The Aboriginal Problem

There is no "Aboriginal Problem". What we do have, is a series of issues which interact.

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Thinking Lateral
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(1) There are people in Australia who get drunk, who shout and stagger round the streets of the major towns and cities. Some of these people are Aboriginal but some are not.

On a recent visit to Kalgoorlie I saw six or seven people -- men and women -- swaying, shouting, smelling of alcohol -- on the footpath of the main shopping & tourist area. In the middle of the morning. A couple of children were with them. Is this an "Aboriginal Problem"? No.

For one thing, all sorts (and colours) of people get drunk and stagger down our streets. For another, the people that I saw were various shades of dark. Because many were mixed race, would we call this a "European Problem"? No? So why should we call it an "Aboriginal Problem"...

(2) Two days later, in Merredin, I saw a dark-skinned person walk down the main street. From a distance, purely on the evidence of the dark skin, I thought, "Aboriginal". I also decided that he was a teenager. He walked along the footpath, bought a packet of chips, walked back again. With no sign at all that he was drunk, nor shouting, nor drugged... In fact, he looked like a typical teenager.

Not all Aboriginals are drunk. If we refer to "the Aboriginal Problem" then we are unfairly insulting every person with a dark skin. Yes, there is a problem. Yet there are plenty of people who are Aboriginal or part Aboriginal but who are not a part of the problem.

(3) The problem is not just drunk & disorderly in a public place. Yes, there is a problem. Public drunkenness may be one visible sign. There are also: crime, violence, family violence, rape, incest, disease... The list goes on. This is a problem. Perhaps even a Problem.

So, why do we do nothing about it?

(4) Political correctness says, we must not be "paternal".

If your toddler tries to poke its fingers into an electric socket, what do you do? Do you, (a) Give your toddler a lot of money and hope that it will at least pay for its own hospital care? (b) Demand that the government provide and pay for a safer alternative to electricity in your home? (c) Give a lot of electrical safety pamphlets to your non-literate child? (d) Demand a lot of money for yourself because you were once a child?

If you really care about your toddler you will look after them, protect them as well as you can... and train them, educate them until they are finally able to take care of themselves. You need to be both "paternal" and "maternal". That is how we help people to develop. That is what we do when we really care.

(5) Some people shout "paternalism" and "racism" and you have to wonder why. They blame the past for the inadequacies of the present. The only "solution" -- so they say -- is... more money. Let's be cynical:

What do these people gain? Well, for one thing, they get a regular income. If "the Aboriginal problem" were actually solved, a lot of people would need to find other sources of income. These people also get personal power. If "the Aboriginal problem" were solved, they would need to find other ways to get people to listen to them. It is in their interests to maintain "an Aboriginal Problem".

(6) The same people who make a living from "the Problem" tell us that the fault lies in the past. For one thing, this absolves them of blame: it was "someone else's" fault, so there is nothing that "I" can do.

Plenty of convicts were sent to Australia. They were thrown out of their homes, sent away from their home countries, given no land, no rights. Many of them suffered. Some died. Some prospered. A mixed result. And we -- Australia -- can be proud of the convicts who overcame displacement and difficulties and built a new life, for themselves and for their families.

(7) Yet a minute shade of Aboriginal blood is enough, apparently, to destroy all hope. One past drop of Aboriginal blood is enough, it seems, to require government payment to you, to your family, your friends -- and your advisors. Get real!

Yes, there is a problem

Yes, there is a problem. Some people are not able, or do not want, to live within the strictures of our society as it exists today. Yes, it would be nice to solve that problem, to help people who are stuck in what we see as miserable conditions.

First, though, we need to be clear about the problem.

Identify the problem. Forget about blame: we either want to help, or we do not. Then look for some real solutions.

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Independent Thinking
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