What a messed up world... we commercialised and industrialised so quickly that the oborigines have no chance of catching up and they end up getting themselves into some serious social problems and then we give them children to raise!?!?!
Not exactly, the problems were partly caused by the social liberal policies in the 1960s which encouraged the Aborigines to live in the outback and go on welfare without any proper supervision - go on the dole, smoke pot, drink, bash the wife and rape the kids. Its a politically sensitive topic amongst Australian - and they don't like talking about it in a rational or sane manner. People who state the obvious are branded as racists. The left in Australia believe that the Aborigines should be kept with Aborigines despite the fact that many of them, after totally unsuitable.
I am confused... are you saying that this is the "normal" way of life for the aborigines? I had the impression that back in those days before the European arrived the aborigines lived in the outback as balanced persons. No doubt there would some who smoke pot, drink, bash up their wife or rape their kids (just as in any society or community) but I didn't think this was the norm.
No. I'm saying that with the removal of proper supervision, the giving of free money via the dole system, the availability of alcohol and the idealistic notion that only aborigines can take care of aborigines - all this combines to create a brutal sick society. As for the idea of the noble savage - in the past, before the Europeans arrived - the Aborigines lived as they lived - as hunters and gatherers - with the strong dominating the physically weak - with men exercising a tyranny on the women folk. Archeological evidence shows that ancient aboriginal women suffered terribly from regular beatings.
Now I understand the system even less... why bother with preserving the oborigines' culture? Well, it seemed to me that propaganda has given me a romantic notion of the oborigines when in reality they were just brutes! How sad... :( I cannot respect bullies like them.
Progress is when we moved away from the use of physical strength in domination... or else we are back to the stone ages... or is this just my wishful thinking?
Well, don't get me wrong. There are many admirable qualities in the Aboriginal culture - their understanding of the Australian land, their artwork, the various mythologies which the tribes created... but some people hold fast to the "noble savage" theory - ie. that the indigenous people were a perfect culture and that the white man represented evil/old culture good = modern culture/bad... So they do their utmost to prevent the aborigines from assimilating into modern society - to maintain their "ancient way of life" and pay them to keep it that way through social welfare.
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What a messed up world... we commercialised and industrialised so quickly that the oborigines have no chance of catching up and they end up getting themselves into some serious social problems and then we give them children to raise!?!?!
Not exactly, the problems were partly caused by the social liberal policies in the 1960s which encouraged the Aborigines to live in the outback and go on welfare without any proper supervision - go on the dole, smoke pot, drink, bash the wife and rape the kids. Its a politically sensitive topic amongst Australian - and they don't like talking about it in a rational or sane manner. People who state the obvious are branded as racists. The left in Australia believe that the Aborigines should be kept with Aborigines despite the fact that many of them, after totally unsuitable.
I am confused... are you saying that this is the "normal" way of life for the aborigines? I had the impression that back in those days before the European arrived the aborigines lived in the outback as balanced persons. No doubt there would some who smoke pot, drink, bash up their wife or rape their kids (just as in any society or community) but I didn't think this was the norm.
No. I'm saying that with the removal of proper supervision, the giving of free money via the dole system, the availability of alcohol and the idealistic notion that only aborigines can take care of aborigines - all this combines to create a brutal sick society. As for the idea of the noble savage - in the past, before the Europeans arrived - the Aborigines lived as they lived - as hunters and gatherers - with the strong dominating the physically weak - with men exercising a tyranny on the women folk. Archeological evidence shows that ancient aboriginal women suffered terribly from regular beatings.
Now I understand the system even less... why bother with preserving the oborigines' culture? Well, it seemed to me that propaganda has given me a romantic notion of the oborigines when in reality they were just brutes! How sad... :( I cannot respect bullies like them.
Progress is when we moved away from the use of physical strength in domination... or else we are back to the stone ages... or is this just my wishful thinking?
Well, don't get me wrong. There are many admirable qualities in the Aboriginal culture - their understanding of the Australian land, their artwork, the various mythologies which the tribes created... but some people hold fast to the "noble savage" theory - ie. that the indigenous people were a perfect culture and that the white man represented evil/old culture good = modern culture/bad... So they do their utmost to prevent the aborigines from assimilating into modern society - to maintain their "ancient way of life" and pay them to keep it that way through social welfare.
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