Well, Australia Day. Do we celebrate, do we protest? I think the time for protesting Australia day has passed. Most of us work with the wider community, we eat, live and play amongst the general population of Australia these days.
I think that first and foremost I am an aboriginal man. A close second to that, I am an Australian. I think the very nature of the downtrodden and the so called lower classes of society is their compassion. It seems that most Indigenous families I know have friends that have been shunned by their own kind. We are like the kid that brings home the stray puppy that "followed us home". I think that maybe that as well as being a beautiful part of our nature, this trait was our biggest weakness. When Cook came to Australia our ancestors greeted the boats and made them welcome. Once the guns started firing it was a case of "What the hell was that!?"
I guess I'm just tired of being angry for things that happened 200 odd years ago. Yeah things still happen, but stuff always does. You can't hate a snake for being a snake and biting you. You just have to recognise that it's a snake and that is the nature of snakes. I think the same can be said for a lot of ignorant people. They get taught certain things at a young age and it sticks. Maybe if we showed that the stereotype is a lie and reality is so much different, we could change a lot of minds.
Australia day to me is about celebrating a great many things.
The survival of our race, the secret pride we all hold on to.
The beauty of our art, our dance and our music.
Remember we ARE Australians, and like any Aussie we love a good party. Go out and celebrate. Change a few opinions. Make them look at us in a different light.
Remember that the best revenge is to live a good life. Live a good life my people and do your mob proud.
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