National Pride and Prejudice

Happy Australia Day! More importantly, HAPPY HOTTEST 100!!!!!

There have been a lot of opinions and swear words being thrown around this week about the Australian flag being banned at one of the nations biggest annual youth events: The Big Day Out. This supposed ban existed only for the Sydney concert, and not for any other state, for fears it would start race-related conflict at the event. First of all, I have heard that the organisers did not in fact BAN the AUSTRALIAN flag, but DISCOURAGED people bringing any kind of flag in case they would be used as gang colours and lead to trouble. The press ran away with the idea that our nations' flag was being banned specifically as it was gang colours and a symbol of racism. The truth and what the media presents is, as usual, two completely different things. However, this interpretation has brought about a massive nation-wide debate about what the Australian flag means to people. For those who don't know, the reason why Sydney was singled out is because it is, as yet, the only place in the country where full-blown race riots have occured in recent times.
A bogan symbol, a fascist symbol, a symbol of racism, a symbol of unity, a symbol of our nation and everything it entails and a nice design for a singlet seem to be the main contenders for what exactly the flag means to the people of this country.
And me? the Australian Flag represents the stars of the southern cross which also appear on the New Zealand Flag, as they are our close neighbours, and our ties to England and the Commonwealth as represented by the Union Jack. (and it occurs to me that I've never written or typed the words Union Jack before in my entire life!). It shows where we geographically are in accordance to the stars and politically through our enduring ties to our former Mother land. It is a statement of our position. However, it also stands as a symbol of our history, both the good and the bad. It is shown at war memorials to remind us what our forefathers died for: the fact that we have the freedom to even debate these things. It also covers the secret war waged when white people first came to Australia, invading and destroying and enslaving the Aboriginal people who were here first and for which their descendents still haven't forgiven the descendents of the white people who subjugated them over 200 years ago. As well they should, considering they are left to dwell in third world conditions miles from any support or aid, given government handouts, but no hand-ups from the white people who are happy to march across a bridge made by white men in the name of reconciliation, but who are unwilling to provide clean water and functional sewerage systems. It is a symbol of a country whose political system welcomes multiculturalism, but whose blue collar inhabitants discriminate through words like 'wog', 'chink', 'dago', 'lebo' and who most recently in certain places are trying politically to restrict and even ban refugees and immigrants from Africa and other war-torn countries from settling here. It represents a massive sporting history for which we are justly proud, besting the world in diverse sports and the biggest sporting stages, even hosting the biggest and most fun opening ceremony for the Sydney 2000 Olympics. Where else in the world can we use lawn mowers and bbq's to represent ourselves. The flag represents a great patchwork of attitudes, walks of life, religious backgrounds, ancestry, wars, heroes, villains, larricans, poets, con artists, media moguls, deep-running social resentments, and the political freedom (for the most part) to express ourselves. We have much to be ashamed of. We have much work to do. We have much to be proud of. We have heroes to look up to. And we all have the freedom to do that work and be those heroes. We are Australian and, for better or worse, this is our flag.