The Old Way Is On The Way Out
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The world has changed, with the global pandemic ushering in a host of long overdue issues for reform. We have seen the power of Black Lives Matter thrusting current and historical human rights violations into the spotlight around the planet. Me Too has seen the ongoing discrimination and violation of women move to centre stage in a wide array of countries. In Australia, Grace Tame and Brittany Higgins have led an impassioned charge to stimulate reform around the nation. Disability is another sore point of neglect in this country, which has seen new advocates coming forward and getting long overdue airtime. The old way is on the way out, in terms of our concerns and power sharing.
Covid Has Refocused Our Attention on Our Wellbeing
The Covid-19 virus pandemic focused our attention on the wellbeing of everyone. Those who had long been shunted into the cracks and shadows, suddenly found representation and a listening world. Aged care was identified as the neglected repository of discarded lives, where promises of care were going begging. Lots of people had to die and continue to die in this long neglected region on the border of federal and state government responsibility. Talk is cheap in government circles, where politicians make speeches for the media and each other. Royal Commissions and enquiries come and go without much changing in the scheme of things. Waiting to die, it seems, is not much fun in this century, as it hasn’t been in times gone by.
White Men & The Old Way of Doing Things
The old way is on the way out. So, what characterised the old way? The adherence to well established vested interests defined the old way. Those in power looked after themselves and those like them. White men filled the pockets of the right sort of white men. Those from the right side of politics and the right side of town. Women were born into slavery through the institution of marriage. Nothing much has changed on this score since the day of Mary Astell in the 17C. Women remain poorly paid and less likely to be promoted to the top job in 2022. Women are bashed and murdered every day in the ‘lucky country’, most likely by their husbands, boyfriends, and ex-partners.
People of colour and indigenous Australians are more likely to be incarcerated and living in poverty. Self-satisfied white Australians blame the individuals involved and skirt over the decades of institutionalised racism, which has excluded these people from sharing in the wealth of the nation. Grow up poor – that’s your fault, so, stop whinging – is the refrain from the suburbs. This old way of thinking and acting will take a lot of heavy lifting to shift. Mere words will not be enough. Australia has a track record of creating toothless tigers, as human rights agencies in this country. Human Rights Commissioners have no real power, much of their role seems to be all talk, smoke, and mirrors.
As the pandemic loosens its grip on our lives it will be interesting to see if we revert to the old way of doing things. Will our insight into the unfair nature of our society stimulate real change?
