Australia Day is my least favourite holiday in the calendar. I'd go further and say that it ranks on par with wisdom teeth extraction and the pain of childbirth for me. If I could skip straight over from the 25 January and wake up on the 27 I'd do it without hesitation. And I understand that this might make many people see me as disloyal and unpatriotic, they would probably be right but hear me out on this.
National days throughout the world are weighted heavily with symbolism - a moment in history where disparate groups come together to become something altogether bigger and more powerful than the sum of their parts. Whether it is the birth of nationhood, the rejection of a foreign oppressor, or overthrow of a political system, countries choose these days with great care and thought. The 26 January is undoubtedly a significant day in Australian history. That Captain Arthur Phillip tapped the Union Jack into the soil of this continent and declared it the possession of the British empire on the 26 January, 1788 is cause for celebration for many people in Australia but I can't forget that for indigenous people this moment in history marks the beginning of dispossession and all of the associated horror that this word entails. For the original owners of this land the 26 January is a Day of Mourning.
My point is this, those of us who choose to celebrate the 26 January should have every right to do so but let's not have this divisive day as the moment that we select to celebrate who we are as a collective group. It's a contradiction in terms to celebrate a day that naturally divides a people as a national holiday. There are many dates that we could choose from, Martin Flanagan in his excellent opinion piece in the Age suggests January 22 when the Battle for the Kokoda ended in 1943.
For myself, I have no strong opinions on which day to choose. What I would love to see is a passionate debate in Australia about this subject instead of the knee-jerk bigoted ignorance loosely disguised as journalism reporting the events outside the Lobby restaurant two days ago. If I were to select a chief bugbear it is that almost without exception the mainstream press have glossed over the comments made by Tony Abbott on the eve of Australia Day for the Tent Embassy to be disbanded and for people to 'move on'. It is breathtaking to me that we accept the deer in the headlights defence of Abbott that his comments were misinterpreted. Whatever accusations can be levelled at Abbott, political naiivety is not one of them. He knew exactly what he was doing making these comments on the eve of Australia Day and the possible ramifications with tensions running at such a high level.
Charlie Teo's impassioned Australia Day address is remarkable in its honesty about Australian racism. This is something that I see more and more each Australia Day with the flag wearing jingoism that serves to divide rather than draw us closer together as a nation. I am not too young to remember a time when a teenager wearing an Australian Flag as a cape would have been laughed out of town. If I could have something back from the 80's beyond George Michael's home perm it would be the natural scepticism and critical detachment with which many of us viewed these kinds of issues. And most of all the ability to empathise. That old chestnut where we are told we should walk around in someone else's shoes. Dammit we should. I try. I imagine the hurt, pain and anger of the protestors and the anxiety and stress of the police outside the Lobby Restaurant, I imagine the people sitting in Villawood Detention Centre who may never get a chance to attend one of those Citizenship Ceremonies. This helps me to see people not as 'troublemakers', 'brutes' or 'queue jumpers' but just like you and me.
I just fell a little bit more in love with you.
So wonderfully put. Xx
Posted by: Cath @ mybeardedpigeon | January 28, 2012 at 09:32 PM
I am so glad to hear someone say what I have been thinking!
More and more I see a Jingoistic upswell of nationalism hand in hand with intolerance and bigotry.
Thanks for being brave and swimming against the tide.
Posted by: pkg | January 28, 2012 at 09:41 PM
So very, very well put.
Posted by: Mel | January 28, 2012 at 09:46 PM
Nice post. Wholeheartedly agree.
Posted by: Katrina | January 28, 2012 at 09:50 PM
Excellent post ms rummage
enough to cause me to leave my lurking status for a moment and make a comment.
i liked seeing this post today on facebook and thought you might too
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150507495452584&set=p.10150507495452584&type=1&theater
PS love your blog
Posted by: Moira Hickman | January 28, 2012 at 09:52 PM
Beautifully written. Completely agree.
Posted by: carol @ perennial | January 28, 2012 at 10:27 PM
Of course Abbott knew what he was doing. The timing was horrible on his part and particularly divisive. Then to come out and say he was verballed - oh please!
Regardless of the ugliness of that day in Canberra, I dislike what is Australia day. What I do like is the citizenship ceremonies and the acknowledgment of good in the community. But lets not do that on a day when some white peeps lobbed up and stole a nation.
Posted by: Karin | January 28, 2012 at 10:38 PM
A brave and insightful piece Nan. White Australignise the idea needs to do a wgole lot more to recognise the indeginous Australians x
Posted by: kate | January 28, 2012 at 10:41 PM
Applause from over the ditch. I agree about the issues of national days. In NZ Waitangi day 'celebrates' a treaty that resonates for its mistranslation issues. Nationalism is always a problematic concept for the way it promotes chauvinism towards other nations and more especially for the way it both glosses over and celebrates the excesses and horrors of colonisation. Thank you for this post.
Posted by: Sally | January 29, 2012 at 05:18 AM
Thank you for sharing this. It's always wonderful to see a view other than blind patriotism when it comes to Australia Day.
I was incredibly saddened by the events of January 26 this year. For Abbott to say (and believe) such things just goes to show how out of touch with reality he actually is and I think the reactions from the media and much of the public prove that the opposite of Abbott's remarks is in fact true.
Posted by: Amie | January 29, 2012 at 11:43 AM
this is so well written. i agree completely. go, rummage!
Posted by: melissa | January 29, 2012 at 11:57 AM
Wow. Perfectly said. Thank you
Posted by: Catherine | January 29, 2012 at 12:30 PM
hear hear! You say it so well. I've been ignoring Australia Day since a friend pointed out to me that it is actually invasion day. I had not thought about celebrating what is good about Australia (about all of us) on another day. It would be good to see that discussion in the media. And I second what Cath@mybeardedpigeon wrote.
Posted by: Maggie | January 29, 2012 at 01:00 PM
What a heartfelt & articulate post! I do agree with you, but I'm not sure what the alternaitve might be. Maybe Federation Day? Hmm maybe not.
Love this post.
x
Posted by: Mrs BC | January 29, 2012 at 01:30 PM
Incredibly well said. I bury my head in a book on Australia Day and refuse to leave the house! I am increasingly troubled by the way we fail to embrace the truth of our history; standing in the crowd when Kevin Rudd delivered the Sorry speech I felt that we might be getting somewhere. Now I'm not so sure.
Posted by: Kerry Martin | January 29, 2012 at 03:28 PM
hear hear! i agree entirely and, as a teacher, am baffled and horrified by the current trend of teenagers wearing the australian flag so proudly and un-critically as capes, bikinis and caps etc. as a 34 year old woman, i would have been mortified to be seen in such attire as a teen. patriotism was daggy at best. john howard has a lot to answer for. his legacy will survive, and it is a shameful one. we all love a public holiday, but pick another date/occasion.
Posted by: stephanie | January 29, 2012 at 05:43 PM
well said.
Posted by: Stella | January 30, 2012 at 03:37 PM
My 12-year-old daughter has a blackboard on her bedroom door. On Jan 26 she chalked 'Invasion Day' on it. Hopefully, the next generation will put an end to what Australia Day has become (sooner would be better, obviously).
As for the day itself, we grabbed friends and headed west to Lidcome, a middle-eastern enclave of Sydney, and had the best Lebanese food we've had in ages. Another upside, besides the food, was the lack of those in the street bearing flag-draped shoulders and temporary face tattoos falling down in pools of their own vomit in the name of Australia.
Posted by: Vera @ Small Things Simple Pleasures | January 30, 2012 at 05:43 PM
I have never commented on a blog post before....ever. Thank you for giving a very public voice to what many of us think.
Posted by: Afra | January 30, 2012 at 08:48 PM
Yes!Yes!Yes!
Posted by: Nicola | January 31, 2012 at 11:44 PM
This is a well considered and beautifully written post. Thanks.
Posted by: Sieni | February 03, 2012 at 09:19 PM
Perfectly said. Thank you for expressing this. This post is beautifully written and echoes my feelings exactly.
Posted by: leah of sang the bird | February 04, 2012 at 05:36 PM
Ah Abbott, dickhead extrodinaire. So much rag fodder, so little time. Things are getting better but change is slow. I mean, it wasn't that long ago that mixed-race marriage was illegal in this country (a friend of mine told me about his grandparents only coming back to Australia after the law was repealed- the grandpa was Welsh while the grandma was Torres Strait Islander). It gets better, just takes time.
Posted by: theperfectnose | March 19, 2012 at 11:22 AM
YES! Brilliant! Fantastic post!
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Posted by: Megan | November 27, 2012 at 02:08 AM