'Australia' Day.

Hi all.

Sombre post.

First of all, I'm not trying to be a keyboard hero, I fully understand that typing up a blog does not constitute social activism.

I was walking around today regarding all the celebrations of this day in Australia's calendar- a day that many Australians call 'Australia Day'. The party goers- Australians and tourists alike- sporting all sorts of ridiculous costumes and face paint, and generally having a great time- on the surface.

We all know, deep down, however, an awkward truth about Australia day- The day that white settlers landed and called the land their own- stealing it from the Indigenous Australians.

I love Australia- it is a stunning landscape, with beautiful scenery, and wonderful people. It just makes me uneasy when I see people celebrating an invasion of one's home. The racism explodes in Australia on this day, and we see the racist products of it's dark past; underneath the images of the tall, mighty gum trees, and deserts covered in red sand- underneath the stories and stunning poetry of Henry Lawson and Banjo Patterson, and ancient stories of the Dreaming, is a far, far darker history.

Australia's landscape- stunning, right? 

White Australians stealing Indigenous children- a story that still haunts the country today. The disenfranchised  and dispossessed peoples from all around the world seeking refuge here- and being told in as many words '...if you don't like it, get the fuck out'. Convicts sentenced to transportation to the colonies, bound in chains for their crimes. Australian soldiers leaving for Gallipoli, like so many nations, under a masquerade of liberty and patriotism- only to return psychologically scarred forever; or, for the more common unlucky fit young men- never to return at all.

Though we posses a troubled past, I hope we can all acknowledge that past and we can all share in the journey forward in Australia's future. I also hope the 'fuck off we're full' types will see that here, while they think there is no room for anyone other than themselves- there is really no room for racism.