Note: CONTENT WARNING - some of this content is about upsetting, disturbing or triggering events & attitudes. Seek competent help - including professional - if you need it. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that linked articles may contains names and/or images of deceased people. READER CAUTION IS RECOMMENDED! For anyone distressed by anything in this post, or for any other reason considering seeking support, resources are available in Australia here, here, and here. In other nations, you will have to do an Internet search using terms such as “mental health support - <your nation>” (which, for instance, may lead to this, this, and this, in the USA, or this, this, and this, in France [biased towards English-language - my apologies]), or perhaps try https://www.befrienders.org/.
See:
- “On Gaza [Note: Content Warning - links to reports on violence/abuse/war. Reader discretion is advised]” https://politicalmusingsofkayleen.blogspot.com/2024/04/on-gaza-note-content-warning-links-to.html
Part of that was:
“PM speaks with Netanyahu to demand investigation into Australian’s death” https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/news/politics/australian-politics/2024/04/03/albanese-netanyahu-frankcom “Netanyahu promises Albanese a full investigation into Australian aid worker’s death, as Israel accepts responsibility” https://theconversation.com/netanyahu-promises-albanese-a-full-investigation-into-australian-aid-workers-death-as-israel-accepts-responsibility-227050 “Albanese also used the conversation to express Australia’s concern about a potential ground invasion of the Gazan city of Rafah and the consequences for civilians there”
and
This may have a larger impact than the images of starving children ... which, while understandable (sort of), is disappointing - why not commensurate outrage over the images of starving children? Is it easier to be outraged over something that is quick than something that takes time to effect evil? Or is the problem media bias in reporting?
Why, in response to the killing of an Australian aid worker, has Australia’s Prime Minister shown strong signs of a changed, harder stance on Israel’s mass atrocities (and possible/probable genocide) in Gaza?
In my opinion, because of the endemic white supremacism shown by many, if not most, Australian voters - or particularly so in key electorates.
White supremacism is the term to use, rather than racism, as:
- racism can be shown by people who are not white (I have discussed that over quite a few years with a young friend I am helping get through a University course in Africa);
- Australia has a long history of white supremacist attitudes, starting with the notorious White Australia policy, and continuing through the rejection of The Voice referendum in 2023 to white supremacist attitudes such as Northern Territory police’s white supremacist awards.
The reality of politics in democracies is that politicians are constrained by the rate at which they can get voters to change - try for too much and/or too quick a rate of change, and Australia’s mostly timid, credulous, lacking-in-vision, conservative and white supremacist (particularly, as already noted, in key electorates) voters have shown time and time again that they will punish politicians - e.g., in my opinion, the 2019 Federal election.
There have, however, been exceptions - such as the election of the Whitlam government, the rejection of the communist party ban referendum, and the 1967 referendum ... enough to give hope of a better Australia, but not enough to rely on ...
The regular, ongoing demonstrations supporting Palestinians is one of those exceptions.
Why has Australia’s government not responded significantly to those pro-Palestinian protests (or sentiment) before now?
Well, in addition to the aforementioned white supremacism, in my opinion, because of matters such as: long term alliance with USA and the associated politics of perception of military/size/other power, fear of a resurgence of conservatism at the next election - which may well be after the war has finished, when the memories of protests have changed into grieving ... and genuine horror at what was done on 7th October, together with an ongoing collective (globally) guilt and shame at what was allowed to happen in the 1930s and 40s to Jewish people around the world - predominantly and especially in Germany and German occupied Europe, yes, but other nations also need to hang their heads in shame (including the Jewish refugee rejecting/limiting USA - and Australia), which is being triggered by the similarities between that and the events of 7th October.
But significantly, large though they are, not all voters are out on the streets or writing letters or emails for Palestine.
(Incidentally, I’m discounting the wealthy-property-developer led neo(“liberal”) party, as it is on a path of destruction at all costs in the quest for power [and doing far too much damage to recover from if does get in to power].)
However, the death of an Australian - and an Australian doing aid work at that - at the hands of the Israeli military (which has now dismissed two officers it claims are responsible) has given the PM something likely-to-be-acceptable-to-voters to act on, and start towards the path of holding Israel to account for its excessive, egregious, and ignoble response to the horror of what was done on 7th October to Israelis - and other people, which is now horror on horror.
One article has said not to expect too much change in Australia’s stance: I’ll happily take what change we have got, thanks - it is a start, one probably helped by the USA also doing the same, but it is the sort of event that even those voters who believe charity starts (and stops, which is the unsaid part) at home are unlikely to object to or punish any party too much at the next election.
And for context, that limited change in response is based on the white supremacist concern over the death of one Australian amongst the deaths of tens of thousands of Palestinians and over a thousand, mostly civilian, Israelis & others, and many more atrocities, woundings, devastation, and other harm ...
Is that ... “disappointing”?
Yes.
In fact, it is a bloody sight more than just “disappointing” - it paints many Australians in an appalling light of being self-centred, small-minded, and lacking in caring.
There is nothing to be proud of in this.
I can and do compare that unfavourably with the response to the humanitarian crisis in Biafra, whose images - that I saw as a child - have been matched or even exceeded now.
I can also compare it unfavourably to the actions of one of Australia’s greatest leaders: William Cooper - the Yorta Yorta man who my electorate is named after, a man who, in the middle of his outstanding work for - as then termed - Aborigines, undertaken during a time of extreme oppression (which largely continues now, with white supremacists finding ways to subvert changes for the better), took the time and energy to create a petition condemning Kristallnacht, get signatures and then deliver it to the German consulate in Naarm (Melbourne) - an act appreciated this century by the Jewish community.
Perhaps he was aware of the Wiradjuri word ngumbaadyil - “all are one”.
How he would sorrow at the smallness of so many people in Australia now - people who no longer have the excuse of ignorance ...
However, his courage and caring is the example of what to do - a courage and caring which has also been shown by those protesting persistently for Palestine (a significant number of whom are Jewish, incidentally - see here and here), by The Gambia when it brought its case against Burma/Myanmar for genocide of the Rohingya, and by South Africa’s case against Israel for genocide in Gaza. (A case could also be brought against those who committed the atrocities of 7th October for that - in fact, they have been listed as genocidaires many years ago. I suspect that, until last year, they were thought too small, too ineffective, to warrant such action ... )
Now we just need our politicians and their advisors to show the same sort of courage, caring, and commitment on this (and related) issue by choosing to work at improving the moral character and fibre of Australians ... and accomplishing that sort of change is what this blog is about, which is why I am posting it here.
Where I can, I will try to highlight possible flaws / issues you should consider:
- there may be flawed logical arguments in the above: to find out more about such flaws and thinking generally, I recommend Brendan Myers’ free online course “Clear and Present Thinking”;
- I could be wrong - so keep your thinking caps on, and make up your own minds for yourself.
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Remember: we generally need to be more human being rather than human doing, to mind our Mӕgan, and to acknowledge that all misgendering is an act of active transphobia/transmisia that puts trans+ lives at risk & accept that all insistence on the use of “trans” as a descriptor comes with commensurate use of “cis” as a descriptor to prevent “othering” (just as binary gendered [men’s and women’s] sporting teams are either both given the gender descriptor, or neither).Copyright © Kayleen White 2007-2024 NO AI
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