Metal Reviews

I was sitting with a few of my friends having a few beers, when a couple of them started talking about their aboriginal heritage and how they're discriminated because of their "blackness".

Now both these guys are completely caucasian - one is pale, the other is slightly tanned, both have green eyes and both have light coloured hair.

To this point, I stated my usual point: "If it was 1788, you'd be one of the guys on the boats coming from England."

They kinda looked a bit uncomfortable and then started slagging Aborigines out (one called them "pus").



I remember some kids getting to go on special camps at school. When I asked some of them why they got to go on the camp, the answer was it was a special camp for Aboriginal kids. All these kids were whiter than me.


I have only ever met 1 actual Aborigine and she was a nice old lady from Queensland where they still have Aboriginals.

Yet I've known dozens of Tasmanians who claim that they're Aboriginals. All were whiter than me or even my pale skinned brother.


This guy below is what an average Tasmanian aborigine looks like.

He is the head of the Aboriginal community in Tasmania.



The last true Aborigine in Tasmania died in 1876 (Trugannini).

She looked quite different to Mr Mansell pictured above.



Here's my question

Why do people adopt pseudo cultural backgrounds?

It's clear that these people are white with a mainly caucasian background. And they live the same way as ever other white Anglo-Saxon Australian. Nothing indigenous here.

I find this sort of thing to be pissing on people of actual indigenous background who do suffer real racism and deprivation.

A lot of these pseudo-Aborigines are just lazy white people who prefer to linger on the dole and then blame racism for their crap lot in life as opposed to giving up the booze and pot and getting a job.


I've also known people who claimed they were Irish because one grandparent or great grandparent was Irish. Not surprising they usually had drinking problems and used the "Irishness" as an excuse.


I even knew a Greek-Australian who claimed he was Japanese in soul. He liked Japanese animated porn and J-pop. Very confused lad.

RANT OFF

Interesting topic. I believe that for a lot of people there is simply no discernable connection to our ancestry that we can claim, and when you have a group or culture with such a rich heritage of traditions and values, it can make you a bit jealous.

In ethnic terms I am a mutt, with a little bit of everything thrown in. Basically all I know is that I am white (caucasian), and unfortunately beyond my great grandfather I have no clue as to my ancestory. Thinking about it now in those terms, it is quite sad really.

As you stated, many people simply want to be included in a group that they can feel victimized by. It is almost like using a race as a scapegoat for your troubles. Here in the States it is common with people claiming to have Native American backgrounds. Though there is certainly a legitimacy to what they have gone through, hearing some white guy in a lexus with some vague claim to being part Cherokee complain about reparations for his people is more than a bit ironic.

I'm white, a mixture of danish, english, dutch, and irish and I hate people who always have to talk about what race they are.

This thread should've been locked after Bruce's post, rofl.

Your friends calling themselves of mixed blood is probably another symptom of post-colonial white guilt.

+1.

Good god, Dead, don't you ever give it a rest?

I love Misfits so much!

Actually none of them ever admit to mixed blood.

All of them call themselves Aborigines. A couple referred to themselves as "black fellas" despite being very white.



Though I agree on post-colonial white guilt - lots of it being flung around Australia.

E.g. they talk about the Lost Generation - Aboriginal children that were taken off parents and sent to be raised by white missionaries or families.

This ignores the fact that lots of white children were taken from their parents and sent to be raised by white missionaries or families where the children were the offspring of single mothers, disabled people or even just poor people.

A lot of English kids got sent to Australia without the knowledge of their parents - including my significant other's uncle-in-law.

But we just focus on the Aboriginals.

Otherwise known as American.