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Pooks

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I don't think a public holiday for remembrance on 26th January is a good idea- people will still use the day as a piss up opportunity, which would be disrespectful of course.

Maybe make Australia day public holiday another date, then have a remembrance day on 26th jan but not a public holiday. Like remembrance day 11/11 is.

 

It will be used as a piss up day regardless, just scrap it and have a day like remembrance day

 

No I disagree.


For us white folk, Australia Day in the past has had alot of positivity around it, its not just about bbq's and piss ups, its about celebrating who we are. I think we need that for all Australians. A day that looks to our strengths as well as looking towards a positive future together - with all of us.


I'm not saying we should forget or ignore the past, it is vital we remember it. I just think. it should be in a different way.

 

For us "white folk"???!!!! Which white folk are you referring to? The direct ancestors of the first fleet? The convicts? The hoards of post war refugees. Actually, they probably wouldn't be white "enough", would they. Refugees? Or only the white ones. My family ticks all of the above boxes (including being told by an immigration officer that they needed to change their name to something more "aussie"). So no, this white person does not feel a lot of positivity around Australia day. It was never something really celebrated when i was growing up, and it really does feel like it's just bbqs and piss ups.

Celeste Liddle has some interesting thoughts on how the public perception and understanding is slowly changing. My kids call it invasion day.

https://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article/more-respectful-invasion-day-coverage--but-much-work-still-to-be-done?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Eureka%20Street%20Weekly%20-%20Friday%2029%20January%202021&utm_content=Eureka%20Street%20Weekly%20-%20Friday%2029%20January%202021+CID_6d92f0074855a39b8cfffea77a732e61&utm_source=Jescom%20Newsletters&utm_term=READ%20MORE

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White folk here. Even a convict descendant (though not First Fleet).


When I was a kid and throughout high school , no-one celebrated it. It was just another day at the end of the school holidays and that feeling didn't change for the 20 years after I left school. This whole patriotism, flag-waving, bbq-cooking, celebration of 'straya promotion is a very recent thing.


I can honestly say that I have never had a bbq on Australia day. Never been to a bbq on Australia day. Never want to go to a bbq on Australia day. Because being outside (bbq-ing or not) in 40 degree (at least!) humid weather is not my idea of fun. EVER!


I don't know anyone who has a get together for Australia day or even celebrates it. Celebrating who we are? What does that even mean? TBH, I think we have less to celebrate now about 'who we are' than we did 20 years ago. Racism rife, intimate partner assault and murder through the roof, treatment of refugees disgraceful, workplace conditions going backwards, workplace deaths increasing, poverty increasing, education inequity, public education being crippled... but hey, we're 'strayians so all's good? No thanks.


The date needs to change or go altogether and indigenous people need to have a date of commemoration.

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It will be used as a piss up day regardless, just scrap it and have a day like remembrance day

 

No I disagree.


For us white folk, Australia Day in the past has had alot of positivity around it, its not just about bbq's and piss ups, its about celebrating who we are. I think we need that for all Australians. A day that looks to our strengths as well as looking towards a positive future together - with all of us.


I'm not saying we should forget or ignore the past, it is vital we remember it. I just think. it should be in a different way.

 

For us "white folk"???!!!! Which white folk are you referring to? The direct ancestors of the first fleet? The convicts? The hoards of post war refugees. Actually, they probably wouldn't be white "enough", would they. Refugees? Or only the white ones. My family ticks all of the above boxes (including being told by an immigration officer that they needed to change their name to something more "aussie"). So no, this white person does not feel a lot of positivity around Australia day. It was never something really celebrated when i was growing up, and it really does feel like it's just bbqs and piss ups.

Celeste Liddle has some interesting thoughts on how the public perception and understanding is slowly changing. My kids call it invasion day.

https://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article/more-respectful-invasion-day-coverage--but-much-work-still-to-be-done?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Eureka%20Street%20Weekly%20-%20Friday%2029%20January%202021&utm_content=Eureka%20Street%20Weekly%20-%20Friday%2029%20January%202021+CID_6d92f0074855a39b8cfffea77a732e61&utm_source=Jescom%20Newsletters&utm_term=READ%20MORE

 

My choice of words wasn't perfect but my point still stands. I want a day of positivity and inclusion, that celebrates our country as a whole and looks to the future, that is on a day in which that can happen.

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It will be used as a piss up day regardless, just scrap it and have a day like remembrance day

 

No I disagree.


For us white folk, Australia Day in the past has had alot of positivity around it, its not just about bbq's and piss ups, its about celebrating who we are. I think we need that for all Australians. A day that looks to our strengths as well as looking towards a positive future together - with all of us.


I'm not saying we should forget or ignore the past, it is vital we remember it. I just think. it should be in a different way.

 

For us "white folk"???!!!! Which white folk are you referring to? The direct ancestors of the first fleet? The convicts? The hoards of post war refugees. Actually, they probably wouldn't be white "enough", would they. Refugees? Or only the white ones. My family ticks all of the above boxes (including being told by an immigration officer that they needed to change their name to something more "aussie"). So no, this white person does not feel a lot of positivity around Australia day. It was never something really celebrated when i was growing up, and it really does feel like it's just bbqs and piss ups.

Celeste Liddle has some interesting thoughts on how the public perception and understanding is slowly changing. My kids call it invasion day.

https://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article/more-respectful-invasion-day-coverage--but-much-work-still-to-be-done?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Eureka%20Street%20Weekly%20-%20Friday%2029%20January%202021&utm_content=Eureka%20Street%20Weekly%20-%20Friday%2029%20January%202021+CID_6d92f0074855a39b8cfffea77a732e61&utm_source=Jescom%20Newsletters&utm_term=READ%20MORE

 

I called it invasion day throughout my childhood too, as an adult I agree that that particular date is insensitive and should be changed but I'm not sure it's really my place or yours to assert that there is not value in a national holiday to celebrate the positive things about our society and history. Your kids may well develop a more nuanced view as they get older and their experiences and social circles become broader and more diverse.

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Well you know what? I call it invasion day as well. Maybe you think I will develop a more nuanced view as I get older? What a patronising point of view.

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YodaTheWrinkledOne

I don't know anyone who has a get together for Australia day or even celebrates it. Celebrating who we are? What does that even mean? TBH, I think we have less to celebrate now about 'who we are' than we did 20 years ago. Racism rife, intimate partner assault and murder through the roof, treatment of refugees disgraceful, workplace conditions going backwards, workplace deaths increasing, poverty increasing, education inequity, public education being crippled... but hey, we're 'strayians so all's good? No thanks.

We have never really had a Australian Day party or a Aussie Day BBQ or anything like that. We don't fly a flag, we don't go yobbo, we rarely see a beach. But as a family, we do tend to do something together to let us take stock of where we are, the land we live in, what we should be grateful for (for us, it's pure frigging luck that we were born here!) and to talk about Australia's history (the good, the bad and the ugly). This year DH, I and the kids went for a day trip out to a state forest, and did a walk. It was wonderful (albeit hot) to sit in the bush with a bloody awesome view and say "yep, this is our country, we need to take care of it better."


Australia's far from perfect and I agree that in some (many) ways it is going backwards, but it's also far from being the crappiest country in the world. There are much worse places to live. Australia is simply a stunning country, full of so much natural beauty and filled with many amazing people with vastly different backgrounds.

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Absolutely, [mention]YodaTheWrinkledOne[/mention].


If nothing else, the pandemic has shown what a great country we're in and how lucky we are to live here. I do find it interesting that the rise in patriotic fervour appears to coincide with so many negatives politically and socially.

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