Grid Girl Gets The Flick For Racist Shticks...

[fireheart17]

http://www.ntnews.com.au/article/201...21_ntnews.html

Oh dear, another person who thinks that Facebook doesn't affect their lives....

Girl basically gets booted from a competition for making racist statements towards the Indigenous population.

Then you get people in the comments justifying it because the Indigenous population act like ferals towards the "dominant race".

[jackfaire]

"People think that I'm a horrible racist person but everybody is racist in some way or another."

This I have heard for years as a way for people to justify themselves or others making racist comments.

And seriously "There are people worse than me out there"

Really does that mean that someone beating the shit out of her and saying, "Oh sorry I did that but really I thought it would be okay cuz there are people worse than me out there"

[fireheart17]

This I have heard for years as a way for people to justify themselves or others making racist comments.

Sadly down here, there IS a real problem with the Indigenous population. It doesn't make it OK to make racist comments about it, but it's a serious issue.

Some of the problems plaguing their communities are:

-Hearing problems (apparently a group of students from my local university went up to some Aboriginal communities as part of their placement. The results? Out of around 10-15 kids, 2 healthy ears. On different children)
-Petrol sniffing (they're trying to get around this by introducing a sniff-proof fuel called Opal)
-General rural/isolated issues (the only way to get to some of the communities is via a plane to a major town in the NT and then driving down to the community)
-Alcoholism and substance abuse. (there have been a number of strategies put into place to combat this i.e. a system set up where if families were found to be abusing their children or neglecting them, welfare payments were cut off, or they were given vouchers for food and goods only, no alcohol. A number of communities are dry zones)
-Stolen Generation-related issues (short version: for a period of time, Aboriginal children were removed from their families and taught skills so they could work as maids and servants)
-Education issues (they tend to drop out earlier than most and in some communities, they may not attend school at all. Since in some cases, certain community structures are also used by the school, they set up a system where if you don't attend school, you don't get to use <structure>)


A good CHUNK of education at both primary and secondary level is around the indigenous population: it can vary from Dreamtime stories, through to learning how to dot paint. So I suspect that this girl is your stereotypical model: ditzy as hell with no brains.

(Dreamtime or Dreaming, basically can be defined as the spiritual beliefs of the Indigenous population. There are dreamings for men and dreamings for women and they can't view the other sex's Dreaming picture. Dreaming stories also do vary by tribe.)

[DrFaroohk]

"The Indigenous Population". Are we so PC that we can't say Black of Hispanic or whatever the hell they are? (article won't load for me)

[Ginger Tea]

Aborigninies (sp) Austrailian OP

[the_std]

DrF, they can't be called black or hispanic or anything because they're not. They were the native Australians before the continent was colonized. Therefore "indigenous" is completely correct and not a PC term.

[Andara Bledin]

A lot of problems facing indiginous populations are a symptom of their being marginalized and 'othered' by the now more populous and better represented non-indiginous.

Some of the othering is also done by the populations themselves, but a lot of it was forced upon them at the outset, and now it's exponentially harder for them to get out of the awful situations they face than someone at the same level that is not part of that population.

You still see it a lot with native Americans. They pretty much have to stay with the tribe to get certain types of economic benefits, but staying with the tribe often severely limits how far they can get in life. There's a lot of resentment that goes both ways.

Also, do the Australian authorities still "disappear" Aborigines that are politically inconvenient? I had a friend that was involved in human rights down there, and she had a few tales of people who'd get arrested and just never be seen again, with the police denying anything and the local governments stonewalling any inquiries.

^-.-^

[fireheart17]

Aborigninies (sp) Austrailian OP

Aboriginies.

DrF, they can't be called black or hispanic or anything because they're not. They were the native Australians before the continent was colonized. Therefore "indigenous" is completely correct and not a PC term.

I tend to go between the terms Aboriginal and Indigenous because I've heard the term Aboriginal being used in other countries.

There are a few generic names for the Aboriginal communities according to state: Nunga and Anangu are South Australian terms (Kaurna is also another name used but it refers to a tribe, sounds like "ghana") but I've heard the terms Koori and Murri being used elsewhere.

[Rebel]

The main tribe in my home city were the 'Noongar'.

[draco664]

Also, do the Australian authorities still "disappear" Aborigines that are politically inconvenient? I had a friend that was involved in human rights down there, and she had a few tales of people who'd get arrested and just never be seen again, with the police denying anything and the local governments stonewalling any inquiries.

^-.-^

Unless she had some hard evidence, I'd suggest her tales were wildly inflated. There have been many, many instances of aboriginal deaths in custody, which for a long time were ignored or inadequately investigated. But I can't recall people disappearing. At least, I can't recall hearing people complaining about people disappearing...

Aside: there are *a lot* of politically active aborigines in Australia, and billions of dollars are spent on aboriginal welfare annually. Bodies like ATSIC (Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander Commission) were set up to distribute the funds into programs to help disadvantaged aborigines, but ended up getting shut down after 15 years for corruption.

[draco664]

Then you get people in the comments justifying it because the Indigenous population act like ferals towards the "dominant race".

You know what is the most fucking retarded thing about the whole superior race thing in Australia?

An Australian Aboriginal is *by far* the most hardy 'race' of human in existence. By freaking *miles*.

A healthy individual can survive extremes of both heat and cold that would kill almost any other healthy individual from any other race. A healthy aboriginal can perform unbelievable feats of endurance, and survive on limited food and water.

Want to walk a thousand kilometres under a pitiless burning sun in 40 degree heat on a handful of berries and a few drops of water a day? A sublime mental and physical feat for anyone, worthy of recognition. Business as usual for an Australian Aborigine.

[fireheart17]

You know what is the most fucking retarded thing about the whole superior race thing in Australia?

An Australian Aboriginal is *by far* the most hardy 'race' of human in existence. By freaking *miles*.

I pointed this out in a post on CS.com.

At a medieval fair....in the absolutely freezing cold and wet, we had a welcoming ceremony performed by an Elder whose tribe originally owned the land. Usually a welcoming ceremony consists of a simple phrase uttered in English and in the native tongue of the Aboriginal language for the group that originally owned those lands. This welcoming ceremony was a smoking ceremony. The elder only wore a loincloth and body paint. Everyone else was decked out in cloaks, kits and civilian clothing for wet weather. I was FREEZING! And yet the elder goes through the ceremony like it's normal for him. (It was a very nice ceremony as well: inviting not only the ancestors of the Narandjerri people (I KNOW I spelt that wrong) but everybody elses ancestors)

For the most part, if they are living in their community areas rather than living towards the major cities, they also go barefoot.

[Seshat]

I have a great deal of respect for the Aboriginal Elders in general. Many of them are working very, very hard (and with the active support of many of their tribe-members) to keep their particular tribe functional and healthy.

Many of them work willingly and eagerly with such 'white Australians' (by which I mean the current dominant culture) as are honest and genuinely trying to help.

[BlaqueKatt]

Then you get people in the comments justifying it because the Indigenous population act like ferals towards the "dominant race".

I guess they "forgot" that the Brits sent murderers, thieves, and rapists as the "flagship" population, and treated the tribes as less than human.

My response would be along the lines of "really, you dump the vilest forms of human refuse in their backyard(they were so horrible you didn't even want them in the country anymore), and expect them to be friendly? I consider it a major sign of higher morals and great strength of character that they don't shank every white person they see."

[Panacea]

Sadly down here, there IS a real problem with the Indigenous population. It doesn't make it OK to make racist comments about it, but it's a serious issue.

While I know how you meant this, I feel I have to make a minor correction.

There is not a problem WITH the Indigenous population. There is a problem IN the Indigenous population.

Most of what you cited (excepting the hearing issues) are issues within the Native American communities

I guess they "forgot" that the Brits sent murderers, thieves, and rapists as the "flagship" population, and treated the tribes as less than human.

My response would be along the lines of "really, you dump the vilest forms of human refuse in their backyard(they were so horrible you didn't even want them in the country anymore), and expect them to be friendly? I consider it a major sign of higher morals and great strength of character that they don't shank every white person they see."

In a left handed way, we Americans are responsible for that. Botany Bay became the going thing as a penal colony as we Yanks rebelled and left the Brits with nowhere else to send their criminals.

Many of the finest Georgian families are descended from the same types as were sent to Australia.