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September 10, 2003

Whinging

Over at Lynn has an article entitled Who Is Beyond Reproach? It reminds me of an exercise I did many years ago in a General Studies subject at university (all Science/Engineering students had to do so make-work General Studies / Arts subjects - even people with minors in Geography). This particular subject was 'Oral History' and involved learning how to effectively tape your grandparents as a way of recording history. In the class there was another student who had the whining down to a fine art.

Now someone is going to come out with the racist label so let me make my personal philosophy very, very clear. Firstly we are all human (at least that is the default assumption until shown otherwise) as Shylock suggested: "If you prick me, do I not bleed?". Next, everyone in the class was Australian. They are also fairly intelligent (to have got this far) and finally some had different socio-economic-religious-cultural backgrounds. I try to treat people as people first and as a partciular race or religion second. I may not always be sucessful but at least I think I am aiming in the right direction.

This student used to moan and groan about "her people" and the "oral traditions" which had been "mindlessly destroyed" by the "white oppressors". My attitude is that such things are history and people today are doing their best to build on what we have rather than dwelling on the distant past. She would not, and could not accept any criticism but was happy to dish it out. After about 6 weeks of this I prepared a piece (now lost in the mists of time) along these lines:

I come from a dispossed race. My people were forced off their lands. Some tortured and punished for their religious beliefs, others for their race. There was no opportunity for betterment. They were forbidden to wear traditional dress, or carry a weapon. Their livelihood was taken away as the oppressors fenced the land and stole the areas held in common by the tribe. All schooling was done in a foreign tongue and the use of native dialects was discouraged at the point of a sword. Women losts their rights and foreigners forced themselves upon them. There was no recourse to the law and the invaders firmly believed that we were no better than animals and certainly less valuable than cattle or sheep.

The class was stunned that I would make these claims which so closely mirrored this other students complaints. How dare I? I was not aboriginal? After a moments silence, she stood up and pointed her finger at me and accused me of mocking her. I responded:

Rather than mocking you, I wanted to explore those themes we have in common. The difference is that I make the best of things the way they are and you are not prepared to do so.

She repeated her claim and pointed out that I was not aboriginal in any way shape or form.

And she was right ....

I am not Australian aboriginal ....

I am, however, of Scottish (Jacobbite) descent ....

Posted by Ozguru at September 10, 2003 10:09 AM

Comments

Ah! But, like me you have a number of strikes against your claim to victimhood! I am technically an African Hybernian Anglo Saxon Celt, but the dominant (eg in terms of primogenture)genealogical racial pattern is my fathers line which makes me English. But hang on, HIS family tree reaches back to the Norman Conquest, and the Normans were not French, but of Danish origin. So, maybe I should be Danish rather than English, but, Oh dear, my mothers line is Irish (her Father) and English (her mother) - but they also have antecedents in the Viking line - so maybe they are also Danish? Or maybe they could claim to be Celt - but, no that doesn't work either because of the Saxon and Angle connections ..... Ah! Grandmother Herons family were also of Scottish origin! So maybe Scottish? Nope, that doesn't pan out either because guess what? ....... The B***dy Danes - AGAIN! Maybe its time to put all this behind us and say, guess what folks - we're all members of the Human Race. Let's just live with it.

Posted by: pgc at September 10, 2003 10:09 AM

But the issues of strikes against the claim is the whole point. My claim to victimhood is as legitimate as my classmates. Neither of us were personally involved in the events leading to victimhood but only one is getting on with life while the other waits for a handout. Yes there are some in this world who don't get a chance to better themselves but not in this case. My personal feeling is that 'aboriginal aid' should not be specific to aboriginals. It should be aimed at given a chance to anyone who otherwise would not. Instead of a free handout or meal ticket it becomes a leg up for someone who is trying.

Posted by: ozguru at September 10, 2003 10:09 AM