The Two Faces of Australia

Am I the only one who struggles with the conflict of the Australia I know and the one we hear about and read about daily?

The Australia I know is full of opportunity. People are respected (not to say you can't joke about something like ethnicity, religion, colour of your hair or skin). Where we cherish and acknowledge the difference, albeit we may not always agree. Where all violence and abuse is condemned. Where people think it's wrong to sponge on others. Where we accept responsibility for who we are and what we do. Where a 'fair go' is core. Where success and self-sufficiency is praised and encouraged. Where we 'pull our weight' and where we step up and help those genuinely indeed.

The Australia we hear more and more about is full of violence and hate. Where stories of the arrests of child abusers are a daily occurrence. Where people who defend morals are attacked. Where people who choose to dress modestly are abused and accused of victimhood when they raise it. Where difference marks you as a target, just because you are different, despite how you live your life. Where the numbers of deaths and of violence in the home are staggering. Where depends on the contributions of others are viewed as an automatic right and success is envied and attacked. Where walking the streets exposes you to dangers. Where we turn a 'blind eye' to violence unless it fits a certain profile. This is the Australia that we hear about day after day and it dominates on social media and in our published media.

I would like to hear and see more of the former and less of the latter. How about you?

The Industry of Reconciliation

I heard an ad this morning by Adam Goddes talking about reconciliation. Encouraging people to attend events rights around Australia hosted by our indigenous and Torres Strait Islander community. (Remember also that Goddes father is of English, Irish and Scottish heritage.)

Like so many, I grow ever more weary of calls for reconciliation. Which, with out deliberately trying to sound harsh, is a call by a minority in this country who believe they have and are entitled to rights the majority will never enjoy. Are we expected to concede to demands for ever? Will this ever be settled?

The definition of "reconciliation" is:

The restoration of friendly relations. The action of making one view or belief compatible with another.

It's nye on impossible to achieve that whilst white Australians are continually told that we are for all intents and purposes camping on indigenous lands. We can't even attend a major sporting event, at venues, which by and large our taxes paid for, without being welcomed to 'their land'. Guests in the country thousands of us were born in.

We are vilified because of actions committed by the British over 200 hundred years ago. Whilst many shameful events took place how many times are we expected to say sorry for the past. What about the good things that stemmed from British occupation.

Let's face it, our indigenous race didn't just miraculously pop up from the ground here. People migrated here thousands and thousands of years ago. We are all seeds of migration. So far back do we go in the claims for rights.

It's about time we said enough. We are all equal under the law. No one group should be treated differently to another. Stop the reconciliation calls. Stop the indigenous industry and stop making the majority feel like they don't belong because the minority feel like victims.

Human Trafficking - Stopping the Boats

"Thai action kills off illegal migrant trade". People justify deaths in war as necessary to stop something evil. Stopping boats is a war against the insidious trade of human trafficking.

People who operate people smuggling rings are not heros. They are evil men who exploit people for profit.  It's a massive business. One that is now more profitable than either the drug or illegal arms trades.  Like the drug and illegal arms trade it must be stopped. Whilst ever countries accept illegal migrants, the trade will continue to flourish. With millions of people trying to escape their home countries for any number of reasons, the size and scale of this incidious business is vast. The amount on money these traders in human misery stand to make incalculable.

It breaks my heart to think of children dying at sea. The same as it breaks my heart to think of children dying in war zones. But we have to take a stand against this evil trade. No country can afford to keep taking on more and more disaffected peoples. We have to kill the boat trade and then all efforts need to be put into fixing problems in these basket case countries like Myanmar etc. Instead of attacking Tony Abbott and blaming him for problems in Asia and other parts, refugee advocates should be thanking him for having the courage to take a stand in leading the way in stamping out the boats trade.