Rant: Silly Words

ABORIGINAL LANDS AMENDMENT. BILL 39 OF 2005
TASMANIA
5. Section 3A inserted
After section 3 of the Principal Act, the
following section is inserted in Part 1:
3A. Aboriginal person
(1) An Aboriginal person is a person who
satisfies all of the following
requirements:
(a) Aboriginal ancestry;
(b) self-identification as an
Aboriginal person;
(c) communal recognition by
members of the Aboriginal
community.
(2) The onus of proving that a person
satisfies the requirements referred to in
subsection (1) lies on that person.
"The modern Commonwealth definition of an Aboriginal person is
An Aboriginal person is defined as a person who:
* is a descendant of an Indigenous inhabitant of Australia,
* identifies as an Aboriginal,
* and is recognised as Aboriginal by members of the community in which she or he
lives.


If I three quarter fill my glass with Scotch Whiskey, and then top it up with a little iced
water, may I now say that I have a glass of water?
I put petrol with 10% ethanol in my car. May I now say that my tank is full of alcohol?
or that my car runs on alcohol?
My original ancestor was a single celled organism. Perhaps I might call myself a bacteria
or an amoeba.
I identify myself as part of the ecological life on this plant. Does that make me an
ecologist?
When I had a dog, he recognized me as pack leader. I guess that makes me a dog? I like
that. Dogs are rarely involved in the stupidity that characterizes humans.
As you can tell, I dislike divisive terminology and idiocy.
I also am aware that previous generations of European settlers in Australia had a policy of
genocide towards the people living here which included the extermination of full Aborigines
and the dilution of their gene pool with European genes.
It would appear that they were mostly successful in their evil task, while using subtle word
definitions to hide what they did.
People can be proud of their heritage, especially of the fact that these ancestors lived in
harmony with the land. But it is silly to use a term that makes no sense.
Why canʼt we all just be Australians, respecting our individual differences.?
It is the subtle blending of flavors that make a culinary dish a work of art.


doc