Friday 29th of March 2024

A Parable of Activism- Remember On Hiroshima Day

A couple of years ago I was told that Prime Minister Howard was making an unprogrammed visit to Adelaide's Aboriginal Culture Centre, Tandanya.  

My idea was to gather some musos and provide some background music for the news footage- fiddles, didgeridoos, Give Peace a Chance.. that sort of thing.

NOWAR-SA put up a call on their websites, and one commercial radio station did a live-to air on the morning.

After the "al fresco protest" photo was taken for the Advertiser, we all went out the front to wait for the PM.

As Howard's car pulled up, somebody across the road threw eggs, which struck the vehicle.  Security suddenly became much tighter.

What would have been run as a whimsical anecdote became a news item on FOX and CNN.  It's doubly interesting to reread The Age's account of the event just to remember Howard's propoganda rhetoric of the time,- that Australia was in Iraq to separate Saddam from Weapons of  Mass Destruction

The point to all this is that NOWAR SA are promoting a Hiroshima Day Rally on Saturday August Sixth (meet at noon) to march from Victoria Square to Tandanya.  

This year, more than ever, it will be an appropriate time to remember.  With the death of the Saudi king who earned the wrath of Osama back when he was running the Mujuhadeen in Afghanistan, a wild card has been introduced to the game.

PS In the Adelaide Vietnam marches one tactic used was to "diverge from the proscribed route" and campaign at an unannounced location.

Eggs

There's a pic of Howard (next to Michael Long) on the home page of The Age, to go with Strange bedfellows.

The grimace on Howard's face tells it all. Maybe he had memories of the incident with the eggs. Maybe he had too many fried eggs for brekkie.

The TV news had the same item about the indigenous team. No attempt of a smile, at all, from Howard. What's wrong with the bloke? Does he hate AFL that much? 

Come Aug 6th, I reckon Howard wishes he was in the US, to kowtow before the Enola Gay, and worship American exceptionalism. I bet he won't be folding a crane.