#Referendum 2023

[claraameliapond]

The Indigenous Voice Referendum Australia 2023

Floored and devastated

repulsed at the racist selfishness of the no voters

It had NOTHING TO DO WITH THEM.

This is NOT who we are

Although it's a comforting narrative that no voters and conservatives are dying out - and will gradually have less and less pull

Firstly - It's too gradual to just wait it out

And Secondly- It's foolish to think that's only where these no votes are coming from

Younger less educated people are part of this too

Ignorant and arrogant - and selfish- that's what less education translates to.

This highlights, more than ever, how important it is to have strict policies in place legally for managing misinformation, fear mongering and propaganda spreading

We need laws about media monopolies and restricting or banning them altogether

Because one agenda from a multimillion dollar media monopoly cannot have majority access to inform a whole country. Especially because they were intentionally running interference with the simplest truth - they threw everything at it - spreading misinformation, blatant repulsive, violent lies - totally made up lies, not even remotely connected to what was being proposed. It's heartbreaking they could invent such lies and then spread those repulsive invented lies so fully and have people believe them.

And less educated people are always more vulnerable to propaganda: they believe hatred without a second thought. They don't fact check. They don't research. They don't make sure. Any excuse to flaunt their selfish racist self interest, against anyone else who might actually be more vulnerable, worse off.

However, That's the thing about this referendum - IT WASNT "US AGAINST THEM"

It was just : do we all agree that indigenous Australians should get to share information and advice with the government about how best to provide the care and facilities we already provide to them. So they work. Because they haven't been. So it would be a good use of money and then we can achieve permanent results and solutions for those issues and then move on, and do different things with that money. To actually move forward with this and not be stuck in stasis with things not improving.

That was literally all it was

It still is an issue now.

Don't loose hope

I'm still proud of all of the Yes voters- there were a good amount of us - and we will continue to turn the tide from ignorance and misinformation to the truth.

We've got to keep going 💪🏻 🙌🏻 👏🏻 🙏🏻

And now we have a more accurate idea of how to do that , and what needs to be fixed with people's understanding of this in our country. We can use this information to succeed

Ironically - doing exactly what the referendum was about : getting more accurate information to better help vulnerable communities of indigenous Australia.

But apparently, we've got to deal with the misinformed tantrum havers first - they make everything an "us against them" even when it literally wasn't. It doesn't affect anyone else. It could only have been positive. They make every issue an "us against them " even when it has literally nothing to do with them, because everything's a tantrum if it's not about them.

We've got accurate information now - just not about the people we were expecting : we know how to combat the racist minformation spreaders, and those who believed them.

What we need is :

Real limits and legal consequences on misinformation spreading, fear mongering and propaganda

Real limits on media monopolies and restrictions from letting them operate the way they do.

AND we do have to continue to combat this misinformation and propaganda whenever it is paraded near us. Respond with the truth, and make sure you ALWAYS RESPOND.

Don't let them think they're right.

Respond simply and calmly with the truth.

I'm sorry we have to do this but we do.

I don't want to be anywhere near those people, but if they identify themselves- we have to respond.

Respond and correct them.

Their idiocy can not and does not rewrite the truth. We are right and the truth of what this is, always was and what we need to do still exists

A few sources to begin to understand this:

A breakdown of who voted what where

Interpreting these results properly - this is well worth a read

I am looking forward to seeing the full count when it's ready. Make sure to look at those things - from Official sources.

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO VOTED YES

I stand proudly with you on the side of truth. Empathy. Morality. Justice

We have a more accurate idea of what's going on now: let's get to work

Also thank you to MC HAMMER for supporting and encouraging and campaigning for people to vote yes. That was lovely.

It really was a very simple thing - the truth is still the truth and we will succeed

Love and strength to us all

By goodness we need it

Xxxx🤍🖤🧡❤🤍🖤🧡❤💗💖💜💕💕💓💗

My heart was so full when I voted yes - it's an obvious yes

And it still is

Because YES is the truth

It is what is needed.

Still.

And we will achieve it xxxxx

[frogsinpotplants]

AUS REFERENDUM 2023

Resources/more info:

[phierecycled]

not surprised. not any less disgusted. racism is alive and well in australia

[tartlette1968]

The opinion polls were right, not that we had reason to doubt them.

It is hard to even feel this despair, let alone describe it.

We have two animals on our Coat Of Arms, the kangaroo and the emu, chosen because they don't walk backwards. Our national anthem belts out the words, "Advance Australia fair". Yet going forwards, moving, changing is always met with awful resistance. The referendum is just one more moment of needless caution.

Three fifths of the country rejected the proposed alteration to the Constitution, but it goes further than that. A portion of the "No" vote were voting no, no just to a Constitution change, but to the entire principle of the Voice.

In any case, the country has lost.

[reesespenisbutercups]

absolutely fucking unbelievable. do fucking better

[commanderogerss]

My disappointment is immeasurable, and my day is ruined

[lupawolfe76]

I have never been more ashamed of my country than I am in this moment.

[propicsmedia]

General counsel Gurpatwant Singh Pannun Appearance Via Video Screen at S...

[ancestorsalive]

"I acknowledge indigenous Australian’s connection to land and their sovereignty. I pay respect to the old stories of the land on which I live and work. The indigenous people of the world hold the old stories, as they are embedded in their traditional knowledge. Let’s look after the old stories. We need them more than ever."

OUR CAMPAIGN FOR A REFERENDUM ON AN INDIGENOUS CONSTITUTIONAL RECOGNITION THROUGH A VOICE TO PARLIAMENT NOW HAS A DESTINATION. ALL AUSTRALIANS CAN BE INVOLVED IN THE JOURNEY. You can find out more here: https://fromtheheart.com.au/

[claraameliapond]

Happy VOTING DAY !!!!

Go vote YES and then enjoy your democracy sausage from the democracy sausage sizzle because we live in a DEMOCRACY

And it's the best 👌🏻 💕💓💗💖😻🥰💜

I'm very excited I love voting !!!!! Eeee xxxx

[chaos-but-im-tired]

This isn’t fair, Australia. We have failed to stand up for our people. We have listened to the views of people who campaigned for your ignorance and, in turn, your silence. Because that’s all that was. I hope you realise that one day.

‘If you don’t know, vote no’ is so wrong in a very particular way. If you don’t know, you fucking find out for yourself. You do not support people arguing for your ignorance.

To all of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, this isn’t fair. You need to be listened to, not just heard. You weren’t given that. I won’t bother apologising. The Uluṟu Statement and it’s use in the past months seemed to show a clear message: ‘Sorry is not enough’ and I agree.

To every Australian, I hope you now know what people have been trying you tell you for years now. Australia, no matter how diverse, does not accept that diversity. We are an inherently racist country and the terrible outcome of the Voice has just proven that. I wish I could say otherwise, I really do. I want to be optimistic. I want to say that I am a proud Australian, but I can’t. I can’t truly believe that.

To anyone reading, Australian or not, take this as a very real example of why you check your sources. Why you don’t believe everything you hear. Why you don’t automatically trust people - no matter how high their rank is.

For anyone wanting to move ahead with this and show your support, here are a couple of things you can do:

Support Aboriginal and Torres Strait businesses

Support Aboriginal and Torres Strait artists

Read through the Uluṟu Statement of the Heart website and use the resources found in their Take Action section found here: https://ulurustatement.org/

Read through the NAIDOC Week website and use the support toolkit found in their resources section found here: https://www.naidoc.org.au/

Donate to charities like World Vision to support the campaigns they have surrounding the Aboriginal and Torres Strait peoples

Talk to your federal electorate member. Write letters. Email. Call if they have that option available. Do whatever you can to make your voice heard. Make sure that they know your anger and your pain.

Most importantly…

Make sure that Aboriginal and Torres Strait voices are heard.

This election was not about anyone or anything other than making sure that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are heard in parliament and that their opinion and Voice is heard above the crowd.

Now more than ever, we must make sure that they are heard. Prove your support for their voice. Prove you want to hear them. That the voice would have been important. That they deserve a say. Do not drown them out. Make sure their voices are heard.

If you have any other ideas for what else I should put here, please don’t hesitate to share. I’m a white enby - I don’t know everything and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples need as much support as they can get right now.

[damndonnergirls]

“Based on [their own] arguments, Saturday’s no voters would have rejected the [Australian] federal constitution at a referendum because it did not contain sufficient detail, it made distinctions based on race and it did not require people to be treated equally. It is therefore most curious that one of their other arguments was that the constitution is a sacred document that should not be meddled with.”

– Anne Twomey, professor emerita at the University of Sydney, who was a member of the constitutional expert group that advised on the voice referendum. Full article:

[mishalogic]

PLEASE VOTE NO!!!

At the Australian

"VOICE" referendum on Saturday 14.10.2-23

We DON'T need more Politicians,

opening the purse of the Australian Taxpayers!

We have too many overpaid bureaucrats now!

VOTE NO!!

IS THE WAY TO GO!!! ... Misha

[jodjuya]

I'm dismayed by the referendum outcome but completely unsurprised by it.

I voted "YES" while angry about it.

Angry about it being the most pathetically milquetoast paper tiger possible,

angry that such a piddling insignificant thing was enough to further unify the cookers and the racists (not that there's much of a meaningful division between the two to begin with),

angry that those dropkicks got to freely whitewash their reprehensible nonsense by latching onto the many legitimate concerns about how fucking dodgy the proposal was,

angry that I felt obliged to vote "YES"—despite fully believing the proposal was fucking terrible—out of sheer irrational spite and wrathful indignation toward the very thought of being aligned in the slightest with Australia's broad spectrum fascism-would-be-good-actually crowd,

angry that no matter how pathetic, vague, and incoherent the YES-campaign was, the NO-campaign would be even worse AND that Australia would fall for it hook, line, and sinker; because Australians are an uptight, boorish, and fearfully conservative people with contemptible predictability,

angry that all of this hoopla and utterly deranged dogwhistling became the culture war's hot topic of the month, and Indigenous Australians were subjected to the indignity of a national public debate over whether or not we should say we're thinking about bullying them less,

[Like, "sorry mate, we held a public vote, AND you voted too don't forget! You had your fair say just like the rest of us did! You can't get rid of democracy just because you don't like that you didn't win. Now stop struggling and let the four of us flush your head down the toilet or we'll break your nose first, nerd" (🤮)]

angry that this whole bullshit fucking referendum was lose-lose with extra lose on the side,

angry that I have to attempt to explain the nuances of this lose-lose with extra lose to my child—which I'm thankfully inept at doing so before she loses interest, and so her innocent perception of the world is maintained for the time being—those nuances being:

if YES:

We get constitutional embodiment of "The Voice", an ineffable body as politically significant as the winner of Australian Idol, thanks to coming with so many point-of-failure loopholes that literally what the fuck is even the fucking point of doing this; this is so embarrassingly incompetent, are you for real this stupid at your job that you submitted the first draft minimal effort as your final essay, or can we all just reasonably assume this is merely some bit of insincere virtue-signalling chicanery?

(big "it took me an hour to write those two pages of dialogue, so I thought it would take you an hour to read them!" energy. Funny when Matt Groening does it, but much less so when it's from your so called nation's so called leaders. 😒)

if NO:

(1) holy fucking shit, we can't even collectively bring ourselves to go through the motions of beginning to unfuck our relationship with Indigenous Australians! I have so many negative feelings about that, but right this sec it's mostly shame. If the world was a kindergarten classroom, Australia is the child eating glue.

(2) relief that such a malformed stillbirth of a proposal didn't come into being; with additional relief that its existence now can't be used to justify future heel-dragging.

(3) visceral disgust at knowing there will be many cookers and other assorted far-right degenerates out there being overjoyed with celebration that this mere feint of national movement towards progressivism was shot down

(4) existential horror and Cassandran anguish over knowing that this failure WILL be used to block and forestall progress on all relevant progressivist movements. Like, losing a referendum is the death knell of a movement. Pattern clearly observable throughout history. Recently in New Zealand's attempt at cannabis reform, then further back with Australia's attempts to become a republic, and so on and so forth.

(5) frustration that how could the people doing this not foresee this extremely detrimental outcome and how obviously they were setting themselves up for this failure?? How are our leaders such incompetent and/or conniving bastards?!

(6) irritated frustration that fascism-would-be-good-actually's garbage rhetoric for garbage brains, and the far-right grifters peddling it, have had their whitewashing attempts legitimised and gotten the Overton window ratcheted one step further to the right

with extra lose:

👎🏻 aforementioned indignity of a national public debate over whether or not we should say we're thinking about bullying the Indigenous less

👎🏻 we had to sincerely engage with the incoherent codswallop put forth by the cockwombles of the 'reactionary NO' campaign and their delusional insistence that we "can't make such a divisive change to the constitution" as if the constitution wasn't inherently divisive in every sense of the word since before the ink had even dried on the page, given that it was predicted upon Terra Nullis?

Like, what the entire fuck could be more divisive than "we declare that our country is allowed to exist because we declare that you don't exist! Finders keepers, bitches!!"??

👎🏻 having to wade through the army of well-intentioned muppets volunteering at every polling location to hand out "How To Vote" pamphlets as if filling in this referendum's single yes/no question were anywhere near as complicated as the one-metre-wide ballots for the big state/federal elections

********

Just yuck feelings all around. There was no possibility of a good outcome, and this wasn't the least-bad outcome.

[cryptidwithaninternetconnection]

VOTE YES PLEASE!! I’m not Australian but if you are, please vote yes when you can!

For all my fellow Aussies remember, voting yes in the referendum quite literally means that Indigenous Australians will get a proper spot in parliament. If someone tells you to vote no they are racist, there is no reason why Indigenous Australians shouldn’t be allowed in parliament.

Vote Yes!

[simplegenius042]

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