Very, VERY important things for my fellow whites in #Australia to consider when you vote today ~ https://www.facebook.com/keiran.stewart/posts/pfbid06WMBj5oQPXrsFnhZ2yrferPNujT1zrSJP49BB18EnP4JU4wAh7GThr5LMytqUETMl

Have you actually been listening to First Nations people and their history, or are you listening to propaganda funded by the same mining giants and centrist-conservative politicians who have been undermining First Nations (and other racialised people such as Palestinians and asylum seekers) rights for years, if not decades?

The #VoiceToParliament was NOT made by Indigenous people, it was prescribed to them in a false ultimatum, both at the conventions in 2017 and especially now during the referendum. There was, and there continues to be, major Indigenous protest to the proposals, claims of near-unanimous Indigenous support are blatantly false.

We should NOT keep boiling this down to a racism litmus test. Yes =/= not-racist, especially if you use that to talk down on Indigenous people who are undecided or opposed to the Voice (white paternalism is still racism, we need to let go of the myth that racism only exists as overt hatred). No =/= racist, especially when Indigenous people are saying No or abstaining in favour of stronger, more self-determined measures.

The Voice isn't the only, let alone best, solution. This #referendum isn't an ultimatum, so why do we insist on treating it like it is? If you're voting Yes to not "let the racists win" despite being aware of Indigenous trepidation regarding the subject, you are centering your own white guilt and Australia's international reputation over the racism itself... it doesn't absolve the more normalised, "benevolent" forms of racism on display there. Ignoring undecided and oppositional Indigenous voices erases the self-determination you claim to be advocating for.

A single vote won't dismantle systemic racism, even if the Voice had been as self-empowering and productive in the process of its creation as its expensive, sensationalised advertising has claimed. We are ALL racist, as racism is an inherent part of the white-centred sociopolitical power structures we exist in. The sooner we can come to terms with that and start centering the voices that actually matter, the better.

#VoteYES #VoteNO #SovereignNO #TreatyBeforeVoice #BlakSovereignMovement #Referendum2023 #VoiceTreatyTruth #TreatyBeforeVoice #BlackPeoplesUnion

#VoiceToParliament #Treaty #Truth #NeitherYesNorNo #Yes23 #SovereignNo

Public Statement on Treaty and the Voice, from Rev Dr Djiniyini Gondarra OAM, Senior initiated clan leader of the Yolŋu Nation of North East Arnhem Land:

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"In my 78 years living and working in both worlds, I have witnessed the Australian Government continuously hand pick Indigenous people that behave like the Master Slave, mirroring what the Government says, while they ignore the voices of clan leaders and community members who challenge them and the system they are operating under. This is nothing less than dictatorship and the continuation of the dividing and conquering of my people.

The Yes or No approach you are forcing upon the country divides people into conflicting camps while distracting them from what the real problems are. Your proposed “Voice” cannot represent the views of all First Nations across Australia because our experiences and needs are not all the same. Centralised decision making has never worked for us and fails all of humanity. That is why we need our original clan-based leadership and decision-making processes, that we have used for tens of thousands of years, to be recognised and respected.

I question this referendum and the value of the “Voice” that it offers, so I will be voting No.

But because of this, you cannot categorize me beside people like Jacinta Price or some of the racist voices also saying No. They have their own reasons. This is so much more than just a Yes or No situation. Where is our right to choose Neither?"

https://indigenousx.com.au/treaty-and-the-voice/