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I’m in a lunchtime Zoom session on truth-telling with @LarissaBehrendt @lidia__thorpe & other incredible speakers. Senator-elect Lidia Thorpe asks us to question which national identity we would choose: throwing a shrimp on the barbie, or the oldest living culture in the world?
What a nonsensical embarrassment that so many Australians feel pride over weekend BBQs & beers rather than this country (countries’) incredible history & rich, ongoing cultures.
Rodney Dillon says underlying racism has gotten worse in Australia and been allowed by leaders from all corners, across the spectrum.
Rodney Dillon says no child should be in prison, not just Indigenous kids. We should be smarter than throwing kids in cages. “If a kid’s locked up under 14, you can guarantee you know where that kid’s gonna be when he’s 20.”
Rodney references this report from @amnestyOz “Raise the Age: Kids Belong in Community” - definitely adding it to the (immensely depressing) reading list https://www.amnesty.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Raise-the-Age-Kids-Belong-in-Community-2020.pdf
There’s a petition you can sign here to demand the release of children awaiting trial in prisons: https://action.amnesty.org.au/act-now/demand-the-release-of-children-awaiting-trial
Now we’re hearing from Uncle Bruce Pascoe. He says the British regarded Indigenous peoples everywhere they went as savages without spirituality, economy or work ethic. That allowed the British to take away Indigenous people’s rights while viewing this as a ‘service’ to them.
“All Dark Emu is is a recitation of the public record, but it seemed to come to Australia as a shock,” says Uncle Bruce Pascoe. Thousands of researchers had read the records but they hadn’t broken ground in the public understanding.
“Aboriginal people are still being pulled up in the street and questioned rigorously just because they’re black,” says Uncle Bruce Pascoe. This is why #BlackLivesMatter 
is every bit as relevant here as in the US. #AboriginalLivesMatter
is every bit as relevant here as in the US. #AboriginalLivesMatter
Uncle Bruce says nastiness on both sides of politics is divisive & counter-productive. He says that fostering intelligent debate will help us progress on many issues, including Aboriginal rights & climate change. But there are vested interests in the status quo to overcome...
