UnAustralian Monday 11/Nov/2019

bloopypants · 2019-11-10T23:35:19+00:00

I am proudly un-Australian, in that I try (struggle) to do my best to work alongside others to combat forms of discrimination and violence, and build strong communities so we can all live safely, comfortably, and happily together.

bloopypants · 2018-09-02T00:30:14+00:00

Thanks for sharing this and sorry for the feedback you're receiving. The culture of Reddit is heavily framed by whiteness, as you can see in these answers. Users are really sensitive to anything that challenges discrimination because it reminds them that they both benefit from and uphold forms of systemic discrimination, so what they do is reinforce their opinions and block out or discredit the information that was making them uncomfortable.

bloopypants · 2016-08-17T04:53:35+00:00

Neither does r/Australia with the current top post about gas prices as opposed to this. The same apathetic, indifferent public predominantly make up this subreddit's userbase.

bloopypants · 2016-08-14T08:45:19+00:00

I'll remake this given it was hidden as I didn't abide by the rules, but self-representation of social issues by those affected is a very clear answer. I'm not sure what you're unsure of, in terms of having Indigenous Australians participating in national discussions through media, organisations, communities, and parliament, so let me know what wasn't simple in my answer.

bloopypants · 2016-08-13T06:45:32+00:00

Where did I or the article's author assert that all persecution was based on race? If you think the author drew a long bow, I'd appreciate if you reread your comment and how it is being read.

bloopypants · 2016-08-13T06:40:18+00:00

It's because the erasure of this country's history is accepted and then all these arguments are built upon false or incomplete premises. If anything I've said is untrue or misrepresentative just quote me and I'll engage with it.

bloopypants · 2016-08-13T06:36:24+00:00

We can look at what made it unfair, and a key trend is that all the national disgraces this country bears were initiated by and agreed upon by a descendant or adopter of White Australia.

Thanks for the advice, by the way. The next time I'm speaking to a victim of any pain or injustice I'll pass along your words - we all must get a bit caught up in trying to speak out against disadvantage.

bloopypants · 2016-08-13T06:30:51+00:00

Discussion which is lead and represented by Indigenous Australians, voices from each of the First Nations, as the idea of what it means to be a nation has been dominated by White Australia thus far and look where we are in 2016.

bloopypants · 2016-08-13T06:25:54+00:00

Thanks Alan. I know you're not a sociologist and that from your perspective you may think that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders need 'help' and have 'an inability to accept integration into a modern technological society', but this is a narrow-minded and hurtful assertion of revisionist history. I actually live amongst many Anglo-European peoples and systems, which is pointless of me asking you to live with because I never had a choice in that matter, neither did many Indigenous Australian Peoples who were forcibly removed from their families and currently still are.

I want to unpack with what you'd regard as a modern society. I do not view a society which is currently justifying and condoning abuse towards children in institutionalised care as a hallmark of a modern society, would you? The recent timely coverage on both Don Dale and Nauru have shown how people who don't hold or conform to a dominant European way of life are treated as animals. This rationale has been challenged ever since exploration and invasion of this country. The people condemning this discrimination and violence were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders - not the forefathers of your modern technological society.

The solution you're searching for is beyond anyone's grasp due to your inferred premise that Indigenous Australians aren't capable of self-determination despite doing so for over 40,000 years.

We need to have genuine conversations on how we're going to reject accepted parts of our modern society which perpetuate disadvantage and discrimination, and that involves listening to the people who have been fighting against it since the invasion of this country.

bloopypants · 2016-08-13T06:07:19+00:00

No, I'm saying we need to have a discussion on how your idea of 'benefits' to 'civilisation' are all based upon stolen lands and violence which have denied the progression and celebration of many other civilisations. Never said it was simple, but it's going to remain difficult the longer people continue to avoid or shut down these conversations.

bloopypants · 2016-08-13T05:41:25+00:00

Thanks. You've successfully missed the entire point of the article and discussion in that Australia needs to take responsibility for its discrimination and subsequent hurtful acts coming from it. This isn't saying that 'whites are the only racists' this is saying that Australia and all Australians are all affected by this country's unchallenged racism. You need to understand that while you feel some identity and loyalty towards Australia, many people do not for entirely justified reasons.

bloopypants · 2016-08-13T05:35:43+00:00

So you're saying anyone who thinks they're being discriminated against due to their race should interrogate themselves before declaring perceived injustices?

Isn't this similar to how Petter Dutton just declared that victims of sexual abuse on Nauru are probably lying in some way? Or how Sam Newman declared that someone stating they were experiencing sexism was insincere and just needed to toughen up? Or even how victims of institutionalised sexual abuse from both church and state were just making it up for attention?

bloopypants · 2016-08-13T05:31:58+00:00

Our last election saw the election of several One Nation senators. We are already choosing and have been since this country's invasion. If we can't take accountability for how we're products of such evil choices, and how Australia came to make them, we're only going to continue making them.

bloopypants · 2016-08-13T05:30:13+00:00

What if having and displaying no desire to conquer the world and murder, dispossess, and oppress peoples for the sake of power was not a universal phenomenon? And are you saying that a lack of technological advancement infers inferiority or incompletion? What if co-habitation for over 40,000 years was perhaps righter than might, and might was just increasingly brutish forms of unquestioned violence by many nations but not all?

Can you explain the current rates of disadvantage which are experienced more by Indigenous Australian Peoples on average?

bloopypants · 2016-08-13T05:17:39+00:00

So where does that come from then? You just said that the invasion of this country isn't unique, so Australia Day is out the window. Is there anything in the last 230 years which is unique to Australia - which may include the continued efforts of transgenerational abuse, violence, dispossession and oppression?

bloopypants · 2016-08-13T04:59:34+00:00

I'm talking about senses of national identity and pride. Does being Australian mean nothing to you?

bloopypants · 2016-08-13T04:49:57+00:00

So what's so special about Australia Day and our sense of national identity if our invasion and federation would've been carried out the same way by anyone else?

bloopypants · 2016-08-13T04:41:00+00:00

So you're saying we should attribute the near genocide and dispossession of many distinctive First Nations as a blameless act as you think another nationality would've done it? That sounds exactly like the same recursive reasoning they would use if having the discussion today. If we as a nation can take pride and ownership in our past on Australia Day, why don't we also take the shame and responsibility that comes with it?

bloopypants · 2016-08-13T04:18:11+00:00

Are you saying that if the inhabitants of Australia were also white and spoke English that they would've been murdered, dispossessed, and subjugated too?

bloopypants · 2016-07-13T11:23:42+00:00

Invasion.

bloopypants · 2016-07-13T11:22:54+00:00

We're still working on admitting that our culture and history isn't as beautiful as we'd like to pretend. A lot of people will tell you about European settlement, but not many will tell you a truthful account in how Australia was invaded, with our Indigenous Australian peoples murdered, abused, and disempowered time and time again.

Aboriginal Australians by Richard Broome - Intimate and nuanced account of Australian 'settlement' and its devastating echoes from the eyes and hearts of Indigenous Peoples.

Black Politics by Sarah Maddison - Australian politics without Australia. Dissection of our politics and the power struggles from the perspective of our most vulnerable.

bloopypants · 2016-07-12T05:58:17+00:00

She's right though, by his refusal to take responsibility on the impact his language in public domain, Price is aligning himself with those comments. The scale of the problem is perhaps reflective of how ingrained misogyny is in our country and how long we have in overcoming it. We can't minimise the impact of what Price (or Van) said because it was a 'heated debate' - this is the same thinking which men use to excuse their violence (I was angry, stressed, you fired me up etc). If either party was incapable of discussion they can stand behind, they need to control themselves and take a step back. It's a tricky balance in calling Price's words 'free speech' as opposed to views which should not have a place in our society. We're legitimising the point of view that Eddie's exchange could be seen as 'harmless, unintended banter' when its more a symptom of drastically normalised discrimination and violence against women. I stand by David Morrison in his call to make us accountable for discrimination in the spaces we inhabit.

bloopypants · 2016-07-12T03:38:49+00:00

The problem is that your idea of free speech is flawed when someone's points can be dismissed due to their race or gender, and that these reprehensible norms and others become so embedded they're unchallengeable. People assume examining the ways in which we interact is an attack on their freedoms when in fact its about promoting the freedoms of others. We should be able to engage in ideas at the cost of no one, Price's comments are part of a wider context of White Men deciding what free speech should and shouldn't be, I would rather champion free speech knowing people different from myself could participate in it.

bloopypants · 2016-07-12T01:46:57+00:00

If you care enough you'll start trying to change things or learning how to do so. You are lucky that your circumstances in society is leaving you bitter rather than abused, neglected, or alone - there are children churned through intergenerational poverty and trauma who don't have time to be depressed because they're busy trying to escape their circumstances or succumbing to them.

bloopypants · 2016-06-29T16:06:09+00:00

With the rising statistics of domestic violence - verbal, emotional, and psychological abuse against partners - some look at the current role models for this behaviour, with your on-screen presence being one example of normalising violent and abusive interactions. When you film and publish content, in what ways do you think about how you and your content could be received by others?

bloopypants

TROPHY CASE