Woke joke: Bizarre Welcome to Country divides Aussies
An angry Welcome to Country delivered by Brendan Kerin, a 'cultural educator' from the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council, has stirred controversy following an AFL semi-final match in Sydney.
🇦🇺 END WELCOME TO COUNTRY. 🇦🇺
— Alex James (@actualAlexJames) September 15, 2024
"It's not a ceremony we invented, its 250,000 years old" IT'S ONLY 50 YEARS OLD.
Listen to the crowd laugh. Aussies are over it. Thank God. 🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺 pic.twitter.com/kXrXY5Kt30
Kerin’s remarks, which many found offensive, set off a storm of reactions on social media.
Did anyone see that Welcome to Country yesterday?
— Alexandra Marshall (@ellymelly) September 15, 2024
They've gone from Aboriginal settlement 30,000 years ago to 250,000 - despite genetic and human migration maps making this impossible.
Race-based activism has dismantled the historical record. It has become political myth.
His speech, made before the match between the Giants and the Brisbane Lions, quickly trended for its aggressive statements.
100%. Why did the flog have to make reference to "White People" & "Before Cook (BC)"? He wouldn't be here today if the Spanish had colonised this country. I am so over this BS. https://t.co/i6T3j0uuVX
— PaulieC (@pauliec80859931) September 14, 2024
He began by claiming that the ceremony wasn’t a welcome to Australia, but rather to the Aboriginal lands on which the match was taking place.
“A Welcome to Country is not a welcome to Australia. Within Australia we have many Aboriginal lands, and we refer to our lands as ‘country,’” he explained.
So, the Welcome to Country Ceremony has been performed for 250,000 thousand years 'before Cook'?
— TheRoadknight (@RoadknightThe) September 15, 2024
Soon, it'll be 500,000 years, then a million years.
And if it's that ancient, why isn't there an Aboriginal word or phrase for it? Why is it described only in English? https://t.co/G3Jir6SHtc
However, it was Kerin’s bizarre assertion that the tradition has been ongoing for over 250,000 years “Before Cook” – referencing Captain James Cook – that divided opinion.
Aboriginals have gone from being in Australia 20k years to 250k! "I just think we're stretching the truth"
— MilkBarTV (@TheMilkBarTV) September 16, 2024
Feat. @SenatorRennick & @JNampijinpa pic.twitter.com/PvppDPv0aG
So, will @AlboMP stand up and censor this for being lies and misinformation? Aboriginals were not here 250,000 years ago. Welcome to country smoking ceremonies were stolen from another country by Ernie Dingo in 1970’s as a way of making money, they haven’t been around for the… https://t.co/S1AR6Ctpeo
— DannyQ - 🇦🇺🦘👍 (@DannyQ1970) September 15, 2024
While few applauded his words, others criticised the historical claims as "misinformation."
Brendan Kerin is turning Australia into a clown show. Anyone with an IQ greater than their shoe size knows that this is bullying and harassment.
— Clown Down Under 🤡 (@clowndownunder) September 15, 2024
Disgusting. pic.twitter.com/4OMllaCqxi
His final remarks, including a comment about the dangers of entering Aboriginal lands without being welcomed, were met with gasps from the crowd. Following the speech, Kerin played the didgeridoo before the National Anthem was sung.
I’ll never embrace ‘Welcome To Country’ - NEVER.
— Mickamious (@MickamiousG) September 15, 2024
These comments further just prove that these individuals will continually use skin colour as a weapon to further divide a country that I will NEVER participate in.
They’re not interested in healing a rift, they want… pic.twitter.com/gEfznYBz11
The divisive speech led to a wave of online criticism, with footy fans expressing frustration with the ceremony, calling it “woke” and unnecessary.
