Perspectives on the Tent Embassy Anniversary fracas

A lot has been written about the events of Australia Day 2012 in Canberra. A lot of it misinformed, a lot blown out of any semblance of proportion. But very little written with any regard for the unnecessary and completely avoidable damage done to the cause for reconciliation.

Apart from Laurie Oakes' piece questioning the role both before and during of the Australian Federal Police, and this piece by Sunshine Coast Daily oped writer Bill Hoffman:

The tent embassy on the lawns of old parliament house is 40 years old.

It has sat there as an ugly reminder of the ugly reality of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples' disadvantage for all that time.

Rather than having served its purpose, as both mainstream media commentators and some black leaders have suggested, it should stay there until that disadvantage is properly addressed.

He goes on after that to have a little bit of mandatory Canberra-bashing, ever offensive to those of us just going about our daily lives in Canberra. But his core sentiment says so much.

And what a contrast to the oped piece by his boss Mark Furler - Editor in Chief  - on the same issue:

Riot did little for the cause

It's time some members of our indigenous community spent more time on the real issues in their community, like alcoholism and abuse, than picking a fight that wasn't there to be had.

What riot?? A couple of people pushed out of the way, and over-zealous police dragging a woman unnecessarily along the ground is not a riot.

Same organisation, two totally different perspectives. It really makes you wonder...