permaculture

[1earth permaculture <permaculture1@start.com.au>]

Marcus wrote:
>> She also talks about 'latant racism' which is an underlying
attitude in the white society... It is latant by begrudging them what
little support they are finally receiving, not even saying 'sorry' for
the past because of possible litigation, or even condescending saying
"I support a treaty and reconciliation" but then doing nothing at all
in you own life to live up to it.
>
Russ wrote:
>How do you know that people who support a treaty and reconciliation
are doing nothing further? Isn't that something of a broad assumption?
Where is the evidence?

Russ, I'm sure that you will agree that some people say "I support
reconciliation" but still in practice won't do anything that changes
the status quo of white domination and imperialism.  I'm also
referring to such things as politically incorrect speech and thought
and actions - it's going to take some time (if at all) for those
things to disappear.

I noted that you said earlier that you are not always politically
correct in speech and writings (shazzbutt, either am I!).  I urge you
to reconsider this though when working as a journo, activist or
commentator on something as politically and culturally sensitive as
indigenous affairs.  As we learnt in the Word & Text course at uni,
certain types of discourse bring their own genre and jargon, and to
not use the appropriate jargon can bring cries of 'confrontational' or
'insensitive' even though the overall meaning of your text is actually
supportive.

Russ wrote:
>To simply label these people I assume it is me because I made that
statement 'condescending' is a real put-down of people ...

Actually no, not referring to you, I was speaking in broad terms.

Russ wrote:
>> I think labelling those people is making exactly the same tactical
mistake has been made by the environment lobby - encouraging, cajoling
and lecturing at people to change then, when they make a small step
for the better, criticising them and telling them that it is not
enough.

True.  One of the tangents in my own media career involved politics
(media adviser to the Federal Attorney General, and at the G7 Economic
Summit, amongst others) and I've finally convinced myself that the
only person I can change on this planet is myself.  I'm feeling that
I'm making more impact now, having made the necessary changes in my
own life, and thus 'leading by example' with my own permaculture
website and writings at a grass roots level.

One of the political tactics taught to me, if that if you move too far
to the left, the right will move further right in the belief that the
left will come back to middle ground.

(BTW, I'm accredited for CHOGM, so if anyone is coming to protest,
please leave the workers alone - some of us are on the inside, working
for the 'greater good' - LOL)

Russ wrote:
Stating " ...but then doing nothing at all in you own life to live up
to it" does not take into account the fact that, in contemporary
Australian society, people are time-poor. What do time-poor people do?

Ah yes, but it takes the same amount of time to be compassionate as it
does to be this-ist or that-ist.  I'm not talking about people taking
the time to do community work (leave that to the pros) - just small
changes in our own lives that accommodate and respect the cultures of
others.  It takes less effort to smile ...

Russ wrote:
>The resurgence of tribalism, religiousity and ethnic consciousness -
with the conflict and chauvanism that comes with these things - has
been an accompaniment to globalisation.

Just to put 'globalisation' in an historical perspective - just after
World War Two there was a movement called "Internationalism" from
which came the United Nations and all it's offspring; the IMF (which
badly needs an overhaul); and such organisations as the G7 and OECD.
It was no accident that one of the major concerns of the UN has been
human rights.  Now, whether internationalism can be judged successful
given that over half the countries in the world at at conflict ...
I'll leave that to the judges :)

Some of the most interesting ideas and writings on the current human
condition are in connection with the debate on human rights in the
context of globalisation, our "plants DB - indigenous" debate has been
at a grass roots and practical level.

Marcus


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