A Party We Can All Be Part Of

It’s that time of year again. You know, when Australians come together to celebrate how great Australia is on the day that marks the anniversary of the beginning of the cultural destruction for Aboriginal Australians.
 
Weeks before the big day social media fights ignite – should we really be holding a national party on the day that was devastating for a culture? The media throws fuel on the fire, pitting people against each other and soon Australians are at each other’s throats, arguing for their view point. This year the PM added a new dimension to the fight and announced he would introduce legislation forcing local councils to hold citizenship ceremonies on the 26th January, a practice some Councils have abandoned out of respect for their local Aboriginal people.
 
The racist comments and hate that is thrown towards Aboriginal people at this time of year is horrific and as an Aboriginal person it is hard not to be offended. But as I read through the appalling hate and racism it is clear that many Australians have missed the point and we are arguing for different things.
 
Those who are asking for the date to be changed are not asking for people to stop being proud to be Australian. They are not asking for people to give up their public holiday or to stop celebrating the achievements of their families. They are just asking for us as a country to stop hosting the nation’s biggest party on a day that forever changed a culture, a day that mass murders, rapes and destruction began. They are asking us to remember the true history of the country and to respect the people that gave up their lives in order for us to live ours today.
 
Changing the date takes nothing away from anyone, despite what mainstream media has us believe. All it does is move the party to a day when all Australians can truly participate. It’s not a big ask given that the 26th of January is a recent date for the day to be held and 56% of Australians don’t mind when the day is held as long as we have one (read more about this poll here). 
 
There seems to be this fear that changing the date somehow takes something away from non-Aboriginal Australia. That somehow Aboriginal people will be gaining something at the expense of their fellow Australians.  Yet in reality all that would be happening is that we would be moving forward together, with respect for the real history of our country and acknowledgement of the journey that brought Australia to where it is today.
 
The date will change eventually, that I am confident of. Shouldn’t we just do it now and start a celebration that we can all be part of?