Authentic Blackfella Laughter
By Wendy HarmerNovember 14, 2012
Source
When you have to justify your existence every day; when you’re told you’re not black enough or that you’re not an “authentic” Indigenous Australian… well, sometimes you just have to laugh.
And that’s just what our Indigenous community did this week when they took over Twitter and, using the hashtag #Itriedtobeauthenticbut , laughed themselves silly.
I laughed a lot too.
“I’m impressed with my mob’s capacity to laugh in the face of adversity! And gee we’re funny!!! And might I say, also kind! Xx,” said author and activist Anita Heiss in a personal note.
And who was the butt of the joke? Tony Abbott.
This week he made the bone-headed comment that the first Indigenous lower house MP, Ken Wyatt was an “urban Aboriginal” and that the parliament should do more to encourage “authentic” Indigenous representatives.
Cue much *falling about in hysterics* from the blackfellas on Twitter.
Just what makes an Aborigine “authentic” they wondered? How is it different from being an “urban” Aborigine?
Is it knowing how to spell corroboree? Having legs that look better in high heels? Toe nails painted hot pink instead of caked in red ochre?
The gags came thick and fast.
I tried to be authentic but…
@LukeLPearson every year at Corroboree I just end up line-dancing by myself in a corner somewhere singing “Achy-Breaky heart”
@AnitaHeiss I’ve thrown more parties than boomerangs!
@Ebswearspink I thought the song “from little things big things grow” had to do with superannuation
@Shannondod the only culture I know is Culture Club
@nathblackmagic writing stories in books is a lot easier than writing stories in caves:)
@Morris11Donna the only tracking I do is with gps
@Utopiana my parents named me “Celeste”, rather than giving me a traditional blackfella name like “Alison” or “Bess”
@PeteDawson law school wouldn’t accept my essays in dot form
@anitaheiss the only stars I want to sleep under is five stars. *****
@Nareenyoung I actually have no artistic talent. Whatsoever
@Morris11Donna I buy my speared meat on kebabs at the supermarket
@Tahjee_Moar the only time I stand on one leg is when I do the tree pose in yoga
@Ebswearspink my totem animal was a tamagotchi
The hilarity rolled on… for hours.
And it still is, after brilliant cartoonist First Dog On The Moon posted this at Crikey.com.au.
