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"The Melbourne Cricket Club acknowledges the Wurundjeri people as the Traditional Owners on whose Country our office is based. We recognise and respect the cult

"The Melbourne Cricket Club acknowledges the Wurundjeri people as the Traditional Owners on whose Country our office is based. We recognise and respect the cultural heritage of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and pay our respect to their Elders past, present and emerging. We extend that respect to the Traditional Owners throughout Victoria where we work and play. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples should be aware that this website contains images or names of people who have passed away." #itscomplicated

thematrixturtle 4y ago
That's an Acknowledgement of Country, a meaningless bit of boilerplate required at any vaguely progressive organization in Australia today. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welcome_to_Country https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welcome_to_Country
- fjdbeb76 4y ago
  The second part isn't...
- ace2358 4y ago
  Not just organisations. If you’ve never interacted with your local communities, you should. They’re the nicest most welcoming people I’ve ever met and they deserve the utmost respect. They know more about this land than you’ll ever find in a book as a result of being a mostly spoken word culture. It is their land and you should pay respects, a small ceremony isn’t too much of an inconvenience.
  - jen729w 4y ago
    > It is their land and you should pay respects, a small ceremony isn’t too much of an inconvenience. The problem, IMHO, is that it's become meaningless. I mean they say it at the start of some of our meetings at work FFS. I work for a large IT systems integrator! The person just says the words, clearly having never rehearsed them, with no emotion. This isn't helping. It just alienates otherwise empathetic people who think, "this pointless crap again?"
    - bradrn 4y ago
      I agree with this. The corollary, of course, is that it becomes much more meaningful when the speaker does know what they’re talking about. One of my university lecturers works closely with Aboriginal people; you can clearly tell that she welcomes us to Country because she understands the significance and believes it is the appropriate thing to do, rather than just going through the words mechanically as is so often the case.
      - nbar 4y ago
        I’ll never forget seeing an email from McKinsey outlining cuts to Gov. spending on aboriginal health with you guessed it in the email footer, “We pay respects to the Eora people……”
    - ace2358 4y ago
      Meaningless for who? You or the people your paying respect to? Is it meaningless to take a minute silence for fallen humans in a war? Is it meaningless to pay respects to your close ancestors? Maybe! Maybe not. I know which side my soul falls on.
      - teakettle42 4y ago
        > Meaningless for who? You or the people your paying respect to? Everyone. The person saying it doesn’t mean it. The people they’re ostensibly saying it to receive no benefit. > Maybe! Maybe not. I know which side my soul falls on. On the side of meaningless gestures and self-righteously signaling how virtuous you think you are?
        ace2358 4y ago
        Yikes! Honestly of all the indigenous elders I’ve personally spoken to, none of them expressed your opinion of ‘no benefit’. Now they are a distributed culture so I know that the local communities don’t speak for other communities. But I’m curious to know how deep your connections go into any indigenous community. I will readily admit that I don’t have huge amounts of contact with my locals, but speaking FOR them and saying they receive no benefit is a bit weird… Also, why does anyone have to benefit at all?
  - golemiprague 4y ago
  - teakettle42 4y ago
    > It is their land and you should pay respects Clearly, it’s not their land. Are you giving it back? No? Then it’s still your land. > It is their land and you should pay respects, a small ceremony isn’t too much of an inconvenience. We’ve already demonstrated that it’s not their land. If it was, we wouldn’t even be discussing an acknowledgment. As for “should”? Why should we?
    - ace2358 4y ago
      I don’t know what to say to this. :(
      - teakettle42 4y ago
        Why not? If you’re asking everyone to subscribe to your religious dogma, shouldn’t you be able to present even a modicum of an argument as to why?
        ace2358 4y ago
        Woah mate, religious dogma? Please. This is a respect thing like saying thank you or you’re welcome. Not religious at all. I’m not asking anyone to do this. It was and STILL is a cultural normal in Australia and surrounding islands for some incredibly long amount of time (30,000 years perhaps?). Long long time. Not hard to honour is it? > Protocols for welcoming visitors to Country have always been a part of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. Boundaries were clear, and crossing into another group’s Country required a request for permission to enter. >When permission was granted the hosting group would welcome the visitors, offering them safe passage and protection of their spiritual being during the journey. Visitors had to respect the protocols and rules of the land owner group while on their Country. > An Acknowledgement of Country is an opportunity for anyone to show respect for Traditional Owners and the continuing connection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to Country. >An Acknowledgement of Country can be offered by any person and like a Welcome to Country, is given at the beginning of a meeting, speech or event. https://www.reconciliation.org.au/acknowledgement-of-country-and-welcome-to-country/ https://www.reconciliation.org.au/acknowledgement-of-country...

thematrixturtle 4y ago

That's an Acknowledgement of Country, a meaningless bit of boilerplate required at any vaguely progressive organization in Australia today. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welcome_to_Country https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welcome_to_Country

fjdbeb76 4y ago
The second part isn't...
ace2358 4y ago
Not just organisations. If you’ve never interacted with your local communities, you should. They’re the nicest most welcoming people I’ve ever met and they deserve the utmost respect. They know more about this land than you’ll ever find in a book as a result of being a mostly spoken word culture. It is their land and you should pay respects, a small ceremony isn’t too much of an inconvenience.
- jen729w 4y ago
  > It is their land and you should pay respects, a small ceremony isn’t too much of an inconvenience. The problem, IMHO, is that it's become meaningless. I mean they say it at the start of some of our meetings at work FFS. I work for a large IT systems integrator! The person just says the words, clearly having never rehearsed them, with no emotion. This isn't helping. It just alienates otherwise empathetic people who think, "this pointless crap again?"
  - bradrn 4y ago
    I agree with this. The corollary, of course, is that it becomes much more meaningful when the speaker does know what they’re talking about. One of my university lecturers works closely with Aboriginal people; you can clearly tell that she welcomes us to Country because she understands the significance and believes it is the appropriate thing to do, rather than just going through the words mechanically as is so often the case.
    - nbar 4y ago
      I’ll never forget seeing an email from McKinsey outlining cuts to Gov. spending on aboriginal health with you guessed it in the email footer, “We pay respects to the Eora people……”
  - ace2358 4y ago
    Meaningless for who? You or the people your paying respect to? Is it meaningless to take a minute silence for fallen humans in a war? Is it meaningless to pay respects to your close ancestors? Maybe! Maybe not. I know which side my soul falls on.
    - teakettle42 4y ago
      > Meaningless for who? You or the people your paying respect to? Everyone. The person saying it doesn’t mean it. The people they’re ostensibly saying it to receive no benefit. > Maybe! Maybe not. I know which side my soul falls on. On the side of meaningless gestures and self-righteously signaling how virtuous you think you are?
      - ace2358 4y ago
        Yikes! Honestly of all the indigenous elders I’ve personally spoken to, none of them expressed your opinion of ‘no benefit’. Now they are a distributed culture so I know that the local communities don’t speak for other communities. But I’m curious to know how deep your connections go into any indigenous community. I will readily admit that I don’t have huge amounts of contact with my locals, but speaking FOR them and saying they receive no benefit is a bit weird… Also, why does anyone have to benefit at all?
- golemiprague 4y ago
- teakettle42 4y ago
  > It is their land and you should pay respects Clearly, it’s not their land. Are you giving it back? No? Then it’s still your land. > It is their land and you should pay respects, a small ceremony isn’t too much of an inconvenience. We’ve already demonstrated that it’s not their land. If it was, we wouldn’t even be discussing an acknowledgment. As for “should”? Why should we?
  - ace2358 4y ago
    I don’t know what to say to this. :(
    - teakettle42 4y ago
      Why not? If you’re asking everyone to subscribe to your religious dogma, shouldn’t you be able to present even a modicum of an argument as to why?
      - ace2358 4y ago
        Woah mate, religious dogma? Please. This is a respect thing like saying thank you or you’re welcome. Not religious at all. I’m not asking anyone to do this. It was and STILL is a cultural normal in Australia and surrounding islands for some incredibly long amount of time (30,000 years perhaps?). Long long time. Not hard to honour is it? > Protocols for welcoming visitors to Country have always been a part of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. Boundaries were clear, and crossing into another group’s Country required a request for permission to enter. >When permission was granted the hosting group would welcome the visitors, offering them safe passage and protection of their spiritual being during the journey. Visitors had to respect the protocols and rules of the land owner group while on their Country. > An Acknowledgement of Country is an opportunity for anyone to show respect for Traditional Owners and the continuing connection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to Country. >An Acknowledgement of Country can be offered by any person and like a Welcome to Country, is given at the beginning of a meeting, speech or event. https://www.reconciliation.org.au/acknowledgement-of-country-and-welcome-to-country/ https://www.reconciliation.org.au/acknowledgement-of-country...