can have on your family and the sheer terror of being homeless. I thought that if my family could get out of it, then surely everyone else could.

My time in Fitzroy Crossing showed me that many Aboriginal children are born with Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, and that they can lack the ability to make sound choices a result.

I always thought myself to be smart, but to have never considered such a vital link in the cycle that is impacting Indigenous societies, I was ashamed of myself.