Thread: Rudds apology

Ali,
You are bang on and this is the side most city dwellers do not see. Even a lot of town aboriginals are not fully aware of this issue. It is this that needs addressing urgently.
I grew up in Kalgoorlie and when we were young 17-18 and driving around Kalgoorlie we were told the same by the local police and aboriginal friends, not to stop. I personally had two friends that stopped on the back bypass road to assist and had the bejesus beaten out of them and also an aquaintance (a lovely young lady) that stopped to to the right thing and was beaten to an inch of her life, raped and then had her car stolen. This type of thing is fact and not Urban Myth. I was also in town for 3 lots of race riots, but got out of the way. A friend had his car completely destroyed just because he was white. There were quite a few of us white and black that did not want to be involved in these sad events.
The old town drunks were fine and seldom got abusive, most of the time we would actually sit and have a chat and give them some spare change and smokes as the converstation was worth it. It was when the younger aggressive ones started demanding money and smokes that we would tell them to go away and occassionally end up fighting.
The majority were good and I had a lot of aboriginal friends in Kal and some really nasty aggressors.
I remember the benefits of being friends with the local Wongai community as well, got into a big blue with some rednecks in Kal. Out numbered about 3 - 1 when out of the shadows stepped about 50 young Wongai fellas and step shoulder to shoulder with us because we new 3 or 4 of them.
There is good and bad all over, more good than bad but it is often less seen. I urge people before they comment to much to have a look at some of these remote communities where it is absolute squalor. We have also met some fantastic aboriginals in some of these communities as well, really really nice people and by george when you are accepted you are accepted big time.
A bit of topic of the apology, but hopefully puts some context behind things. An apology is not going to help these people help themselves.

Originally Posted by Reads90

when i drove around Australia it opened my eyes alot to the state of the aboriginals.
we first came across aboriginals in S/A and that was the drunk one in the middle of the high street and asking you for money , fags and other stuff.
Then we were told by serveral travels (Nomads , and truck drivers) not to stop for Aboriginals and to hit them if they step in front of your car. This was a great shock to me , and thought a bit much and the beer talking or taking the **** out of the pom.
It was not untill i came to Leonora police station (where i went to pick up my Aboriginal permit to drive the track) I was asked what car i had and if i had a bull bar . I was then told (By a what look like mixed Aboriginal race Copper) that if any aboriginal jump out in front of me or stood in the road then hit them with the bull bar. The lastest trick was to have woman with a baby stand in the road for you to stop. They said if this happens then hit them too. If you hit someone then report it at the police station at Ayres rock. This shocked the hell out of me . They told me that 3 weeks earlyer a road train had stopped for a woman with a bady and 6 aboriginals came from a bush and beat the driver and then left him 500 k's from anywhere and took his truck .
As you drive down the track to Ayres rock there is loads and loads of burn't out cars on the side of the road. We stopped counting at 250 , in 150k. Then you know when you are getting to an Aboriginal township as the crap on the side of the road starts to build up and up , and i am talking about used nappies, Beer cans and anything else. It is disgusting.

Then in Alice springs there are Aboriginals drunk all over town and in the river bed, plus the march of the Aboriginals up to the bottle shop at 2pm..Also you come upon them in the supermarket and the smell of bozze and everyhting else is beyond belief. And that is not just one but alot of them .

You also see a newish land cruser 100 seris full of about 13 aboriginals. The police told me they can't arrest them for over loading a car. These cars are wrecked, the insides are just covered in crap (fesses) Saw loads and loads of these cars

driving to W/A you see some little townships where there are really nice house, ones i would be proud to own. You see new ones to show you what they were like and then most of them are burn't , smashed and in a state of diss repair.

Up on the way to the cape , we came across a Nissan about 6 months old that two Aboriginals drove into 2 m of ater with no snorkle. Whne the truck stopped they swam out and left it. And walked off. It was still there a month after. After all i was told this is because they don't have to pay for it

And i have not mentioned the restriction on petrol and achol all around Australia.

This is not me being rasict, but what i saw as a pom who came to Australia and traveled around. I have heard alot more stories but these are the things i saw with my own eyes. I have seen alot more but what i have put on here is enough
My Sister in law works for the goverment in Sydney and is always going on about how hard the aboriginals are trreated by the Australian goverment . After one time i nearly bought her a ticket to Alice springs, as she has never been to the outback and the only Aboriginal she has seen have been in the towns. And to show her how much the goverment spend on helping them
I argee with people who say how far do you go. After all does the UK goverment say sorry to all the convicts that were sent over here. Separteted for their wifes and familes for just nicking a loaf of bread.

Just my thoughts
Ali

Originally Posted by Rangier Rover

What you have seen sure is the bad side. White mans bloody Grog doesn't help this cause. We are having problems similar over this way. Seems to be a nasty streak in some areas.

So white man is the only one to invent alcohol?? I think not.

Originally Posted by Slunnie

I wasn't making jokes. My thoughts were about the Aboriginal Hunting grounds at Lake Frome in the Flinders Ranges, where quite literally the area is controlled while the Aboriginal folk hunt.

Sorry Slunnie, I was not insinuating you were making jokes at all. There are heaps about the issue in Tassie though.
There are still a lot of places aboriginals can hunt traditionally.
One of the highlights of my travel was being asked to attend a Coroboree near Katherine in the NT many years ago. My wife was peed off as it was for men only and a real experience.

Originally Posted by stevo68

Your point being?? I haven't seen any redneck views whatsoever, if anything different view points. As per another thread on how some of these issues have been discussed on the whole with maturity and you fling that up..........how ridiculous,

Regards

Stevo

Stevo,
That is the sad thing, for having a differing opinion you get called a red neck or a racist. It is far easier for people to apply these tags and scare people into submission to justify their view point rather than debate it honestly.
Those of us that see the middle ground rather than either extremes seem to cop the most abuse.

I work for a multi national mining company and we are one of the biggest employers of aboriginal people in the industry. On a visit to one of our ports a group of aboriginal trainees all in their late teens, early twenties stood quietly watching ore being loaded into a ship. Some were crying. When asked why, one of them replied 'that is our land going on that ship'. Until you understand aboriginal people and their beliefs and their customs and how incredibly attached to country they are, it is very hard to make an informed comment.

I am not convinced the apology will do much, it was needed, but I dont see how it will make a difference tomorrow or next week or twelve months time. Other actions are needed and for many years no one has had the answers. There is still a need to remove children from abuse, white and black, there is still a need to deal with the drinking and violence, white and black and there is a huge need to allow Aboriginal people the chance to fix their own problems and white Australia has to help whether it is in Redfern or Fitzroy Crossing.

There are out spoken idiots on both sides in every argument and these are usually the only ones heard, maybe we all need to listen to the ones who are not saying anything, they will have the most reasonable answers.

Originally Posted by stevo68

but is it "plight" or is it "choice".

According to the Macquarie Dictionary 'plight' is a situation or existence, (usually bad).

Therefore a 'plight' may be a 'choice' or it may not be. There is no inherent qualification within the word.

Originally Posted by Slunnie

There are still Aboriginal hunting grounds on the mainland too.

No No No You miss understand.......these are licenses to hunt aboriginals. like you have a permit to shoot roos, only they throw spears back at you

Originally Posted by Treads

I think you may have missed something here: Last time I looked, Germany lost that war..... Other way round here isn't it?

Uhmmmmm ....bit like "The Mouse that roared" me thinks.......I have an opinion but for the sake of my fine reputation and credibility on this forum.... I am going to keep it to myself....Oh I might tell Ho