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https://web.archive.org/web/20230925044244/https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/comment/topic/2023/09/23/the-voice-test-enlightened-democracy>
"The “No” campaign’s confusing and foggy polemics about the Voice referendum
have set me thinking. The thought is about those qualities that we uncritically
ascribe to our Australian character: that we enjoy a fair go for all with no
one left behind, that everyone is equal. They are fine sentiments, but they are
not universal and have not been inclusive of Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander peoples.
When voters are told the referendum will deliver a Voice for Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander peoples, many are confronted by their own perspectives
and cannot comprehend that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are
the First Peoples of Australia, that we are distinct and unique. We are not
from the traditions of Western civilisation but from our own traditions, out of
this country. Some think Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples ought to
be the same as the non-Indigenous population, and therefore should not have any
recognition in the Constitution. This denies the uniqueness of who we are.
At the same time, people are confronted by the realities and challenges of the
present. All the social indicators tell us life for First Peoples is not on par
with the average Australian. The unsatisfactory statistics of life expectancy,
incarceration, suicide and the removal of children from the scourge of domestic
violence clearly tell us the gaps of poverty and disadvantage between
Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians are not being closed. There is no
formal equality.
Perhaps it is our gullibility or laconic attitude towards life that disposes
people to believe Indigenous advocates who oppose a Voice. Their position seems
to be that we are all equal, that there is no need for change because there is
no disadvantage. There are people who are keen to believe this argument, but to
make it requires a gross manipulation and distortion of our nation’s history.
To watch it has alarmed me."
Via Muse and also Clarice Boomshakala Bouvier.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
