Australia, the date is only the first thing that needs to change

Martha Barnard-Rae
2 min readJan 27, 2023
Photo by Johan Mouchet on Unsplash

Imagine a bunch of people invaded the place you and your family had been peacefully living for generations.⁠

They gaslit you by telling you your treasured practices and traditions were ‘primitive’.⁠

They made you sick.⁠

They killed or imprisoned the pillars of your community.⁠

They stole your children.⁠

They destroyed your sacred sites and diminished your agricultural practices.⁠

They created a financial system based on their values — and punished you for not perfectly falling in line.⁠

They created a prison system designed to over-police, over-sentence, and under-support your community.⁠

They created a medical system in which members of your community had drastically lower health outcomes.⁠

They created a school system that barely acknowledged your community’s experience — and the generational trauma you carry off the back of it.⁠

They worked to eradicate your people from the face of the earth.⁠

Imagine those people chose the anniversary of the invasion as the day to celebrate ‘all Australians’.⁠

Imagine you said ‘Please. Any day but that one,’ and they told you to get over it.⁠

For peace’s sake. For respect’s sake. For reconciliation’s sake.⁠

Change the date.⁠

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Martha Barnard-Rae

Copywriter. Content writer. Rabble-rouser. Feminist. Oatmeal connoisseur.