Empty signifiers (or, “the innocence of childhood protected, for God’s sake”*)
Some current containers for unfocussed loathing that has very focussed results.
1. Little Children are Sacred, the report which justified the Intervention.
2. “Sexualised” teenagers in a series of images by Bill Henson; seized by the police in the war on child pornography.
3. Islamic school children; apparently intended for taking over the town of Camden (“My kids can’t read Islamic … how are they going to go to that school?”)
* Kevin Rudd.
Re #1. Not one of the recommendations of the Little Children Are Sacred report have actually been implemented in the intervention legislation. They include radical things like community consultation and supporting community-owned initiatives to deal with sexual and family violence. Pat Anderson, one of the co-authors of the report, has denounced the intervention as abusive.
The thing is that many Aboriginal social workers, researchers, and community leaders have produced report upon report about sexual and family violence, which as fallen on deaf ears in government. One of the recent ones, Breaking the Silence, which is about NSW in particular, was presented to then state Indigenous Affairs minister Milton Orkopoulos. Yes, the same Milton Orkopoulos who was put away last week for child sexual abuse. You have to laugh at ironies like that, otherwise you might just burst into tears.
Anyway, directing anger at the reports written by Aboriginal people about violence in Aboriginal communities is quite misplaced. The blame rests squarely on the shoulders of governments for ignoring the issues for so long, for doing everything in their power to take opportunities to address these problems away from Aboriginal communities, and for screaming “Anderson-Wild” to the rooftops while the army and police wave guns at people.
We need the voices of Aboriginal people talking about problems in their communities. We don’t need the army, the police, or the government.
Comment by Fire Fly — 6/1/2008 @ 9:52 pm
AU forces get the nod?
Comment by ana — 6/2/2008 @ 1:21 pm