Ah, what a delicate balance is required here. I think this blog will prove to be quite a challenge and will be an exercise in deftly navigating mine-filled waters. We shall see if this is the case.
I titled this blog entry in reference to the movie Rabbit-Proof Fence for several reasons. Genocide is a tricky topic. Merriam-Webster defines genocide as "the deliberate and systematic destruction of a racial, political, or cultural group." There are those, I believe, who would say (now I am sounding like a pundit show on Fox) that the movie Rabbit-Proof Fence portrays a sad story, but that the "lost generation" of aboriginal peoples is not genocide.
Even to write that last sentence is tricky. Why are the quotes needed around "lost generation?" Is it merely because it is a coined phrase specific to this topic? Or are they "scare quotes" because we want to distance ourselves from proclaiming as fact that a generation was lost? Why is it uneasy to merely write lost generation? Why do so many places use the quotes?
I'm taking a stand here. I will no longer use quotes around references to the lost generation of indigenous Australians. I had to think through that one right in front of you. Of course it brought up another issue as some consider the term "aborigine" derogatory, hence my use of the terms "aboriginal peoples" and "indigenous Australians."
I have barely begun to scratch the surface of issues brought up by this film title. I am sure we will be revisiting the question of aboriginal genocide. It is related to many other examples of the genocide of indigenous people and Rabbit-Proof Fence could have been a story about the reservation boarding schools that Native Americans were subjected to.
We have so much to talk about.
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1 comment:
I guess I'm going to have to watch the film so that I may be better able to make comments.
It amazes me how many times in human history Genocide has occurred and how frequently after the Holocaust it has been allowed to happen. Governments will not stop it unless it somehow helps them. We, ordinary citizens, are the only ones that will bring about changes to Genocide.
Thank you for focusing this blog on bring people together. It is only through mutual understanding that mutual respect will develop and once we learn to respect one another maybe things like Genocide will simply be an ugly footnote in Human history.
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