Off Season: Most Admired 1-10

[swoodley]

Woody....I have severall friends in WA & SA who are very anti-Aboriginal for reasons I cannot understand. All I know is our indigenous citizens are over represented in jails per capita nation wide and our virtually 3rd world in other areas which is a national disgrace given our wealth. I understand your frustration that they should get off their arses to make it better. Natrat & Longy and brothers like them do. others after 200 years of persecution, booze, white man introduced diseases feel no need to integrate into white man society. Can you blame them? Walk a mile in their shoes.

I use my analogy of a white man in the Victorian Western Districts who in the early 1800's went onto Aboriginal land and chased them off with off a gun or killed them. They then became rich on that land like one Malcolm Fraser who sold his Wannon homestead for millions. Do you think their descendants, rich on the misery of a conquered race, should put something back?

As for the rest of us punters, do we all, enriched by our nations riches, through our taxes, bring our indigenous brothers and sisters in our next boom with us, so they enjoy the fruits of our nations wealth, equality in life expentancy, a roof over their heads, health benefits, superannuation, job hopes, hopes for their family, equality in all aspects of white lives, or do we just piss them around like the last 200 years? Could we be the first country in the world where indigenous rights, hopes and aspirations actually happen?

Filth....I am not anti-Aboriginal at all and have met heaps of Aboriginal people through my work (both employed and unemployed) who are not looking for assistance and want to make it on their own.

Recently at a company conference, a group of young Aboriginal men stood in front of a group of about 180 people and told their stories...every one of them had been in serious trouble with the law and had done time...now they are all trying to get their lives back on track and several of them are now working helping other young Aboriginal men get back on track.

These kids were the most inspirational people I have met for years and they were doing it with little Government help.

If they can do it, given the paths they have walked so far, then surely others can as well.

[Sismis]

Woody....I have severall friends in WA & SA who are very anti-Aboriginal for reasons I cannot understand. All I know is our indigenous citizens are over represented in jails per capita nation wide and our virtually 3rd world in other areas which is a national disgrace given our wealth. I understand your frustration that they should get off their arses to make it better. Natrat & Longy and brothers like them do. others after 200 years of persecution, booze, white man introduced diseases feel no need to integrate into white man society. Can you blame them? Walk a mile in their shoes.

I use my analogy of a white man in the Victorian Western Districts who in the early 1800's went onto Aboriginal land and chased them off with off a gun or killed them. They then became rich on that land like one Malcolm Fraser who sold his Wannon homestead for millions. Do you think their descendants, rich on the misery of a conquered race, should put something back?

As for the rest of us punters, do we all, enriched by our nations riches, through our taxes, bring our indigenous brothers and sisters in our next boom with us, so they enjoy the fruits of our nations wealth, equality in life expentancy, a roof over their heads, health benefits, superannuation, job hopes, hopes for their family, equality in all aspects of white lives, or do we just piss them around like the last 200 years? Could we be the first country in the world where indigenous rights, hopes and aspirations actually happen?

Filth....I am not anti-Aboriginal at all and have met heaps of Aboriginal people through my work (both employed and unemployed) who are not looking for assistance and want to make it on their own.

Recently at a company conference, a group of young Aboriginal men stood in front of a group of about 180 people and told their stories...every one of them had been in serious trouble with the law and had done time...now they are all trying to get their lives back on track and several of them are now working helping other young Aboriginal men get back on track.

These kids were the most inspirational people I have met for years and they were doing it with little Government help.

If they can do it, given the paths they have walked so far, then surely others can as well.

So it's perfectly fine for them to have to start so far behind the 8 ball because some can overcome the odds?

They have had 60 years to redress the advantages of hundreds starting from close to 0. Most of us enjoy one of the highest standards of living in the world, yet we have a group living in third world conditions.

Your solution, tell them to "try harder"?

[swoodley]

Woody....I have severall friends in WA & SA who are very anti-Aboriginal for reasons I cannot understand. All I know is our indigenous citizens are over represented in jails per capita nation wide and our virtually 3rd world in other areas which is a national disgrace given our wealth. I understand your frustration that they should get off their arses to make it better. Natrat & Longy and brothers like them do. others after 200 years of persecution, booze, white man introduced diseases feel no need to integrate into white man society. Can you blame them? Walk a mile in their shoes.

I use my analogy of a white man in the Victorian Western Districts who in the early 1800's went onto Aboriginal land and chased them off with off a gun or killed them. They then became rich on that land like one Malcolm Fraser who sold his Wannon homestead for millions. Do you think their descendants, rich on the misery of a conquered race, should put something back?

As for the rest of us punters, do we all, enriched by our nations riches, through our taxes, bring our indigenous brothers and sisters in our next boom with us, so they enjoy the fruits of our nations wealth, equality in life expentancy, a roof over their heads, health benefits, superannuation, job hopes, hopes for their family, equality in all aspects of white lives, or do we just piss them around like the last 200 years? Could we be the first country in the world where indigenous rights, hopes and aspirations actually happen?

Filth....I am not anti-Aboriginal at all and have met heaps of Aboriginal people through my work (both employed and unemployed) who are not looking for assistance and want to make it on their own.

Recently at a company conference, a group of young Aboriginal men stood in front of a group of about 180 people and told their stories...every one of them had been in serious trouble with the law and had done time...now they are all trying to get their lives back on track and several of them are now working helping other young Aboriginal men get back on track.

These kids were the most inspirational people I have met for years and they were doing it with little Government help.

If they can do it, given the paths they have walked so far, then surely others can as well.

So it's perfectly fine for them to have to start so far behind the 8 ball because some can overcome the odds?

They have had 60 years to redress the advantages of hundreds starting from close to 0. Most of us enjoy one of the highest standards of living in the world, yet we have a group living in third world conditions.

Your solution, tell them to "try harder"?

Whereas yours is probably to continue to throw taxpayers money at them to "solve" the problems....that hasn't shown any signs of working....but don't let me stand in the way of your bleeding heart and whatever "wonderful solutions" you propose...oh wait a minute...you haven't offered any solutions at all, have you?

[Sismis]

[quote="swoodley]Whereas yours is probably to continue to throw taxpayers money at them to "solve" the problems....that hasn't shown any signs of working....but don't let me stand in the way of your bleeding heart and whatever "wonderful solutions" you propose...oh wait a minute...you haven't offered any solutions at all, have you?[/quote] At least I can see the problem.

[Royza]

I'm also a fan of important scientists as well.

Tesla, Einstein, Darwin, Wallace like Sismis. Also Bertrand Russell, Carl Sagan, Stephen Hawking.

Douglas Adams, and many others that have slipped my mind for the moment.

Here's some of them kicking out the tunes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSgiXGEL ... r_embedded

[dom_105]

Far be it for me to stumble in to a subject I don't know a great deal about.

You can't help someone who doesn't want to help themselves, and the victim mentality helps absolutely no one and achieves absolutely nothing.

People have control over their own free will, and in this country that is a powerful right. There are shitloads of success stories of people coming from backgrounds full of disadvantage immigrating to this country and making a good go at it. And it's not just the Lowy's and the Pratt's, it's the people who walked off the ship with a suitcase of possessions and worked hard to own a home and build and educate a family. That's the type of opportunities that this country provides.

You have 26% of the Aboriginal population living in remote or very remote areas of this country (cf. 2%, Non-Aboriginal) and only 32% of the Aboriginal population living in the cities (cf. 69%). There are no opportunities out there in the sticks except on the mines, and even that might not be the main problem. How do you engage the Aboriginal community? How do you help them take up the opportunities that this country provides? How do you integrate them into the mainstream Australian community? Do they even want to be integrated into the mainstream Australian community? Are they happy with their lot in life out on the backblocks of Australia?

And the kids are the most pressing issue here. How do you provide education to these Aboriginal kids living in the sticks? How can you force them to take up this education? Do you need to coerce them, or even force them out of these communities and into schools in the city?

These are all significant questions that walking across a bridge was never going to resolve.

[swoodley]

[quote="swoodley]Whereas yours is probably to continue to throw taxpayers money at them to "solve" the problems....that hasn't shown any signs of working....but don't let me stand in the way of your bleeding heart and whatever "wonderful solutions" you propose...oh wait a minute...you haven't offered any solutions at all, have you?

At least I can see the problem.[/quote][/quote][/quote]
What a great response

Everyone knows there's a problem but we all have different views on how to solve it...I happen to think that it won't be solved until Aboriginal people take responsibility for solving their own problems...that might include going to the Government asking for financial assistance but sitting back and waiting for "society" to solve their problems does not help.

So rather than just criticise my views, please give us some of your possible ways of solving the problems faced by our Aboriginal community.

[Sismis]

[quote="swoodley]Whereas yours is probably to continue to throw taxpayers money at them to "solve" the problems....that hasn't shown any signs of working....but don't let me stand in the way of your bleeding heart and whatever "wonderful solutions" you propose...oh wait a minute...you haven't offered any solutions at all, have you?

At least I can see the problem.

[/quote][/quote]
What a great response

Everyone knows there's a problem but we all have different views on how to solve it...I happen to think that it won't be solved until Aboriginal people take responsibility for solving their own problems...that might include going to the Government asking for financial assistance but sitting back and waiting for "society" to solve their problems does not help.

So rather than just criticise my views, please give us some of your possible ways of solving the problems faced by our Aboriginal community.[/quote][/quote][/quote]
Apologies for bitch reply. I'm starting another thread where I will expand.

[dodgey]

an interesting read..

But if one more person puts Gough Whitlam up I think I'll spew.... An arrogant c*** who nearly sent the country broke in less than 3 years.... Imagine where we would be today if Kerr hadn't stepped in..

[Piaffe]

Maria Theresa - ahead of her time in regards to medicine, education and civil rights as a ruler.
Bill Gates - for his multi-billion dollar donations
Arnold Schwarzenegger - came from a poor family and made it big time in not just one arena
Australian troops overseas - Doing our country a great service, and even in some places they probably shouldn't be
Nelson Mandela
Henry Ford
Leonardo da Vinci
Martin Luther King,Jr
Professor Fred Hollows
The Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur