Reframing Genocide
Anti-Indigenous Propaganda Attacking Aboriginal Rights and Autonomy
The Australian government and media are now trying to reframe native genocide and human rights abuses as being caused by Aboriginal culture and "self-governance".
Blame The Victim
In our own local orbit, the appalling social conditions that are perpetuated through inequality in Indigenous communities are clearly seen as genocide. In the international orbit, it is the same, with international agencies time and again condemning the Australian government for its ongoing genocidal policies against Indigenous peoples. However, at the national level, there is currently a massive media campaign that is throwing the blame for Aboriginal misery squarely on the shoulders of the victims. Two causes are being cited for this - Aboriginal culture, and Aboriginal self-governance.
The Myth Of Self-Governance
The claim is that Aboriginal communities have been granted self-governance for some time, and that as a result social conditions have deteriorated to appalling levels. Not the government's fault, apparently. Therefore Aboriginal sovereignty is untenable, and therefore "tough measures" must now be taken by the government to take control Aboriginal peoples' lives. This is part of a massive drive to make "hard decisions" about Indigenous communities, that has been brewing for a few years now.
The claim that "self-governance" has failed is untenable, because little or no self-governance has occurred. From what I have experienced, there are token leadership positions given to Indigenous leaders which contain no real power. European "officers" are usually assigned to "support" these leaders, but in fact they hold all the power, and occupy positions similar to the Praetors of ancient Rome, who were assigned colonial posts to oversee (ie. rape, pillage and plunder), while local "councils" often still maintained token, ceremonial leadership structures (see New Testament). The failure of Indigenous communities is due in no small part to the modern-day praetors of Australia's colonial regime.
The Myth Of Traditional Sexual Misconduct
The second cause that is currently cited for Indigenous community dysfunction is "Aboriginal culture". This is being painted as the source of many barbaric practices that create horrific social problems. The chief social problem that is being focused on is paedophilia. Individual accounts of child rape from a "leaked" Child Rape Dossier are recounted in lurid detail, with the intent of using the world's greatest social bogeyman - the paedophile - to create outrage and justify the lesser crime of governmental human rights abuse (ie. "tough measures"). The government is creating a situation in which to speak out in favour of Aboriginal sovereignty and culture is to support paedophilia. They know that even the most liberal Australian citizen would be hesitant to attempt that.
Truth And Reason Silenced
Ex-Prime Minister Malcom Fraser has been the only European voice of reason in the chaos. He blames government policy and dominant cultural attitudes towards Indigenous people for the current horrific social conditions. He calls for action to address the true root causes, to create a change in attitudes and policy, rather than merely attacking the symptoms of the problem, such as alcoholism and violence. However, his voice is silenced in most of the media, in favour of the overwhelming racial vilification that is now dominating the news. ("News" - what a funny word. There's nothing "new" about this situation, which has been going on for over 200 years.)
There are a lot of silences. No Indigenous Leaders are quoted at length. No statistics are provided showing the similar levels of incest and rape in non-Indigenous socially and economically disadvantaged communities in Australia. No mention has been made of the rape committed by the dominant culture against our children during the stolen generation years, or the non-Aboriginal paedophiles that are preying on Indigenous communities. No information is given on the extent of actual Aboriginal self-governance over the last decade (which is negligible). And no explanation is given as to why, if Indigenous law has supposedly been in place all this time, Aboriginal people are still horrendously over-represented in prisons. Instead we are told the lie that the current "lawlessness" in Indigenous communities is occurring because Aboriginal people are no longer subject to Australian law. So what are all our people doing in prison then?
If the current system has been representative of "soft" policies honouring Aboriginal self-governance and cultural values, then I shudder to think what is coming with the "hard decisions" and "tough measures" that the pack is currently baying for.
More on this in the connected article, Child Rape Dossier
