Rob Ayling, yer Gonzo Grande Fromage, writes:
"Thom the World poet is an old mate of mine from way back in my history. Even pre-dating Voiceprint, when I was running "Otter Songs" and Thom's poetry tapes and guest appearances with Daevid Allen, Gilli Smyth and Mother Gong are well known and highly regarded. It just felt right to include a daily poem from Thom on our Gonzo blog and when I approached him to do so, he replied within seconds!!! Thom is a great talent and just wants to spread poetry, light and positive energy across the globe. If we at Gonzo can help him do that - why not?
MEDIA BLACKOUTS
COMPARING MASSACRES
Start with indigenous -species/then humanity
See the other as an "OTHER"
separate from and different to you
Your weapons are superior-
arrows vs guns,horses vs tanks
Start to count the uncounted civilian losses
Wars are imported for profit.Someone always loses.
Weaponry extends to blackouts in the media
History omits (or denies)that Armenian massacre
And every Urghur in concentration camps in China
Every Tibetan punished by the Han invaders
Where is this in your history books?
When will truth be told?Massacres of indigenous
since before time unfolded her maps
and declared land TERRA NULLIUS
because they could not see us
or did not want to know.
Leon
Gettler
Today marks the anniversary of the terrible Pinjarra massacre, a grim day in
Australian history. It took place in 1834 in Western Australia in the Murray
region in the south-west. It had been
inhabited for many thousands of years by the Bindjareb Nyungar. That all changed
in 1829 when white settlers arrived in Western Australia under the leadership of
Captain James Stirling to establish the Swan River Colony. Stirling proclaimed
the Nyungar people British subjects and therefore subject to British law. The
Nyungar didn’t see it that way and resisted as tribal lands near the river were
taken up by the farmers. The unrest led to cattle and settlers being speared.
The new settlers saw the Aboriginals as nomads who had no claim to land. They
felt that gave them the right to fence off any land they pleased. Denied access
to their traditional hunting grounds and sacred sites (especially along the
river), the Nyungars were forced to take the settlers crops and spear their
cattle for food. Determined to take revenge and stop the Nyungars, Governor
Stirling rode in on this day with his men who took up strategic positions on
both sides of the river surrounding the local tribes’ camp. They attacked at
8.35am. Women and children ran to the river but were met by soldiers and
policemen. Governor Stirling and his men fired their guns at the Aboriginals. It
was a planned attack and because it involved soldiers and police and no members
of the public, it was deemed perfectly legal. Historians are still discussing
how many Aboriginals were slaughtered but it’s estimated that 30-40 women and
children were killed. An awful day in the story that created this nation, lest
we forget.
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