BS: Black Lives Matter - change on the way?

Subject: RE: BS: Black Lives Matter - change on the way?
From: Donuel
Date: 24 Apr 21 - 09:29 AM

Steve Jobs is still changing America. Look at a dollar bill, you will see the all seeing eye atop the pyramid.
Cameras are our new memory aid to remember and testify for justice.

Next we should have cameras in the Supream Court.

Subject: RE: BS: Black Lives Matter - change on the way?
From: Donuel
Date: 24 Apr 21 - 12:54 PM

Eeny Meany Miney Moe when did you learn about racism??

Subject: RE: BS: Black Lives Matter - change on the way?
From: Helen
Date: 24 Apr 21 - 04:43 PM

That's a key question, Donuel.

As far as schooling and higher education goes, I can't really remember discussions about racism or the real, mostly hidden history of the invasion of Australia and the suppression or massacres of our First Nation people.

Although when I was studying psychology for a couple of years at Uni I remember one of our class tutors leading an in-depth discussion about whether there is systemic prejudice in IQ tests. His initial question was something along the lines of asking us whether we thought black people were less intelligent than white people. That question shocked me to the core.

After letting us think about it for a while and then toss ideas around, his comments were about the difference in education that people receive and the assumptions built in to the tests that everyone could be measured by test questions based on mathematical calculations or puzzles which assumed a previous knowledge of how to solve them or questions based on a presumed common language where for some people it was their second language. This is a similar systemic prejudice to the tests that Black people in the U.S. were expected to do to qualify for voting rights, although as I understand it, the bias was deliberately built in to the tests.

Basically I don't remember seeing racism in my young life, but given my improved understanding now it would have been there but I didn't recognise it. Also there were very few people of colour in my small town at that stage.

But one thing that I remember very clearly is what my Mother said to my sister and I when were young, in our first year of two of school. She asked us what we would do if we had an Aboriginal classmate. With hardly any time to think about it, I said I would want to be his or her friend.

I remember in early school we used to recite the Eeny Meany Miney Moe rhyme with absolutely no idea what the n-word meant or that it is racially abusive. It's interesting that a few decades ago the "catch an n-word" part was officially changed in schools to "catch a tiger". I think that was about the time I was studying to be a teacher.

We also used to read a book called Little Black Sambo. I never really saw the point of the story.

Subject: RE: BS: Black Lives Matter - change on the way?
From: Helen
Date: 24 Apr 21 - 04:53 PM

I just read this article by Stan Grant on the Oz ABC News site:

Does Derek Chauvin's conviction for George Floyd's murder
offer hope, or is it just an illusion?

Subject: RE: BS: Black Lives Matter - change on the way?
From: Donuel
Date: 26 Apr 21 - 04:49 PM

Racism is taught very early. I think some people pretend they don't remember.
With 1,000 US deadly police shootings of black people per year there will be ample opportunities to see change.

Subject: RE: BS: Black Lives Matter - change on the way?
From: keberoxu
Date: 26 Apr 21 - 10:27 PM

What you think of Tyler Perry films is your affair,
and chacun a son gout and all that.

Tyler Perry's acceptance speech made me proud to be from this country,
at his honorary humanitarian award from
the Academy of Motion Pictures last night.

His "Refuse Hate" theme
is a distillation of so many of the lyrics
of the songs championed by the Mudcat Forum.

Subject: RE: BS: Black Lives Matter - change on the way?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Apr 21 - 12:02 AM

His acceptance was first rate and the award was well-deserved.

Subject: RE: BS: Black Lives Matter - change on the way?
From: Helen
Date: 27 Apr 21 - 03:26 AM

I remember what I was taught in school here in Australia. It was very much biased towards the white colonial narrative, starting with Captain Cook's supposed "discovery" of Australia, white colonisation and then the arrival of the white convicts, and then later the free settlers and even later the immigrants from other countries. Any mention of Aboriginal people who were here at the time of the invasion was usually passed over, or there were images of (white people's) paintings showing them standing peacefully and giving an impression of acceptance of the white arrivals.

I never heard about the declaration of the land being "terra nullius", i.e. "land that is legally deemed to be unoccupied or uninhabited" (and therefore available to be claimed by the white invaders) until maybe the late '90'sor even early noughties. It wasn't in the interest of the white colonials to bring this detail up in discussions.

To clarify, I will say that I didn't study modern history at school or uni so maybe there was more complexity of discussion in those subjects.

Subject: RE: BS: Black Lives Matter - change on the way?
From: robomatic
Date: 27 Apr 21 - 02:57 PM

I heard a horror story about the clearance of Tasmania being outright extermination.

By contrast, the English takeover of New Zealand was rather remarkable in that the original colonizers gave the indigenous Polynesians, the Maoris, citizenship and honored their land claims, initially. This did not last. In another Mudcat above the line thread mention is made of Governor Robert Fitzroy, who once captained the Beagle and shared quarters with the young Charles Darwin. As Governor of New Zealand, Fitzroy attempted to protect Maori rights and was roundly rejected by the English settlers.

I think I learned about the concept of racism in nutshell form from one of the great broadway songs of all time, "You've Got To Be Carefully Taught". IMHO it's on a par with "Strange Fruit".

I once posted the words of that 1 minute song into an online chat that was going sideways and I was promptly dropped from the chat!

Subject: RE: BS: Black Lives Matter - change on the way?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Apr 21 - 06:00 PM

A friend was in the process of establishing a whale watching business based in New Zealand near some prime whale activity areas north of Kaikoura was scuttled because of a land dispute in which the Maori were able to make the case that the property had cultural significance and took it over. My friend was disappointed, but I think it's a risk we all run when we live on colonized land, especially the important ceremonial spots like what they were trying to buy.

Subject: RE: BS: Black Lives Matter - change on the way?
From: Helen
Date: 27 Apr 21 - 06:26 PM

robomatic, the song I think of was sung by Louis Armstrong and some others, "(What Did I Do To Be So) Black and Blue?"

Subject: RE: BS: Black Lives Matter - change on the way?
From: robomatic
Date: 27 Apr 21 - 06:39 PM

I'll look for it.

Subject: RE: BS: Black Lives Matter - change on the way?
From: keberoxu
Date: 27 Apr 21 - 07:37 PM

I believe Fats Waller recorded that song.