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Showing posts with the label protest

The Problems with Australia Day Extend Beyond its Date

Australia is a beautiful country, filled with many beautiful people descended from cultures all over the world. We've got unique and magnificent wildlife, we have an amazing array of wilderness - from beaches, deserts to tropical forests. And most importantly, Australia is home to the oldest living civilisation in the world , with continuous roots dating back tens of thousands of years.  So why is "Australia day" so limited in what it celebrates? The problem with Australia Day’s date, I think, does not get to the core of the issue because whilst the date itself makes the discrimination shockingly obvious, there is a problem in Australia of  ONGOING under-aknowledgement  of aboriginal culture  as a core and central part of our rich history. In a standard ‘Australia day’ celebration for example -  where  are the original peoples of this land?? Is there a welcome to country? Is there acknowledgement of ANYTHING about our First Nation ...

Would you have opposed slavery in its era?

Do you reckon you would’ve? One of my idols is a historical figure - Benjamin Lay. He was a vegan back IN THE 1700s!!!! And he was fiercely against slavery, he spoke out against it loudly and forcefully. But I believe one of the reasons he was able to do this was because he was incredibly unique from day one - he was a strange looking fellow with dwarfism and never had any hope of fitting in to ‘normal’ society anyway - without the bounds of belonging he was able to find true morality and speak up for what was right. I hope we don’t have to be dwarfs to speak out against widespread cruelty and immorality in this day and age. Change is scary, most people don't fight the primal instinct to belong. Especially when it is convenient, easy, and beneficial to go along with the majority. It is the uncomfortable and unfortunate truth that MOST people go along with deep ingrained systemic injustice because they've been taught to ignore it, expect it, or simply because it is too dam...