An appropriate response would be to improve understanding of why Advance Australia Fair remains offensive to First Nations peoples
There are several things patently wrong with Australia’s national anthem. Firstly setting aside the mistaken presumption that it is compulsory to stand and sing it, the lyric “we are young and free” alone wilfully rejects, minimises and attempts to erase millennia of First Nations culture and deep connection to place. Arguably more troubling is that it also conveniently ignores the ongoing oppression of this continent’s first peoples.
On Tuesday, rugby league player Cody Walker revealed that he will not sing Advance Australia Fair during the preliminary ceremonies of next week’s State of Origin game at Lang Park in Brisbane. We should all be supporting him, particularly in light of this week being National Reconciliation Week. For many First Nations peoples the anthem is offensive. The appropriate response for the broader nation is to improve its understanding of why and how that continues to be the case, not label Walker’s stand “divisive”.
Continue reading...from The Guardian http://bit.ly/2HIgN7K
via
0 Comments