National Anthem dumped from State of Origin.

[Nashy]

I get that reaction a fair bit oddly enough, because I like Spaced and Peep Show and a few other english comedies, not too many though.

"That night Marty's wife voted, multiple times"

 

[Nashy]

Abo is definitely disrespectful. Maybe go with Indig if you want a shorter word than Aboriginal or Indigenous.

Is it because it's been used as a derogatory manner for a long time? I've never understood it myself.

 

[Sirlee oldman]

Australia is the only Commonwealth nation that doesn't have a treaty with its Indigenous people

I wrote a paper about this a while ago and it’s kind of tricky. The treaties have been helpful up to a point but they are also routinely ignored by Settler societies when they are inconvenient. Interesting thing about The Treaty of Waitangi is that the Maori version and the English version are different. In the English version the Maori people cede sovereignty but in their version they don’t. They also had very different perceptions about what sovereignty is.

 

[Sirlee oldman]

Is it because it's been used as a derogatory manner for a long time? I've never understood it myself.

Yes

 

[roo-ted]

They really haven't done a lot over the years, when you break it down and look at it. They just did what needed to happen, to slowly make the positive change. It's worked well.

Waitangi Day is once of the few public holidays over there that do seem to invoke remembering the past. There wouldn't be a Kiwi on that day not realise the importance of the day, but for most, it's more important because they get a day off.

Would teaching Aboriginal language be difficult given how many there are across the country?

Also. I'm sick of saying Aboriginal. Am I allowed to say Abo, or is that actually seen as disrespectful? I'm just lazy and want to shorten it, it's the Aussie way you know.

It would be tricky to teach the language because there are about 300 different ones. I would suggest what ever the Capital city of that state is,that they use the language of that mob.

I’ve been asked this question so many times by kiwis lol it’s extremely offensive to most indigenous people. It’s the equivalents as calling a African American a ni**r

Usually use the word indig or Murri which is a aboriginal from Queensland

 

[Bongo]

Might be about time to make a new anthem? I don't have a problem with the old one, but like the Fisherman said, Australia is for all Australians, and this country is as multicultural as they come, and i feel a lot of people don't connect with the current song.
Could be a really unifying move to create a new national anthem that reflects that, and is far more inclusive of all nationalities.

I have no idea of what is involved in getting an anthem changed, and who has the final say on things like that.

I hate anthems at sport in general. Why do I have to affirm my citizenship to watch a sport I like. Those to things are so disconnected.

However, In this case the NRL are trying to avoid controversy. It backfired badly. In my view giving the chance to indigenous players and other players to protest about their experience would have shown how much the game values our own indigenous history and present. The south's titans protest together showed how out could be done well. At least consult the players before making a decision without supplying the reasoning why.

 

[john1420]

I'm with Bongo, why do we sing it at all at sporting events? I can only see an argument for an International event, where we are singing the Aus national anthem as we are there to cheer for the Aus team (or athlete) to stick it to some other country.
Singing it GF's and Origin has never made any sense to me at all.
I'm frankly astonished that there was any backlash at all about it being dropped.

 

[john1420]

And as for the issue of the disgraceful way our Indigenous folks were treated, and Australia doing something about it so we can move forward, I ask have we not done that?
The country issued an acknowledgement and apology to the Indigenous people.
We have an annual 'sorry day'.
Every public event begins with an acknowledgement about the land upon which we meet.
There is a time for aggrieved people to acknowledge that there's been a great deal of positive movement and start focusing on that.

 

[Broncs_Fan]

The ‘reconciliation movement’ has become a big industry with a lot of people on the gravy train. Focusing on the positives chips away at this industry and the money train.

There will always be something to complain about. It won’t ever end.

 

[IceWorks]

It's a fundamental question around how much collective guilt should we carry for actions made in the past. Everything is derivative from that.

 

[holdzy]

Last three posts really miss the mark imo.

It's a complex issue, and it's really not about collective guilt and how long we carry it or anything like that.

 

[OXY-351]

Only a matter of time now before a player comes out and says they will take a knee.

Darius was doing it all year

 

[roo-ted]

It's a fundamental question around how much collective guilt should we carry for actions made in the past. Everything is derivative from that.

No one is wanting you to feel guilt, you didn’t have any thing to do with what went on back then and I stated that it wasn’t constructive to feel guilty about something you had nothing to do with.

As long as you have understanding for why people may feel a certain way about things like the anthem ect and have educated yourself properly about the history before weighing in you’ve done all you can. It’s the government most indigenous people aren’t happy with

 

[The True King]

I wonder if a referendum would solve the problem.

Surely whatever the majority of the population vote for would be a decent enough mandate to change/keep it. I personally feel as if there's going to be an aggrieved and vocal minority regardless of the outcome but at some point there has to be an acceptable compromise. We all either move on together or let a small few continue to divide us.

 

[Nashy]

I wonder if a referendum would solve the problem.

Surely whatever the majority of the population vote for would be a decent enough mandate to change/keep it. I personally feel as if there's going to be an aggrieved and vocal minority regardless of the outcome but at some point there has to be an acceptable compromise. We all either move on together or let a small few continue to divide us.

Do we have a clear consensus from the Aboriginal community about what they think, feel and would like to see?

It seems that no matter who you ask, the demands of the country are different, the way we achieve equality is different, and hell, some of the ideas are simply never going to happen no matter what, because it won't be a "make up for it" situation, it will be a "we are all moving on together as one".

 

[The True King]

Do we have a clear consensus from the Aboriginal community about what they think, feel and would like to see?

It seems that no matter who you ask, the demands of the country are different, the way we achieve equality is different, and hell, some of the ideas are simply never going to happen no matter what, because it won't be a "make up for it" situation, it will be a "we are all moving on together as one".

You could ask those opening questions to nearly any community in Australia and probably never get a consensus. If the outcome is to change it, then we go down the path of discovering what people think, feel and want to see.

The idea of having a vote on it is that the outcome is at least an opinion shared by the majority. Something such as a "national" anthem should reflect that.

 

[Nashy]

You could ask those opening questions to nearly any community in Australia and probably never get a consensus. If the outcome is to change it, then we go down the path of discovering what people think, feel and want to see.

The idea of having a vote on it is that the outcome is at least an opinion shared by the majority. Something such as a "national" anthem should reflect that.

I'm not prepared to go to a vote of the people if a clear "This is what we want" isn't there. What's the point, it'll just be another in a long list of attempts that have done nothing.

 

[roo-ted]

I'm not prepared to go to a vote of the people if a clear "This is what we want" isn't there. What's the point, it'll just be another in a long list of attempts that have done nothing.

Yeah that’s where you would have some of the top elders come together and decide. Unfortunately a lot of the respect for the elders has gone out the window as more and more indigenous people are westernised