Yesterday, in a mood of consensus - the Prime Minister of Australia and the leader of the Opposition attended an Australia Day medals ceremony in a restaurant in Canberra. A bunch of " activists " from the so-called " Aboriginal Embassy " outside old parliament house objected and a crowd of about two hundred people started banging on the plate glass windows and shouting " Shame " and " Racist ". There was a real danger of damage and injury, and this country's two leading politicians were hustled away by police and security people.
It is not politically correct to take Aboriginal people to task for their conduct. In this instance no arrests were made, but overseas news people have noted that no water cannon was directed at the rioters, nor were they driven back by savage guard dogs or subjected to rubber bullets.
It is one of the delights of Australian life that the people who rule this country are comfortable mixing with the masses. In many parts of the world the leaders shelter behind bullet proof glass, or only accept visitors within the fortresses of government offices - and that is not the Australian way.
Yesterdays display of intolerance and sheer bastardy will reduce sympathy for the Aboriginal cause in many people's minds. There are twenty-two million people in this country, and the vast majority of them are not Aboriginal. At some stage, just about every country on this planet found itself invaded by another race who had developed superior skills of transport, weaponry and commerce. For sheer survival, the original inhabitants either assimilated and learned these new skills - or perished !
Australia's Aboriginal residents still have a long way to go because of distance and a resources gap - and the reluctance of some to send their children to school to learn life skills is not helping. Incidents like yesterday will not convince many uncommitted Australians to dig deep and try to bridge that cultural gap.
The Aboriginal Embassy in Canberra has existed for forty years. It seems to be manned by " activists " who have certain characteristics in common. They are unemployed. They live on welfare - and they oppose every aspect of the life other Australian citizens lead.
The nucleus of activist thinking seems strangely allied with the " black flag " anarchist movement that roiled across Europe nearly a century ago.
There is an old saying that warns to " be careful about what you wish for ! "
Like the proverbial boomerang, days like yesterday have a nasty habit of coming full circle and hitting the thrower behind the ear !
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