Since I have devoted the last two reflections to the country I chose to leave, the United States, I wanted to devote this one to the country I chose to move to, Australia.
I want to start off by expressing my appreciation of this beautiful country and my gratitude to Australia for allowing me to relocate and to become a citizen. While racism, misogyny, intolerance and violence certainly exist here, it seems clear these are not mainstream (majority?) ethos, like in the U.S.
The year I moved here, 2008, was the year Kevin Rudd made his “apology” speech. I often talk to parents about the nature of apologizing. If a child shoplifted, they can certainly apologize to the store owner, but the apology is pretty hollow if the child doesn’t return the stolen item. Europeans stole something, and they have not returned it.
Not only hasn’t Australia been returned to its rightful owners, but the invasion and brutal expulsion of indigenous people continues to be celebrated every year. And all our mainstream institutions and social practices are Euro institutions and social practices. An indigenous man really raised my consciousness when he told me “In order to be Australian, I cannot be Jinnabarra”. The comment was a reflection on a discussion about land ownership, which was a concept brought here by Euros. If an Indigenous person wants to “own” a home they typically have to go through the Euro processes to do it. It’s like a child telling other children: “I’ll play with you, but only if we play the games I want to play and we play by my rules”.
What if your child went into Big W and stole a watch? They told the store manager they were sorry, but they kept the watch and every year they celebrated the day they stole it. As a parent, would YOU consider that to be “an apology”?
Recent Comments