Hyvää huomenta ystäväni,
A long long time ago, we saw a cartoon which left a lasting impression on us-
A toad sitting on an umbrella shaped fungus, admonished another toad clambering onto another umbrella shaped fungus: “You can’t sit there Larry, that is a mushroom!”
If you are a toad, you are only meant to sit on toadstools.
Authorities are often said to treat us like mushrooms- they keep us in the dark, and feed us bullshit.
Before we set off on our yearly R&R, Yuendumu enjoyed a deluge. Some decades earlier a similar deluge caused a crop of edible mushrooms to pop up literally like mushrooms. We kardiya (non-Indigenous residents) feasted on this crop. Yapa would have nothing to do with the mushrooms… nyurnu-kujaku… “Lest they make us sick”, which yapa assumed the mushrooms would.
After the current deluge, I chanced upom a single lone mushroom. Nangala cooked and ate it. She tells me it was delicious, which she assumed it would be. I’m happy to report she is still with us.
My holiday reading included Bruce Pascoe’s ‘Dark Emu’- “…then all of us must be alert to that greatest of all limitations to wisdom:- The Assumption… “
It was assumptions such as “these half-caste children will have a better future if taken from their families” which led to what became known as the ‘Stolen Generation(s)’, and which prompted Kevin Rudd’s politically opportunistic apology.
Indigenous children in Australia continue to be removed from their families at a greater rate than ever. Similar ethnocentric assumptions are used to justify this.
Oh when will they ever learn?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgXNVA9ngx8
There is a pointy shaped fungus which grows in Central Australia (Nguyu-parnta). Yapa used this mushroom to blacken the faces of half-caste children to prevent them from being taken by patrol officers.
Just as the modern fishing industry has become more “efficient”, so has the child protection industry. And just as over-fishing has serious long term deleterious consequences, so have the “improved” nets and increased catch of child protection. No mere pointy shaped mushroom will stand in its way.
Four years ago I quoted from ‘Martin Fierro’ (a 19th Century Argentine classic):
La ley es tela de araña
en mi inorancia lo explico
no la tema el hombre rico
nunca la tema el que mande
pues la rompe el bicho grande
y solo enrieda a los chicos
The law is like a spider’s web,
In all humility I explain:
the rich man fears it not
neither he that is in command.
The large beetles break free
and only the small insects are ensnared
Nothing much has changed- if anything the assimilationists have further tightened their grip.
On the internet I found this definition of ‘Deficit Model’:-
“Research grounded in a deficit perspective blames victims of institutional oppression for their own victimization by referring to negative stereotypes and assumptions…”
It didn’t need rain in Yuendumu for a crop of signs to pop up like mushrooms. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1U9TwG-uiDY
Painted on old car bonnets in vivid colours, the signs say:
“Stop the Violence”
“No Excuse for Abuse”
“No Violence Against Anyone”
“No Violence be Happy”
… Happy Days are here again….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbevg8lxiE0
I’m not happy with these signs. What is wrong with the signs? You ask.
I assume that which prompted some people to produce and put up the signs is the implied assumption grounded on the deficit model and perpetuating the stereotype of Yuendumu as a violent place rife with abuse.
Assimilationists make ample use of assumptions grounded on the deficit model. They’re not shy of perpetuating stereotypes either.
The authorities treat Aborigines like toads. They do everything within their power…
…they’ve got all the power…. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duV9lkmMTCc (Paul Butterfield Blues Band)
…to prevent toads from sitting on mushrooms and to force them to sit on toadstools, even if it may be possible toads have been sitting on mushrooms for over 40,000 years.
If you are a toad, you sit on mushrooms at your own peril. It can land you in prison or lead to having your child removed.
Kunnes seuraavan kerran,
Frank
PS- If you have the time, watch this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNXbwhW7NIg (Lucky Dube- Respect)
Assumptions, stereotypes and the removal of children are not confined to Aboriginal Australia.