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the blame game

As I mentioned in a previous post, I’m taking Australian History as one of my classes here in Australia. I’m currently working on my end of semester paper and doing a little research regarding the treatment and interpretations of the Aboriginal people during the era known as the ‘Stolen Generation’. For those of you who don’t know, this was a period in Australian history where the government took hundreds of thousands of Aboriginal and half-Aboriginal children from their mothers to assimilate them into ‘White-Australia’. This assimilation process consisted of them gaining a new physical identity by cutting their hair, physical abuse, denial of their culture, language, and customs, extraneous physical labour, and so much more. There no other description besides heart wrenching.

I could write you a 20 page paper on the gruesome details, but I’ll leave that for my professor. What I’m bringing you today is a quote that so accurately sums up my thoughts with the recent trend of incessant conversations about race in America.

“No matter what the wound, it is easier to act as one of many who have been victims of a historical wrong than it is to act as the isolated and sole victim of a personal slight.”

-Michael Jackson | Anthropologist | Broken Circles by Anna Haebith

So what does that mean to you? Well, let’s start with my fellow kin of colour. At first, I thought it was an insult to those [Aboriginal people] who have been done wrong. It’s “easy” he said. But if you dig a little deeper and read a little further, you’ll see it really makes no sense to shit on Aboriginal people because they clearly have not been victims of personal slight towards anyone. ‘They’, ‘we’, ‘people of colour’ have not and could not disadvantage or slight another race historically. What is underlying is that there is power in numbers. So let’s use it. #BlackLivesMatter

For those not people of colour, listen up! Jackson and I get it. You may not “be racist”. You may not have ever done anything that you feel is racist. HOWEVER, you still benefit from a systematically racist society that benefits white America. I’m sure that sounds familiar. I’m not the first to come to this conclusion and surely won’t be the last. But what I want to tell you is that you can use that to your advantage. Understand this concept and accept this concept. The longer that you, personally, deny that you are not at fault...the longer this conversation will happen. Here’s the hint: accepting this fact is step one. Here’s another hint: “it is easier to act as one of many who have been victims of a historical wrong than to act as the isolate and sole victim of a personal slight.” Stop fighting a fight that isn’t there. If you’re not overtly racist, good for you. Now help do something about those who are.

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As my time in the land down under comes to a close, I hope to continue to experince it as much as possible!

 

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Quote of the Week:

 

Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going."

 

-Jim Ryuh

 

 

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