What does January 26 actually represent? Let's ask a country singer

January 26 is a controversial date in Australia, an occasion of great yearly celebrations as "Australia Day" marking the official start of the European invasion and subsequent genocide. 

But I simply don't care who I offend, I am going to use the occasion to lay down some hard truths whether people want to hear them or not. Mainly that Kev Carmody is a country singer and all you bloody idiots who think "country music is right-wing" or "so uncool" can get fucked.

Kev Carmody is an Aboriginal country and folk singer who is both very definitely not right wing and also very definitely very fucking cool.

Best known to wider audiences for writing and singing "From Little things Big things Grow" with Paul Kelly (about the historic Gurunji strike that opened the way for Aboriginal peoples to win some land rights), Carmody has been singing his country about Aboriginal oppression and resistance and just general struggles of life in the best country folk tradition for 30 years now.  It builds on a much longer and deeper Aboriginal country music tradition over the past few decades.

"Australia Day" is as good a day to listen to him as ever. More accurately labelled Invasion Day, there  are a lot more to the day than BBQs, beaches and flag draped bogans. There are protests on the streets -- like this one in Melbourne, which drew tens of thousands:

About 5000 marching to mark Invasion Day in Melbourne's CBD. (Photo via Nick Fredman on Facebook.

Unsurprisingly, there is growing controversy over January 26, including a push to change the date for a national celebration so it no longer marks the start of the wholesale theft of Aboriginal land and destruction of their culture.

Fremantle council's decision this year to cancel "Australia Day" fireworks, in recognition of the sorrow and anger the date causes, predictably led to right-wing meltdowns. Because more than 200 years of genocide and dispossession is one thing, but for god's sake, if you can't have a huge celebration with fireworks on the date that officially marks the start of the invasion and unprecedented catastrophe for the land's original inhabitants.then it is political correctness gone made.

What is wrong with Australia Day is captured perfectly by Kev Carmody's songs below. The first, from his 1987 debut, is on the theft and hypocrisy carried about by the invaders.

"River of Tears", a devastating true story where police murdered an innocent Black man David Gundy in his home in Sydney, shows the oppression and violence against the original inhabitants of the land have not ended. Hundreds of Black people have died in recent decades at the hands of police, and not one cop has ever been brought to justice.

"Cannot Buy My Soul" marks the ongoing resistance -- also seen in protests on the streets in m any cities today.

In 1788 down Sydney Cove
The first boat-people land
Said sorry boys our gain’s your loss
We gonna steal your land
And if you break our new British laws
For sure you’re gonna hang
Or work your life like convicts
With chains on your neck and hands

Terrorists dressed in uniformUnder the protection of their lawTerrorise blacks in dawns of fear
They come smashin’ through your doorYou’re not safe out there on freedom street
You’re not safe inside the "can"For their shotguns and their stunt gasThey’re licenced to drop you where you stand

For 200 years us blacks are beaten down here too long on the doleMy dignity I’m losing here and mentally I’m oldThere’s a system here that nails us ain’t we left out in the coldThey took our life and liberty friend but they couldn’t buy our soul

Hi 2015, British TV is going to make a *sit-com* about the *Irish Famine*! THAT THE BRITISH FUCKING CAUSED! HAHA! IT'S GONNA BE A GREAT YEAR!

Well Jesus Fuck, any naive illusions that the turn of the New Year might bring with it anything approaching basic fucking decency along with its endless crippling hangovers was quickly destroyed by the glorious news that British TV has commissioned a fucking *sit-com* to be set in the... Irish Famine.

Yes this *is* the same "famine" (so-called despite the fact it was caused by deliberate British policies) that caused the population of the island to *halve*, with about one million starving to death and another million forced to emigrate. HAHAHA!

What next? American TV to greenlight a hilarious new sitcom on the deliberately spread smallpox epidemic that devastated Native Americans? Or perhaps Australian TV might take a stab at a funny-yet-heartwarming comedy about the near-total genocide of Aboriginal people in Tasmania?

I got a joke about the famine for them, too --  they can have this one for free, it's a corker and it goes: "How many potatoes does it take to kill an Irishman?" The answer? "NONE!"

HAHAHA! Get it? It is funny coz it is about a million people starving to death in agony despite the fact their country was producing more than enough food to feed everyone on the island, just most of it belonged to large (frequently absent) English landowners who had it shipped off to England under English armed guard! Fucking hilarious!

AHAHAHA! Just *looking* at this Dublin memorial to the Irish hunger victims is amusing!

But what *I* want to know is who'll play the wacky-and-lovable-yet-utterly-racist-and-genocidal Charlie Trevelyan?

Sir Charles Edward Trevelyan, 1st Baronet, KCB, was, of course, the cheeky scamp of a top-ranking British official in Ireland who oversaw the policy of denying badly needed relief to the starving masses because, as he wrote in a letter, he viewed the mass starvation as an "effective mechanism for reducing surplus population" and "the judgement of God".

It is likely a moot point, as you can probably bet on the show not featuring those who ruled Ireland at the time -- you know those actually fucking responsible for it, as then-British PM Tony Blair acknowledged in an official apology to the Irish people in 1997 (perhaps in about 150 years or so a British PM might apologise to Iraq for Blair's war crimes).

After all, the show's writer, Dublin-based Hugh Travers, explained: "We’re kind of thinking of it as 'Shameless' in famine Ireland."

IrishCentral.com responded:

The Showtime US version of “Shameless” series depicts the dysfunctional family of Irish American Frank Gallagher, a single father of six children. While he spends his days drunk, his kids learn to take care of themselves.

So we are basing a sitcom on The Famine on a drunken Irish American series. Hard to beat that I'd say.

So, yes. This show looks set to be all about laughing at the poor. It is the victims of that Great Hunger, considered by many to be deliberate genocide, who will be the source of its "humour".

And why not? That seems the fad in comedy -- laughing at the poor without any care for the context of their predicament ... or who is responsible for it.

The best comedy, on the other hand, "punches up", not down. It mocks the powerful and seeks to laugh *with* their victims, not at them.

And maybe, following such an approach, maybe it would be possible to make a comedy series set in the famine -- much like a show like Blackadder Goes Forth found humour in the horrific mass slaughter of World War I. By making the humour the sheer absurdity of the situation, and the incompetence of the aristocratic officer class blithely sending others out to die for a futile cause.

I just *had* to put in another pic of that Dublin memorial. The looks on their faces is too funny!

But whatever, you might be thinking, it was a long time ago. Perhaps enough time has passed... except for the fact that there are stories like this one from January 3, about how the bones of Irish children who died in a "coffin ship" fleeing the Great Hunger 170-odd years ago had just washed up on a Canadian beach.

It is just one example of how the effect of the Great Hunger extended far beyond Ireland's shores. Large numbers of million or so people who fled in the infamous coffin ships headed for North America, but plenty headed here to Australia too. (One was my great great great grandfather who settled in Victoria -- and was a dedicated Orangeman sectarian, which just goes to show even bigots get hungry.)

Strangely enough, the decision by Britain's Channel Four to commission the series has caused widespread outrage. An online petition is calling for the decision to be reversed.

But if you want to make up your own mind, feel free to read a special secret "leaked" version of the script published by IrishCentral.com. 

Or have a listen to the issues as spelled out below by Sinead O'Connor. Yes, I know. Sinead O'Connor. I did not want to have to resort to such extreme methods, but really, the fucking Brits had it coming.

'..then in the middle of this, they gave us money not to teach our children Irish...' Those British bastards forced me to do this.


And, OK, why not, while we are on the topic. Here is Irish folk legend Paddy Reilly with his hit version of Pete St John's classic tale of an Irish man during the famine transported as a convict to Botany Bay for stealing food ("Trevelyan's corn").



'Against the famine and the Crown, I rebelled, they cut me down...'

Survival Tips for Zombie Invasion Day (Or "How the bigots abuse the proud act of binge drinking")

Tomorrow, January 26, marks the anniversary of the arrival of the English to steal, rape and murder. It is all the English have ever really been good at, so I guess it makes some sense to mark the occasion - no one has ever celebrated English cookery day.

There are really only two things of any note the English have given the world. One is genocide and the other is cricket.

And at least something interesting happens during a genocide, so if we must commemorate the legacy of English colonialisation, we might as well plump for the destruction of one of the oldest civilisations on the face of the Earth.

Particularly if the alternative is celebrating Ricky Ponting.

And, so, the flags are already out in force - Union Jacks proudly sitting in the top lefthand corners to commemorate the strong bond between the average Australian and the English aristocracy.

It is a day on which, increasingly, the flag and "Aussie pride" are the means for the expression of the powerful undercurrent of extreme racism among sections of the population.

Open expressions of such racism are still considered a bit beyond the pale in polite society. This is a legacy of powerful anti-racist movements, in Australia and globally, during the last half of the 20th century.

Significant gains were won - The US were thrown out of Indochina, apartheid was defeated in South Africa and, in Australia, a majority voted in a referendum to agree to recognise Aboriginal people as humans, not fauna.

"Australia Day", therefore, provides a defensive cover for those whose response to a society screwed over by a lunatic, parasitic corporate elite willing to destroy all life on Earth before having a loss recorded in the accounts is to blame people slightly lower on the social ladder than them on the basis of race.

The flag and expression of "pride in our country" are the defensive cover behind which aggressive racism is increasingly expressed.

To complain about this is to be, by definition, "un-Australian". How can you possibly oppose the Australian flag? How can you seek to stop people expressing pride in *their own country* while *in their own country*?

The organisers of the Big Day Out discovered this when they tried to ban the Australian flag at the musical festival in the aftermath of the 2005 Cronula riots.

The simple explanation by the organisers was the flag was being used as a hate symbol, an aggressive expression of racism. Which it was.

The outcry over this decision ("ban the Australian flag???? In Australia???") proved the defensive value for racists of using symbols of Australian nationalism.

No one mistakes the meaning of an angry white man waving an Australian flag aggressively in the face of someone with dark skin or wearing a hijab.

A crowd drunkly shouting ("singing") "Waltzing Matilda" while staggering down a street are potentially more than just a nuisance to a lone Indian student.

But, respond in the logical way the BDO organisers did, and you are spitting on the Anzacs who fought and died at Gallipoli.

So behind this defensive cover, there is a real offensive to legitimise open racism, make it more acceptable and part of the mainstream.

At the moment, racism is standard operating for the government and state (refugee policy, NT intervention, discriminatory policing targeting Muslim youth), but it is cloaked behind a formal rhetoric of opposition to racism.

In many ways, the angry racists are responding to this hypocrisy. They can see it is bullshit.

They can see the actual *content* of Australian nationalism, the actual *content* of celebrating a day that marks the beginnings of *white* colonialism.

The official message is "inclusivity and diversity", but anyone can see the implication is this is a white person's country. If that was not the implication, the day would not be held on January 26.

For those that think the implication is a good thing, the hypocrisy grates. Why not express it openly? Why be so ashamed of it?

And so you get the feelings of pride - of "taking back the power" from the weak, mealy-mouthed liberal elites - that so obviously accompanies the growing use of symbols of Australian nationalism as symbols of race hate.

For those doing this, it is a stance against hypocrisy. "Political correctness", the bugbear of the bigots, is hypocrisy personified.

It is carrying out racist policies, while denying the right to openly express racism. (Or sexist or homophobic policies, etc etc.)

This is why you can never defeat the extreme, open racism - finding increasing expression in Australia - without targeting the system.

Because a system based on racist policies produces racist ideas, even if it officially denies them.

Of course, in the short-term, we all have to survive tomorrow - a day on which the proud and dignified act of being drunk is hijacked by bigots, and twisted to their own sick purposes.

And believe me, there is nothing that makes Carlo Sands angrier than to see binge drinking misused in a such a way.

The following statement, which accurately portrays the reality of Australia Day and provides invaluable tips for surviving it, was released by the Facebook group Fuck off, Xenophobes - we're full.

I publish it here, on my blog, so that for *the first time* it can be enjoyed in combination with the tasteful and attractive google ads Carlo Sands proudly offers at the top of the blog. Check them out!


* * *

Survival Tips for Zombie Invasion Day

Zombie invasions: usually confined to the realms of video games and horror movies, they are an actual phenomenon that occurs about once every year here in Australia. In order to avoid causing panic amongst the population, this annual day of terror has been given the less threatening name of ‘Australia Day’, a day which most sensible citizens choose to spend in the basement.

The zombies themselves are many, but they are easy to spot. For example, they usually congregate in groups, dress themselves in Australian flags and shout profanities. Their primary sustenance seems to be beer - unlike traditional zombies, they don’t eat brains, a fact which has been linked to their own deficiencies in this regard. Nevertheless, they are still quite dangerous, and have a penchant for attacking people who make eye contact with them and/or are of non-Anglo-Saxon appearance.

While most government agencies recommend that citizens stay indoors and wait until the ghouls have passed out from excessive alcohol consumption, there are some who brave the outside world and help maintain some semblance of order amidst the anarchy. If you are one of those courageous souls, here are some guidelines to help you survive the most dangerous 24 hours of the year:

1) Ensure that you have a basic knowledge of martial arts, in case a zombie requests you to “kiss the fuckin’ flag”. A swift kick to the balls of the antagonist is efficient, completely defensible in court and very, very satisfying.

2) Carry a can of kerosene and a cigarette lighter at all times. Setting an assailant’s flag-cape on fire is an effective distraction and will allow time for escape.

3) Keep a boombox on hand wherever possible, along with a CD of traditional Indian music. This “foreign shit” is known to enrage zombies, who generally prefer the foreign shit from America. Play CD loudly until zombies are driven away - if this doesn’t work, resort to heavy weaponry.

4) Summon the Pied Piper of Hamelin and get him to play ‘Waltzing Matilda’, ‘C’mon Aussie C’mon’, that terrible ‘True Blue’ song or a simple ‘Aussie Aussie Aussie’ chant, and dance off in the direction of a cliff. Alternately, he may choose to take them back to his magical kingdom to be zombie slaves. We’re not fussed.

We are a majority; plus booze cheaper than water? I take back bad things said about the British...

Well NSW Premier Nathan Rees seems determined to continue his assault on drinkers.

His government's latest brainwave - because clearly fixing the actual problems in this state is just too big a task - is a lockout of drinkers at 2am. To stop alcohol-related violence.

Great idea. Throw drunks onto the streets simultaneously at the same time. That will do wonders for reducing anti-social behaviour.

For a government on the verge of total collapse, struggling to survive against a tidal wave of public hatred, this is a strange move indeed.

The reason is simple.

Binge drinkers make a decisive majority in this state. A poll in the Daily Telegraph, fountain of all truth, proves it.

A poll it carried out revealed the obvious: "Almost two thirds of Sydneysiders are regular binge drinkers".

Be careful, Mr Rees. Binge drinkers vote.

And, as we usually vote hungover, we are especially grumpy.

Take us on at your peril.

In other news, regular readers will note I said some things that were less than flattering about the British in a previous post.

It has been brought to my attention that there is actually certain aspects to the Mother Country far more progressive than I had imagined.

True, the old Empire committed genocide wherever they set foot on land, sure they continue this proud tradition in Iraq and Afghan, and it cannot be denied (except by the British legal system) that they stole an entire nation from its inhabitants so the Yanks could have a military base in the Indian Ocean from which to bomb the uncivilised in the Middle East.

However, their supermarkets also sell brand-name alcohol cheaper than water.

A thoroughly progressive measure when you consider the severity of water shortages in many parts of the globe.

It may be argued they have to drink more than the rest of us to cope with being British, but I say regardless, it is to be applauded on environmental grounds.

In fact, water shortages are a major problem for Australian cities. It may be argued that the biggest problem is big water guzzling corporations that pay fuck-all for the privilege.

That may be true. But it is still imperative that we all do out bit.

This blog demands similar measures be adopted in this country.

And not simply for reasons of water conservation alone.

Yet another news report brings more disturbing news. Investigating Australia's "booze wars", provoked by the government's attack on "binge-drinking culture", the Associated Press reveals disturbing news that reveals the true situation of Australia's useage of alcohol is far worse than the government imagined:

"Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the Distilled Spirits Industry Council of Australia say the country's per capita consumption fell in the 1990s and has held steady since."

That's right. In fact, Australia ranks a mere 34th in the world! We rank better at the Olympics for fuck's sake!

What the fuck is wrong with this country? We used to be proud to drink like a fish, not swim like one.

What is the point in swimming down one end of a pool, just to turn around and do it again? Jesus christ, if it was really that important to swim down to the other end of the pool in the first place, at least take the time to stop and celebrate with a drink to make it worth your while.

Seriously, people hail Australian medal-winning swimmers. I say they bring our nation into disrepute.

We even drink less than the British, according to the World Health Organization.

And no wonder, when they can by discounted home-brand booze "for as little as 23p per can", while with ever increasing prices and heavy taxation, to have a decent session these days requires Australians to take out a mortgage.

Oh the shame of it all!

Of course, I don't want to claim all is fine and dandy in the Mother Country.

No. Their government is no more a friend of the drinker than Rees or Rudd.

Naturally, the step forward for all humanity that is cheaper-booze-than-water is under threat.

"New laws ... will ban pubs, clubs and shops from `irresponsible' price promotions."

What else are we to expect?

Nothing good can exist without motherfucking scum trying to take it way.

That is how late monopoly capitalism functions...