Thread: Should tourists climb Uluru?

Originally Posted by MrLandy

What do you think white fellas have been telling Aboriginal people to do for the past 200 years?!

...by insisting on climbing Uluru, you are telling Aranda people to live by your belief system.

Would that be the same Aranda people who want to claim in on the benefits offered by what my culture has to offer in terms of welfare?

I'll just quietly assume that you read the post that went in before I redid the last bit.

When the aboriginal people (and I mean every last one of em including those I want my benefits because my great auntie was 1/10 indigenous) get on one side of the fence or the other then I'll have some respect for them as a whole. Till then that humpin great lump o red rock in the middle of Australia is just that and no more, a lump of rock thats red and lets you take some very pretty pictures from.

IF they ALL decide they want nothing to do with our world and dont want the benefits they have to offer then I'll decide that their belief system has merit for respect.

If they decide they want in on our world with what it has to offer then they can come over completely, yes, nice to have a history and heritage but thats as far as it goes an no further. As a society you do not grow by looking and living in the past, you go in the direction you look.

Originally Posted by Blknight.aus

As a society you do not grow by looking and living in the past, you go in the direction you look.

The gem in the discussion. Would the world not be a better place if we all took this advice. You can't have it both ways. Thanks Blknight.

This thread is not about the past, it's about the present.

Originally Posted by MrLandy

This thread is not about the past, it's about the present.

Of course it isn't. Now you're just being silly. How do you have this conversation without taking the past into account? If the past didn't matter, then the thousands of years of tradition you are talking about stomping all over is a moot point by your very own wording.

This proves you're just trolling.

Those thousands of years of tradition are also here in the present. It's why we are having this ridiculous 'discussion'. It's about what you choose to do now.

...What, you think that because some whitefella comes along and says ''stuff you, I should be able to climb that rock if I want', that the thousands of years of tradition are confined to the past? Is that what you call progress?

nope progress is what I call all the benefits you have in this society

if you don't want people climbing your sacred rock hand back all the benefits you have accepted from this society and you might be taken a little more seriously, then have all your brethren do the same.


Answer me these,

Do you devoutly follow all of the traditions of "your people" or just the ones you like?

Do you take advantage of the traditions of our culture when it suits you?

Do you celebrate Christmas?

Easter?

Australia Day?

Originally Posted by MrLandy

Those thousands of years of tradition are also here in the present. It's why we are having this ridiculous 'discussion'. It's about what you choose to do now.

...What, you think that because some whitefella comes along and says ''stuff you, I should be able to climb that rock if I want', that the thousands of years of tradition are confined to the past? Is that what you call progress?

I'm not sure I fully understand what exactly it is,, but when was the place used for the last initiations of the young boys, or when was the last one done?
So what, "tradition/culture based events are taking place there?

I just wish that people could "live and let live".

Personally - I climbed the rock about 25 years ago. I would probably climb it again, but I'm not fit enough. I wouldn't climb it to upset people or dis-respect them, I would climb it for it's natural beauty.

If you don't want to climb it - then fair enough, don't.

I respect the Aboriginal people - and would never do anything to damage their art. I think that Uluru is used in a positive way - so the Aboriginal people can teach people about their culture. Which I find fascinating. If allowing people to climb the rock draws people in - then I think that's a positive outcome.

Having said that - it's a big lump of rock, and it saddens me that people get so crappy in this thread.

How far back do we go? I'm sure that the Dinosaurs aren't happy with the human race... Should we eliminate all human beings because the true owners of the planet are the Dinosaurs? Or do we go back even further - and eliminate all humans and animals because nobody "owns" the planet?