Aboriginal v The Rest: The Widening Gap

   Despite the government sourced mainstream media generated hyperbole, if the gap were an asyss in the recent colonial past then today its as wide as the Tasman Sea. Whether in reaction to government bullying coercion and child theft,or for self perceived economic or social reasons,aboriginal people attempt to engage with and understand the Colonial English culture which masquerades as Australian.Irrespective of their academic success most aboriginal people wait in vain for the benefits to kick in.Invariably,they are relegated to subordinance in terms of self worth,relative to "other ethnicities".This gap is widest when the comparison is aboriginal vs anglo.


  The gap between aboriginal control and Colonial control is widening.Whereas until the 1990s aboriginal peoples had only had control of their resources, human rights culture and political autonomy usurped, todays aboriginal people face the decimation of their communities and dissipation of their families by bi-partisan government forces dedicated to the eradication of all aboriginal control-even over our children.


  But the gap is widest when the comparison is between aboriginal people acquiring non traditional "skills" and learning about "other ethnic" and "invader" cultures in Australia and "Other Australians" acquiring aboriginal based learning. Learning the rich tapestry of traditions of aboriginal lore,the oldest continuously existing culture known to humankind. Surprisingly, measured in terms of learning, aboriginal people are way out in front in relative cultural learning, with most having acquired at least rudimentary knowledge of "non-aboriginal" and especially colonist english culture. In stark contrast non-aboriginal learning of any aboriginal culture from traditional sources is virtually non existent. 


 While many engage in "aboriginal studies" via non-aboriginal institutions, they, including many aboriginals who do so, will at best come away with a non aboriginal perspective of aboriginal people and culture gleaned in sterile isolation, sourced from documents and books and out of synchronicity with the places and people in which that particular culture belongs.