[LA-Policies] [Linux-aus] Acknowledgement of country

[Paul Wayper]

On 05/11/15 20:32, Luke John wrote:
> On Thu, Nov 5, 2015 at 4:42 PM, Russell Coker <russell at coker.com.au> wrote:
>> I agree that the prayer should be removed.  But this isn't a discussion of
>> outdated features of parliament.  The mention of parliament was regarding a
>> change that was made recently.  We can copy the good things they do without
>> copying the bad stuff.
> 
> Sure but to use the Federal Parliament's standards as a minimum you
> are left with the task of working out which are both "good things" and
> make sense in the context of events run by LA.

We're always going to have to pick and choose a set of 'minimum standards'.
Whether you pick Federal Parliament, the guidelines in Crucial Conversations,
or the Internet Manifesto, there are always going to be bits that we think
aren't relevant and bits which we'd like to include that aren't.

So either you go on a quest to find the perfect standard for behaviour already
written and argue about which one is right, you pick one and argue about which
bits of it are relevant, or you write your own and argue about the reasoning
behind it.

The key word in there is 'standard' - as in: there are so many to choose from :-)

>>
>> Why would someone object to an Acknowledgement of Country?  It's already been
>> done with LA events in the past without problem.  It's done at most
>> universities without issue and even when it was added to the start of
>> parliament it didn't get much notice (I didn't even know they did that until
>> today).
> 
> *I would object to a mandated "Acknowledgement of Country"*.
> 
> You have provided no real evidence that having a mandated
> "Acknowledgement of Country" would encourage participation in the LA
> community. Other people are doing it is not a reason to do it.  Many
> people write closed source software, that's not a good reason for LA
> to mandate it.

So what you're objecting to is that it be mandated?  You don't object to
people voluntarily putting an Acknowledgement of Country in their conferences
or their talks?

I can see your point, but I think that the reason it's mandated in many
government and official functions is not because it causes a direct engagement
by the first nations of Australia in those functions.  It's a reminder for us
to not forget that we too can do terrible things and then call them nice names
or pretend they didn't happen.  It reminds us that Aboriginal culture is alive
and a part of being Australian, and that we should celebrate it.  It reminds
international people that Australia is not just a former British colony.  And
so much more.

All the reasons why it's mandated in government functions are the reasons why
it should be mandatory at our conferences.

And who knows?  Maybe if an Aboriginal person (definition left unspecified)
comes along to LCA and sees an acknowledgement of country, they'll feel more
included!  Can't hurt, and could help a lot!

Have fun,

Paul