Australia Day Ramble
Jan. 26th, 2010 01:08 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
I never feel less Australian than when I see someone with a Southern Cross tattoo.
Don't get me wrong. I love our country. I love its astonishing scenery, its peculiar wildlife. I'm grateful that we have peace and prosperity.
But you have to take the bad with the good. What ever Tony Abbot may say*, Australia has a long history of racism, from the treatment of the indigenous population, to the White Australia policy, to the attitudes towards of post-war migrants. And I've yet to see any Asian Australians with the Southern Cross etched into their neck.
I blame John Howard. He mainstreamed the sort of flag-waving jingosim Australians normally reserved for cricket matches. Now it's trendy to look like you've just come back from the Cronulla riots.
That's why I'm ambivalent about Australia Day: any display of patriotism seems like tacit support for the thugs and bigots.
Fuck that. This is our country too. There's a lot that needs fixing, but there's a lot to celebrate. And love and pride are strong motivators.
So. Happy Australia Day. Sorry about the bad bits. We're working on them.
And in conclusion, a quote from the national anthem:
For those who've come across the seas
We've boundless plains to share;
With courage let us all combine
To Advance Australia Fair.
But I guess most people just mumble their way through that second verse. ;)
* "For all the misguided and sometimes cruel treatment of Aborigines, the ethnic typecasting and occasional snobbery which still exists, Australia has rarely seen domestic discrimination based on race or culture. "
Tony Abbot, Address to the Australia Day Council (Victoria) Australia Day Dinner.
Don't get me wrong. I love our country. I love its astonishing scenery, its peculiar wildlife. I'm grateful that we have peace and prosperity.
But you have to take the bad with the good. What ever Tony Abbot may say*, Australia has a long history of racism, from the treatment of the indigenous population, to the White Australia policy, to the attitudes towards of post-war migrants. And I've yet to see any Asian Australians with the Southern Cross etched into their neck.
I blame John Howard. He mainstreamed the sort of flag-waving jingosim Australians normally reserved for cricket matches. Now it's trendy to look like you've just come back from the Cronulla riots.
That's why I'm ambivalent about Australia Day: any display of patriotism seems like tacit support for the thugs and bigots.
Fuck that. This is our country too. There's a lot that needs fixing, but there's a lot to celebrate. And love and pride are strong motivators.
So. Happy Australia Day. Sorry about the bad bits. We're working on them.
And in conclusion, a quote from the national anthem:
For those who've come across the seas
We've boundless plains to share;
With courage let us all combine
To Advance Australia Fair.
But I guess most people just mumble their way through that second verse. ;)
* "For all the misguided and sometimes cruel treatment of Aborigines, the ethnic typecasting and occasional snobbery which still exists, Australia has rarely seen domestic discrimination based on race or culture. "
Tony Abbot, Address to the Australia Day Council (Victoria) Australia Day Dinner.
no subject
Date: 2010-01-26 02:16 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-26 04:51 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-26 10:17 am (UTC)http://www.dfat.gov.au/facts/nat_anthem.html
As H and B point out, there have been several earlier versions.
no subject
Date: 2010-01-26 04:52 am (UTC)And I've yet to see any Asian Australians with the Southern Cross etched into their neck.
Kits_the_dm was thinking of incorporating it into a design at one point (along with bits of the Philippines flag), but then, this is a household with a lot of love for the Eureka flag. ;)
Fuck that. This is our country too. There's a lot that needs fixing, but there's a lot to celebrate. And love and pride are strong motivators.
Hear Hear!
But I guess most people just mumble their way through that second verse.
Well, it hardly ever gets played anywhere either, so folk don't really get a chance to learn it. There's soomit like 17 verses of the bloody thing! You have to track down a Freemason to find out what they all are. (and no, that's not some crap freemason-conspiracy joke - I'm serious! they sing the whole thing! *grin*)
no subject
Date: 2010-01-26 05:25 am (UTC)The most I could find was five verses:
http://advanceaustraliafair.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advance_Australia_Fair
http://www.genesis.net.au/~anthems/aaf.html
All seem to agree, but the second link is included for the "missing verse": http://www.genesis.net.au/~anthems/aafm.html
no subject
Date: 2010-01-26 05:39 am (UTC)I plucked a number outta the air, mate. ;) I just knew it was "many".
no subject
Date: 2010-01-26 12:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-28 11:56 am (UTC)