moorey
call me Mia
No one, as per my last post.
Australia Day, is January 26th the right day?
- Thread starter Dales Cannon
- Start date
I was a teenager as was he. The school didnt care, the counsellors were not part of the school. They may have cared but didnt try hard enough. It was not my place to do anything specifically because i couldnt but i could have been more compassionate and helpful. Yes there are likely many races who get caught up in poor home life which affects their upbringing, thisnwas a small country town and should have done a better job. Someone in our circle of friends committed suicide when he was 15. No reason that any of us knew just he was found hanged at a spot we used to go. Suicide? Murder? Sad mistake? Who knows. He did not appear troubled but something was not right and no one suspected anything.
moorey
call me Mia
Indigenous young people are horrifically over represented in my line of work.
Ballarat region would have maybe 1% indigenous population at best, but of the 30ish kids I work with in residential and out of home care, they’re about 40% of the cohort. Virtually all came from parents who had also been in the same system, and who’s parents had been in the system, and the majority had suffered horrific abuse, neglect and trauma in the hands of well meaning white people (stolen generation, forcing white Australian culture and religion....many never knew they were indigenous, but classmates/teachers etc did, and singled them out).
It’s a pretty bleak picture, but things are slowly moving forward. Most of our indigenous young people now are at least partly case managed and supported by people from within their community, and great lengths are taken to reconnect them with their culture. Unfortunately many push back on this, as they have often personally only seen the down side of identifying as indigenous, and don’t want to be seen as such.
As usual, this is a personal observation. YMMV.
Ballarat region would have maybe 1% indigenous population at best, but of the 30ish kids I work with in residential and out of home care, they’re about 40% of the cohort. Virtually all came from parents who had also been in the same system, and who’s parents had been in the system, and the majority had suffered horrific abuse, neglect and trauma in the hands of well meaning white people (stolen generation, forcing white Australian culture and religion....many never knew they were indigenous, but classmates/teachers etc did, and singled them out).
It’s a pretty bleak picture, but things are slowly moving forward. Most of our indigenous young people now are at least partly case managed and supported by people from within their community, and great lengths are taken to reconnect them with their culture. Unfortunately many push back on this, as they have often personally only seen the down side of identifying as indigenous, and don’t want to be seen as such.
As usual, this is a personal observation. YMMV.
Mattyp
Cows go boing
As a migrant I can 100% say that racism is culturally engrained in both Australian and My family's Polish background.
When I was 2 my family moved here in the early 80s with $70 to their name and were able to (with some small cultural hurdles along the way) learn the language, work multiple jobs, turn them into careers, buy a house, send their kids to private schools, retire, receive government handouts with no questions asked. Don't get me wrong my parents worked hard but if Indigenous Australians had even a remote amount of the opportunities that my parents had handed to them we wouldn't be having this discussion. It really is fucked and it needs to change.
If giving up our 'entitled' Public holiday is a small step in the right direction then it needs to happen.
When I was 2 my family moved here in the early 80s with $70 to their name and were able to (with some small cultural hurdles along the way) learn the language, work multiple jobs, turn them into careers, buy a house, send their kids to private schools, retire, receive government handouts with no questions asked. Don't get me wrong my parents worked hard but if Indigenous Australians had even a remote amount of the opportunities that my parents had handed to them we wouldn't be having this discussion. It really is fucked and it needs to change.
If giving up our 'entitled' Public holiday is a small step in the right direction then it needs to happen.
danncam
Likes Dirt
IPA, more like the dog whistling angry white bigots and selfish pricks of Australia.
glenn1529
Likes Dirt
It’s horrible to find out too late when someone has taken their own life, I’ve had a similar experience.
It’s unfortunate that when we find out that someone has a shit home life, we blame ourselves, the councillors, the system, anyone.... except those that have dealt out that shitty home life. Humans know the difference right and wrong. Between beating or abusing children or treating them better than they got treated.
@moorey correctly points out that it’s a cycle of abused kids growing up and abusing the next generation. What do we do? Council the abusers? You’ve already said that they don’t want the help available. Gaol? We already know that it’s indigenous people are over-represented in there. Remove the children from the situation/cycle? Already been told that that’s worse than leaving them there.
Any answers I come up with won’t be accepted by the indigenous community because I’m a white devil. The community themselves need to come up with solutions and, unbelievably, be enforcing those solutions for the betterment of their own people.
moorey
call me Mia
Young indigenous people are given more support in the system, and the Youth Justice system works a lot harder on diversion programs to avoid Secure Welfare (short term...2-14 days...incarceration in special facilities if young person is at severe risk to self or others) or detention/jail. Magistrates are hesitant to sentence them, and there’s a lot more checks and balances. It’s positive, in theory, but sometime leads to young people not getting an awareness of what they are facing once they turn 18 and leave care, where they are basically abandoned unless they seek out support.
moorey
call me Mia
A lot. There are specific indigenous organisations and bodies involved and overseeing all the way.
Varies from client to client, and with any cohort.
glenn1529
Likes Dirt
So I gather from all of this that there is a heap of people, both indigenous and white, that are busting their arses to try and help our nation’s first people get out of the hole they’re in.
If this has been happening for a while now, and there doesn’t seem to be an improvement in the lives of indigenous people. Where to next?
It comes back to an earlier comment. You can lead a horse to water, but if it doesn’t want to drink the water because you’re white, what then? Bigger trough? Sweeter water? Build a house at the trough?
the Indigenous people of this country (as a united voice) need to take ownership of the issue, work out what they require to make improvements and demand the support of the government.
If this has been happening for a while now, and there doesn’t seem to be an improvement in the lives of indigenous people. Where to next?
It comes back to an earlier comment. You can lead a horse to water, but if it doesn’t want to drink the water because you’re white, what then? Bigger trough? Sweeter water? Build a house at the trough?
the Indigenous people of this country (as a united voice) need to take ownership of the issue, work out what they require to make improvements and demand the support of the government.
The Dude
Wasn't asking to be banned
Like every other "group" does with their issues?
Great in theory; totally impractical in practice
This is probably another unrealistic notion that there will be one united voice, view or vision nation wide and Fed government will deliver the solution. The true success stories are often ones that are self driven.
Mattyp
Cows go boing
Well fuck... a Treaty would be a great place to start, pretty sure thats been on the cards for a while.
Elbo
pesky scooter kids git off ma lawn
They have been. Read the Uluru Statement From The Heart. Read Mark McKenna's 'Moment of Truth: History and Australia's Future' in Quarterly Essay, Issue 69 (2018). The Turnbull government's response to the Uluru Statement in 2017 left no doubt as to who will be advising whom into the future...
glenn1529
Likes Dirt
Last sentence is 100% my point.
glenn1529
Likes Dirt
Turnbull government you say? Nuff said.
Plankosaurus
Spongeplank Dalepantski
emphasis on "eventually" unfortunately. the cheese crusaders are notoriously excellent at digging their heels in the ground when they catch a whiff of something thats about to change.
glenn1529
Likes Dirt
Cool, jot it down while other people are actually getting on with doing something. Sure. If it makes you feel better.
glenn1529
Likes Dirt
BTW @moorey and @Dales Cannon, not trying to belittle your experiences and work. We are all together in a broken system.