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Diin-kun β Happy Australia Day
Published: 2009-01-26 10:57:34 +0000 UTC; Views: 728; Favourites: 14; Downloads: 25
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Description
I don't mean to sound un-Australian in this picture, I'm just expressing what this particular day that we celebrate means to many Australians. Today is the day we celebrate the invasion of the whites. You can deny it all you want - it was an invasion, you'll find they're teaching that in schools now. As you can see the woman is clad in slave clothes - of which are designed for like cleaning and other house hold chores that many Aboriginal women were forced to do on behalf of many white Australians, as they believed we weren't even human. I think I've come to kind of resent our flag as it seems to neglect many of the people of our country - especially the indigenous Australians. This is because of the union Jack mainly. Some sites I've seen say that getting rid of it is just because those people are unchristian - that's completely bogus, it's because that particular country came in and killed many Indigenous Australians off. So when we celebrate the coming of Captain Cook, it's not a very happy occasion for some, and to celebrate the flag doesn't seem Australian to me because it doesn't particularly include what we are and who we have been (particularly for 40,000 years before Cook).Anyways, I think, however, Australia Day (most people can't even remember why we celebrate it!) has come to represent what we are now and where we're going as a country from 40,000 yrs ago til Captain Cooks invasion til today.
Sorry if I offended some!
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Comments: 52
proud to be partΒ indigenous australian (and part native american) (i'm mostly white BTW)
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I think you've made a very good point with this picture. Australia Day is just a glorified celebration of the invasion of Australia and her people, and not a way of celebrating the country's unification into one nation as most Australians today view it.
Another good point you made is that the 'Australian Flag' neglects many of the Australian people. Considering we already have a perfectly good flag (the Aboriginal Flag) flying high, why not get rid of the Westerner one and keep the other?
Sometimes I get so mad with what we've done to this beautiful country that I think it would have been better had we not come here in the first place.
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it's similar to brazillian case!!! so many people celebrate the arrival of the portuguese calling this as the "discovery of Brazil".... damn it, discovery of what, if these places (Brazil, Australia and many others....) already existed so long ago!??!
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It's like the Confederate Flag here in the States-a lot of ppl call it a symbol of states rights, but many (like me) see it as inextricably linked to the slave movement. I suppose so long as Australia's part of Great Britain, you'll have it around
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Actually, I'd see it as more akin to the European invasion of the Americas...killing off or assimmilating the indigenous population and all, and then celebrating it with Columbus Day. The Union and Confederate flags are just two different reminders of the larger picture that was being overlooked during that civil war - two sides were fighting over rights, boundaries, liberties, etc in a land that they stole in the first place. History's full of things like that though...it's just the way humans go about things...spoils go to the victor, along with the history that tells it.
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I think I agree, the civil war and the confederate flag and stuff seems to be a bit different, but I'm from Australia, so I wouldn't really know. But America has such an interesting history!
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Interesting! And yeah you're right, hopefully we'll become a republic soon
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Forgive me if I hope you don't lose your lovely accents!
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Thanks! 
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All I can say is wow. I had to look up the "union Jack" and who "Captain Cook" was, and I am just amazed. I knew that that the English had invaded Australia but I never knew the full extent of it.....and I have to say I agree with what you said as well. I am American, and all I can say is I feel the same way about our two holidays as well. Thanksgiving is nothing but a celebration of us breaking bread with the Indians only to betray them later, and the Forth of July is the celebration of us breaking free from English only to go to other countries and capture its people to bring over as slaves. An yet my government refuses to apologize for it. However I can't say that the government isn't trying. Simply put I love this picture and I can sympathize with you.
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Thanks 
Thanks for faving it as well!
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Your welcome, and what can you do. My government will never apologize, but at least they are learning.
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Its an often avoided fact that this country was built on top of the blood of the indigenous, this picture gets your meaning across very well
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Thank-you
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I love this work.
Australia, New Zea land, America. This situation seems to repeat it's self quite a lot.
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Thank-you
It really does doesn't it.
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yes, it was an invasion and im glad we said sorry, it was about time to!
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I couldn't agree more =3 Thanks!
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i kinda treat australia day as any other day really, i slepted this australia day and woke up for dinner and went back to bed, how "australian" of me. I always hated the poms for calling the land uninhabited when there were people here already, but its all over and done now, and im not being racist here either, alot of my family is aboriginal (married into, im not aboriginal) and my dad's life was saved by an aboriginal donating his blood at the last moment when no one had the same blood type as him when he was shot. i reall like this piece, represents so much here, lovely go mate
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Thank-you so much! ^_^ Lol that's very un-Australian of you! 
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yeah, everyone is a bit racist in their own way, and it might not even mean u hate a culture, like you might not feel confortable round another or certain culture etc. my dad told me that, he said that we all got aboriginal blood in us becuase of him
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That's true eh, like even if it's not a country-culture but a sub-culture like emo and plastics and stuff. What a world we live in 
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well i actually had no idea who jessica maulboy was until just recently, and i have no idea why she is famous for. Ive hada few teachers ask if im related to Phillip Deveraux (who infact is my dad) who was an australian blind athelete and has broken records etc, which is funny in my opinion, its like "how the fuck you know him? bloody stalker or something?" ive met 4 people with the last name Freeman (hopefully not all siblings lol) very common last name i think
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*gasps* You don't know Jess?
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well i dont blame u for knowing him, cos i seriously hope no one does, which surprises me whenever someone asks me if im related to him (always old people or blind people) was the irish bloke born in aust? would be so funny if he wasnt and was a immigrant lol. how more australian can u get than being an immigrant **sigh**
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Lol he was an immigrant! >.< He got his citizenship the year after he won!
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thats got alot of irony in that...
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Lol yeah. Sorta glad she didn't win, runner-ups have a tendancy to be more popular than the winners
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yeah it gets like that that, exspecially if the winner was an immigrant and not originally born here
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Interesting...I find it fascinating when people have enough knowledge of history to know what -really- happened and then aren't afraid of talking about it and expressing their feelings on it. Nice work...the flag in the background is an interesting touch that brings back what you were saying...especially how it starts to cover up the hills. Nice work...and a very interesting read in your description!
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Thank-you
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Hehe...I know the feeling. You put a piece up and brace for the flame war you know is coming.
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Lol yeah, though it's probably a good thing I put it up in the evening, I haven't gotten any hate yet!
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That's always positive.
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i've been doing some thinking actually dean, and though i agree with you that the flag needs to be changed, a lot of things have to be realised.
australia day is a day when we can all reflect on our country at present, a tolerant place where people from all different races can live peacefully. though we're techincally celebrating the invasion of white people, i think the meaning has changed and evolved into something more than that.
come on, face it, if cookie hadn't "invaded" in 1770, someone else would have soon, and you never know, it could have been the russians, and we all know how that would have turned out... well, it probably wouldn't have been the russians. but you know what i mean.
i really cbf typing any more. lol, i interrupted a game of age of empires to type this soooooooo.
fuckin' ace drawing though. it's very emotional, i'd buy it off you, but i'd feel guilty every time i looked at it.
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Wow your reply is longer than my comment lol jkz. *reads reply*
Yeah, I think I sorta added that into my comment towards the bottom. I agree that I think we all just celebrate how we're doing now and have put the past behind us - or rather forgot
Thanks! You know me...I can pick out all the ugly, ugly flaws in it! You can still buy it off me lol.
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lol, australian geisha... there's an idea for a new reality tv show!
i miiiiiiiiiiighhhtttt... how much you going to sell it for?
i love how the flag's waving... lovely.
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You don't have to buy it from me, Tegan! I've still got 'Rebecca' from my art assignment if you want to buy that though
It's the next big thing on Channel Ten or Fox! lol. The first caucasian - or perhaps black! - Geisha
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hahah, you'd like that, wouldn't you dean?
ohhh, i love rebecca, she's my fave. how much?
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Yeah I'd probably audition for it too! haha. *auditions for part of geisha*
How much are you willing to pay...$50? Is that too much?
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haha, idk, i don't actually have any money right now.
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Oh well fine...*gives to next person in line*
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Wow, i have to agree on you about this fact. So true!
Anyways, i love your talent for drawings. This picture obviously depicts your statement. Good Work!
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Thank you so much
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haha for a rushed job that looks pretty good and i understand why you hurried because there's only one Australia Day in a year
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