Pauline Hanson, UNITY & Aboriginal “victimhood”

At the recommendation of a controversial friend (Hi Chocy), I watched A Super Progressive Movie by Pauline Hanson.

And honestly, you know what? I’m glad I did.
Because it helped shine a light on what’s sometimes hidden in the Australian dark.

As someone trying hard to create unity between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australia, to combat the negative mental health impacts from social division & social isolation… I’m not glad I watched it because it taught me something new.

I’m glad because it made the popular long-running political and social narrative in Australia very clear, for all eyes to see.

THE NARRATIVE THAT’S TOO SIMPLE…

The narrative?
Well, it’s really simple.
In fact, too simple…
That’s the problem.

The narrative is:

”Many Aboriginal people are wearing victimhood”.

Especially those who are only “1/16th Aboriginal,” like Uncle Murray, as shown in the movie. (I know it’s a ‘joke’, but let’s Google the Half-Caste Act)

The entire cartoon film revolves around the idea of ‘victimhood’.

A literal enchanted hood that fake groups of ‘victims’ wear for pity and social power.

And to be fair, it’s put together in a genuinely clever, sneaky way…

I’ll take my Nike Dri-FIT hat off to Pauline and the team for this.

What’s clever, in particular, not just about the movie, but about framing others
(always the ones you don’t understand or agree with) as wearing and hiding behind “victimhood”,
Is that any form of disagreement itself becomes evidence that you’re correct.

How good’s that for the confirmation bias!
(Wait, doesn’t that only affect people who don’t share my beliefs?)

The moment someone genuinely challenges the popular narrative or worldview
that Aboriginal peoples are stuck in “victimhood”
The “Here’s your victim card” response is already lying in wait.

CATCH-22 OF ALL CATCH-22S

Person one says,

“ I’m not really sure people understand that many Aboriginal people are still hurting and that it wasn’t long ago that everything actually happened. For example, my mother was stolen from her parents and, for her “safety”, was placed with pedophiles in a notorious girlshome. She’s still really struggling with this, she turned to drugs and alcohol to self-medicate as she had no support, she was only a little girl when they did unimaginable things to her”.

Person two replies,

“See you f*cking woke freak, you and all the aborigines are still wearing the victimhood!”

Game, set, match.

It’s the catch-22 of all catch-22s.

Without a chance for person one to actually explore this further…

Person one is now confused, labelled and misunderstood.

So, credit where credit is due, Pauline and the team. They’ve used this psychological trap that works wonders on dividing the general public and worsening mental health for all of us, and it’s set well.

Now, this trap doesn’t just apply to the film's viewers and creators.

That’s why this isn’t just a film review.

Because this is beyond being a cartoon film.
(Thanks, Pauline, for portraying yourself as a cartoon character; you’ve done well.)

This is about how politicians and media use the Trojan horse of Australian “unity” to divide us more, and this is about the way the words ‘victim’ and ‘victimhood’ are being used right now by many people.

Because surprisingly, it actually matters…
Not just for individual and community wellbeing (regardless of politics or culture),
But for our country's future.

We’ll start with victimhood.

When it comes to accusing others of ‘victimhood’, this is some people’s newfound bread and butter.
We mostly hear this narrative in pub talk and read it in social media comment sections.

But this is an ongoing, sometimes covert, sometimes overt broader attitude many people are taking toward individuals and communities who have been genuinely affected by real events.
Just like First Nation peoples.

“LEFT WING, RIGHT WING, SAME BIRD”

Now, unfortunately, due to human tribalism, fragile egos and ignorance.
People, in an attempt to reject one (political worldview) bandwagon, blindly join another.

They see one side's overcomplexity, so they sprint toward the other side's oversimplification.
In the process, they collapse words like victim' and 'victimhood' into one abstract thing.

But they are not exactly the same, and that matters.

And to be clear, I understand why this happens.
Victim and victimhood are related concepts.
Like apples and oranges, they are related.
But still not the same thing…
Unless you’ve had 7 beers, then it is.

Unironically, many people who accuse groups like Indigenous Australians of “wearing victimhood” do so because they believe we should not treat people differently based on race, because that’s dividing white and blacks, which, on its face, is fair enough.

The irony is that this argument is often built on black-and-white thinking, one of the most common cognitive distortions and a great way to stay divided.

(Cognitive distortions are irrational, exaggerated, and biased thought patterns that misrepresent reality.)

”Your Online Brother, Why does it really matter?”

“CRITICAL THINKING”

Because if people actually want to live in an “equal” and better Country,
Regardless of Indigenous or Non-Indigenous status.

We, as Pauline, funnily enough, said, should apply “critical thinking”.

Yes…
Yes, we should, Pauline.

Maybe we could start by learning to differentiate between the two realities and the worlds of both our people.
That sweeping things under the rug doesn’t create unity; it creates suppression and future trip hazards.

Maybe we could look into the oversimplification of labelling people or groups with a victim mentality to explore what that actually means, rather than continuing to regurgitate what the last man said.

Because unfortunately, these recycled vomits affect everyone, everywhere nowadays.

Political Left and right.
Culturally Black, mixed or White.
All of us are affected.

To create a better Country for us all, let's look at those people who are very comfortable labelling others as having a victim mindset.

The reality is that far fewer people can explain what that actually means when you press them beyond the labels.

Otherwise, leftalone it can go like this:

Person 1: “When you say you’re sick of Aboriginal people acting like victims, what does that actually mean?”

Person 2: “You know…? like? Stop blaming the past for stuff! And stop whinging, I'm fcking sick of hearing it!”

Person 1: “Yeah, right… Kinda sounds like you’re whinging, no? Also, is it different for you when you complain about the government because you’re white… or? Also, just remember you’re still affected by what dad did to you as a kid, that’s why you’re an alcoholic like he was or is that somehow different? The past can affect you, but not others?”

Person 2: *CRICKET NOISES* “STOP MAKING ME CONFUSED U VICTIM!!!”

Personally, I’m tired of having those conversations, so for Pauline, if you’re reading, hello :), including anyone else who consistently labels others this way.

A VICTIMHOOD QUESTIONNAIRE

Without purposely being patronising, let’s slow it right down for you and the gang.
I have some questions for you. (Some of these may be unanswerable or rhetorical; that's the point.)

• How do you know the difference between a genuine victim and someone adopting a victim mentality?
  If so, how do you know?
  

• Could those two clearly different ideas be confused as the same thing?
  

• Could a genuine victim develop a victim mindset, and would that be surprising or human?
  

• How long is it acceptable for someone who has been harmed to still be affected by that harm?
  

• Is there a sliding scale between victim and victimhood where the line can become blurry or overlap?
  

Warning: sexual abuse/suicide mentioned below.

Let’s play this out with real scenarios.

If your mother, daughter, or son was sexually abused, how long would you give them to move on from being a victim?

• A month?

• 6 months?

• A year?

• 5 years?

• 10 years?

Are they even allowed to feel the way they do after the event, or is that a victim mentality?
Is there a precise way to differentiate?
At what point is their pain unacceptable to you?
Is there a set-in-stone timeframe for everyone to move on by?

Now answer this, please:

At what point does naming people’s reality become victimhood
And who gets to decide that line?

Now focusing on you, good-looking:

Are there things that may have happened to you as a child that still affect you?
.
.
.

That’s rhetorical.
Your entire childhood shaped who you are today, for “good” or “bad”, whether you consciously dwell on it with awareness or not.

So really, what im saying is…

Is it still that simple?
Complex, isn't it, Pauline?
Life isn’t as Black and White as it sometimes seems.
Even for Black and White people.

IF YOU WANT UNITY FOR AUSTRALIA

Now, for those who want “unity” for all Australians.
Let’s explore this.

From my perspective, the unity that exists only when certain groups of people stop speaking about their experiences is not unity. It is a conditional belonging disguised as unity.

”How and why?”

Asking people to continue to absorb pain very quietly so others can feel comfortable
is not unity. That is called suppression. And we all know suppressing how we feel is a great way to cause an explosion, whether internal or external.

Eventually, someone’s going to cop it.
This is one of the same reasons why people are unaliving themselves at the rates they are in Australia.
Believing their feelings must be suppressed due to stigma and shame.
Extremely sad.

On a lighter note.
I need to end this article soon.
My Weetbix is getting soggy, so, Pauline and supporters, I’ll leave you with this to mull over.

PAULINE & SUPPORTERS

Could we hold Australian pride and historical truth together?

Could we work toward strength without denying harm?

Could we be proud of being Australian without shitting on the First Peoples?

Could unity mean mutual cooperation and respect without forcibly holding hands and singing Kumbaya?

Could trying to force different groups of people, like Indigenous people, under one flag by erasing their own flags actually… not make much sense?

Most importantly…

Could it be that we actually can’t unite by attempting to hide our differences?
If so…

Maybe just maybe, by being honest about who we are,
where our differences lie, but why we love this land anyway…
Be one of the only natural ways we can move forward together?

But hey, what do I know?
I’m just another bare bum in the shower.
Who’s proud to come from both bloodlines, without the tokenism.

JHK
Your Online Brother