what i learnt this week 2016 :: WEEK 3

Jan 26, 2016

#WhatILearntThisWeek
cectimm_WILTW_2016_Week3

I am conflicted about Australia day… I am so incredibly proud of Australia and the fact that I am Australian. My parents made the brave decision to come to here from South America at a time when the Internet was non-existent and long distance phone calls were very expensive and could not be made at home.

I have had a wonderful life in this glorious country and have had many opportunities to live the best life I can.

However, Australia Day doesn’t sit well with me… this day seems to mean something other than pride in the racist bogan minority. They seem to think it’s a day to celebrate white Australia and take the opportunity to intimidate our migrant brethren (including a part of me I guess).

Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of Australia Day is the date… we seem to be celebrating and gloating about what our Aboriginal brothers and sisters call Invasion Day. I’m not sure how we can expect our Aboriginal friends to jump for joy on a day that is celebrating the arrival of their violent oppressors.

In Hawaii they don’t jubilantly celebrate Pearl Harbour Day… they hold remembrance ceremonies and cherish the dead. They don’t hold street parties in Hiroshima on the anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bomb… it is a sombre remembrance of tragedy and suffering.

I don’t claim to have the solution but I do know that something is not quite right. We should have a MASSIVE party and a public holiday to celebrate what it is to be Australian (for all Australian’s black white and in-between) how bloody lucky we are. There has to be a way we can celebrate that includes Indigenous Australia and celebrates their survival.

Happy Australia Day and VIVA AUSTRALIA!

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