Yesterday I had my first half day back at work, and in my work emails (among the 339 other emails) was a scanned copy of a couple of newspaper articles written on what the Aboriginal community have dubbed as the "second stolen generation" aka Stolen Generation two point oh....with the alleged thieves being none other than yours truly. Yup, I'm not joking.....apparently in my misguided bid to help children in my community I am part of a massive government plot to eradicate the Aboriginal and Torres Strait cultures of this nation.
It's hard not to be a little defensive about it. I've spent my whole life believing that I am part of a new enlightened Australian society that has gone far beyond the prejudices and hatred that drove the original Stolen generation's occurrence. After all, haven't we just apologised for that??
On the other hand, it's hard for me not to feel conflicted. Am I in fact part of the, albeit somewhat more legitimized and just as heavily legislated, second wave of removals. What makes me any different from those in authority years ago who came in and stole Aboriginal children from their homes and families? Am I unwittingly just a continuation of the eradication of the Australian Indigenous wave of life?
It's hard not to feel split right down the middle, but swaying me back towards the legitimacy of my work is the years and years of research of the effect of alcoholism, drug addiction, neglect, physical abuse and domestic violence that shows how devastating these things are for children. The reality is, we're dealing with a very broken culture here and children are being hurt every day by the aftershocks of what our forefathers have done to the Aboriginal people. I cannot escape the fact that it was MY forefathers that did these things and I can't deny that if it weren't for European invasion its likely the children of today would be growing up immersed in a very different world that would probably be far more family focused and far less troubled.
It was my people - but I can't carry their guilt with me and let it affect what I'm doing now. By the same token I cannot let the ignorance of my current generation cloud my deep heartfelt respect for true Aboriginal culture. I truly love love love Aboriginal culture. I respect it. I would never ever intentionally or knowingly do anything to disrespect Aboriginal heritage. But I have to believe in what I am doing, and I've seen enough results to know that what I'm doing matters and makes a difference.
The answer on a metaphysical level however is a lot less definitive. I am looking at the whole thing from a purely white perspective and the researchers I am relying on are mostly white guys too. What part of my point of view is "white" and what part of my point of view is just human? Will I ever be able to separate myself to such a degree that I won't feel so divided when I read such articles?
I guess the answer is "how long is a piece of string" - there IS no answer. No matter what I do, I can't step out of my "white" body, I can only abide by the law and do the job that is in front of me. I hate that I am judged by my skin colour, and sometimes I feel like I am judged by my skin colour just as much as Aboriginal people feel judged. I know I hold a LOT more power than they do, I just wish there was no "they" at all. Kids are kids - whether they're white, brown, blue, purple it doesn't matter. Kids are hurt just the same no matter what their skin looks like. All I can do is continue to reflect on my practice, and live in the shades of grey.
Until next time!
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