Dago and Wog are derogatory and hurtful.
Gerry

My father told me stories about how his white father had abandoned them, and how he was sent to live with his grandfather who was a farmer near Lakes Entrance in Victoria. A bit more research revealed that his grandfather was in fact Indian, and had married an aboriginal woman. My dark skinned nanna resulted from that union, and eventually my father.

Now, 60 years later, I have witnessed a potentially beautiful Indian heritage overwhelmed as all my great grandfather’s descendants choose to “identify” as aboriginal in order to claim special benefits. I grew up and played with many of these cousins, and know that they had no special affinity with the land, nor did they have any lore or folk tales drummed into them. But now they find it convenient to put out their hands for special consideration. They all know how to work the system.

When my father’s brother died, a lot of aborigines sorted out his funeral, and arranged appropriate ceremonies that pleased them. Now I know he wouldn’t have gone along with all that, because I knew him all his life. The most disturbing thing for me was that nothing of his Indian heritage was acknowledged, yet he was as much Indian as aboriginal.

My main point, as someone else commented, is that most modern people who identify as aboriginal are in fact genetic mixes. The big problem from my point of view, is that typically, any other genetic origin is totally ignored as if it didn’t exist. The psychological stance of “identifying as aboriginal” just doesn’t wash with me. On that basis, with my proven DNA origins, I could identify as an Orkney Islander. It’s not good enough to just ignore your true biological make up. You might have been brought up being indoctrinated with aboriginal culture, so feel comfortable in identifying. I have used the example of my own cousins, who were not brought up this way, yet still claim to be “brothers” and “sisters” because it benefits them. They are all just as much Indian as aboriginal, and even more European. Aboriginals need to seriously think about acknowledging that they have evolved, and that they are just as much European now, possibly more so even than many freshly arrived families in multi-cultural Australia. We can all assimilate some of the traditional aboriginal culture if it comes to that. I am about 4th generation English, but definitely have an affinity for the land around the Murray River where I went camping with my father. Incidentally, he also showed me how to tie a turban.

i think this is ludicrous bob

The cognitive dissonance older generations experience is such a big obstacle in any social change. Young people are being exposed to so many new ideas about racism and colonialism. I’m excited to see what happens in the next 30-50 years (assuming climate change and disease doesn’t kill us all first lol)