Aborigines..... (1 Viewer)

[ur_inner_child]

First of all, I do not imply any racism through what I am posting. But I was wondering if any of you could shed light to my ignorance about Aborigines.

Consider their benefits. Too many aboriginal people I know abuse these benefits, such as spending the money on drugs, harder drugs, alcohol, and what not. What's the point?

I do realise there are exceptions, and that other Aborigines use the funding wisely, but what is it for? Did someone make a huge assumption that most Aborigines are in financial hardship? Because some aren't. Or is it to make up for all the shit things that happened to their ancestors?

I see a contradiction here because if the funding is "paying back" for what happened in the past, yet they fight for equality and all those wonderful things amongst a Western society, how could that work? If you're getting benefits for BEING ABORIGINAL, does that not mean you are treated DIFFERENTLY? Thus NOT equal? Why do you need to tell the BOS about whether you're Aboriginal/Torres Strait? Again, is that survey-stuff or for giving them benefits?

What are the standards for funding Aborigines? I know a guy who is I think 1/8 or 1/16th of an Aboriginal, he looks incredibly anglo-saxon, and you would not pick the Aboriginal blood in him. Yet he gets funding. Does he even know what it's for? And yes, he spends it on drugs, drugs and more drugs.

I'm not critisizing Aborigines, I'm curious about the intentions of funding them in the first place. I'm not having a whine, because if the funding is justified (and someone can educate me here), then I have no problem with it. I'm just weirded out by some of the cases that receive funding and benefits.

 

[Cape]

I was wondering that as well when i was doing my aboriginal subject for uni last semester.
I can't understand why they get funding when there is EEO legislation in place to avoid discrimination and let them be able to get jobs.
Sure, some aboriginal people deserve the handouts, but if white people were on handouts and spent it all on drugs we would be taken off it.

 

[Phanatical]

The problem is that there are both aborigines and non-aborigines who are disadvantaged. I wonder, why is it that the disadvantaged non-aborigines can't make use of the same resources as the aborigines, even though they're in exactly the same position?

 

[Comrade nathan]

The whole scheme is just a quick fix and bribe for the aboriginal people. The current system is restricted to any reall solution for trouble in the broad aboriginal community, and the rest of society the white majority see all the aboriginal problems as problems soley created by the aboriginal community. I hear replies like "oh thats in the abogiriginal communities, its the aboriginal problems". These people live in Australia so it is Australia's problem.

The real solution to the problems are full employment a huge boast in education, a new culutural movement and new leaders. A system like our limits this.

but if white people were on handouts and spent it all on drugs we would be taken off it.

I actually know a lot of people who get handouts (centerlink ) who are white and the spend their money on drugs. This normally ceases with jobs.

Don't any of you see the link between drug abuse, crime and poverty. It is the unemployed or the under paid which need social assistance and it are these who find it hard to support children wich grow up under educated and join the cycle of crime.It's foolish to think theses things are link to race.

Tell how many employed people do you see breaking into cars or dealing drugs, how many teens from wealthy families keep their life of crime in their younger years.

 

[LeftrightOut]

Hello can of worms.

Any survey you ever take is so someone might get some additional funding. There is usually a tick box if you have a disability on some surveys and this would determine how much funding the disabilities unit would get. It's the same with the Aboriginal units, it also gives them something concrete on numbers of students from those particular backgrounds so they can cater better towards them. When they find a certain group under represented in surveys they will usually chase around for a reason and try and ensure more people who fall into that profile participate so that the numbers look prettier next time around.

 

[Not-That-Bright]

I used to have this view... but then someone explained to me, it might of been asquithian that the aboriginal people need a leader, they need people willing to get out there and work.
That is why we make it easier for them to get into higher education, that is why we give them extra pay outs...

What i'd like to see is an end to the aboriginal people complaining about how they own this land and it was taken from them.. can't we just say there was a war and we won considering the ammount of battles there was?

 

[leetom]

can't we just say there was a war and we won considering the ammount of battles there was?

Well no...because then white Australians will be looked upon as an invading force and the result of the 'war' was the complete and total annexation of the aboriginal continent.

Some aboriginals probably regard white australians as invaders anyway, only saying that we won some sort of war against the aboriginals would make it official.

 

[Gavvvvvin]

Fuck the abos. If I had my way, they wouldnt be getting shit.

 

[Comrade nathan]

Yes Adolf.

 

[Monkey Butler]

The whole inequality thing is actually an attempt to ensure equality (although it doesn't really work), as strange as that seems. It's sometimes known as reverse discrimination, where a disadvantaged group is advantaged unfairly in an attempt to put them on an equal footing with other groups.

And as for the Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander box on some tests (and the box for non-Australian descent or whatever they call it) - I've heard, although I'm not sure whether this is true or not, that Aborigines "think" differently to the way white Australians think, or rather that their brains work in different ways. Same goes with people from America, Asia, Africa, etc. It kinda makes sense to me that people would process things in a different way depending on the environment in which they grew up, so maybe that has something to do with it?

 

[Not-That-Bright]

I think it's just for test data.... so that they can collect information on their test scores to monitor if they're getting better or not.

 

[Comrade nathan]

It's just for data. If you want any extra benefits you have to fill out forms and get them approved. You really think they would have a box for extra marks just sitting there.

 

[~*HSC 4 life*~]

What i'd like to see is an end to the aboriginal people complaining about how they own this land and it was taken from them.. can't we just say there was a war and we won considering the ammount of battles there was?

dude, are you being serious?

 

[lukebennett]

i personally dont think much can fix this problem. an extremely and obviously sincere national apology from everyone is probably the only way but that still wont fix everything. money wont fix much. only for some aborigines

 

[Not-That-Bright]

I dunno... these aboriginies that keep fighting for their land saying it's actually theirs... they must be the minority i mean only like 2% of aboriginies still follow their traditional religion.

 

[kelboo]

Some people are so fucking ignorant, and love to generalise...

My bf is aboriginal. The reason they give out handouts is because they are a traditionally disadvantaged portion of the Australian population. Not every Aboriginal is eligible for, wants or accepts these handouts... even though in doing so the government is trying to compensate for the crime, imprisonment and self-abuse statistics relevant to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait peoples.

In order to be eligible, you have to prove you have suffered significant hardship (either financially or emotionally) because of family or background issues which directly relate to their family's status - take for example my bf's family.... his mum and dad divorced, both are living in housing commission, work as cleaners at the local public schools and generally doing it tough.
You will find that these Aboriginals are not eligible for any government payouts because of the fact they are already receiving gov. support - the exact same support, in fact, that is offered to other disadvantaged members of our society who are anglo.

The reason they receive funding for going to school is in the hope of more Aboriginals receiving higher education. Currently the figure is less than 1% that are actually going to Uni. In this way, if they are more adequately represented, their needs and any discriminative legislation can be duely dealt with by them being a part of professional highly skilled areas of employment.

There is unfair legislation however, dealing with land rights (thank you Mabo) but this is currently being reviewed.

Although the Aboriginals were here first, we now live here together. Living in harmony is not difficult - remember of course that tolerance is a virtue.

 

[Generator]

In a number of cases it may well be their land...

It isn't a case of following their 'traditional' religion, not-that-bright. From what I know, the indigenous Australian tends to view life in a circular rather than linear sense (as we westerners view the world), and with that in mind what we see as being a 'new' cultural twist is in actual fact something that they believe has long existed, but something that they have only just realised to be so. That's how they incorporate european practices and beliefs into their cultural life, anyway (and there is no such thing as a static culture, too).

Note: That may seem a little rusty, but I haven't read through any of my first year anthropology readings for some time.

 

[Generator]

Living in harmony is not difficult - remember of course that tolerance is a virtue.

Living in harmony is a pipe dream, but we still should be striving for acceptance, not tolerance.

 

[kelboo]

Tolerance is the first move - you cannot accept something you don't tolerate!!

 

[Not-That-Bright]

Kelboo.. i do know alot of aboriginies who do get assistance unfairly, young aboriginal girls who only go to school every now and then and such but i do also know alot of anglo saxons

It is some members of the aboriginal community (tent embassy) claiming stuff like we owe them back rent that is sorta ruining the peace.