Imagine this, a complete stranger invades your home and takes everything you owned. Then they slaughtered your family in front of you, tore up everything you owned, and had no remorse for their actions. Everything you knew and grew up with was gone in a matter of seconds. Now, imagine being looked down upon just because of the color of your skin. How would you feel if you were regularly reminded of someone who caused these atrocities to your people, to your family? You've tried to visualize it in your head, but can you really? Do you really understand? No, you don't; and that's the problem. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The settlement of the English in Australia occurred on 26 January 1788. The shameful history of Australia's colonial past has always been a predicament for most Australians, to put it mildly, are hesitant to resurrect the barbaric events that brought us to where we are today. However, to this day we have continued to commemorate him through public statues across the country. Hmm, well, isn't that ironic enough? We have the Captain Cook statue in Hyde Park, Captain Cook in St Kilda, Captain Cook in Belmore Road, just to list a few. The first thing I would like to draw your attention to is that the celebration of these figures in the form of public statues is clearly offensive to Indigenous Australians. Many might say “move on”, but I bet you didn't know that from that moment on, 90% of the indigenous population was exterminated. That's 9/10 people, if I had 10 children, only one of them would survive. You would lose 9 out of 10, how can you bear a loss like that? But for you you probably didn't lose 9/10 of the children, while for the indigenous people they lost 9/10 of their culture. Have you heard the term terra nullius? It refers to a Latin expression for no man's land and is used to describe territory that can be acquired through occupation of it by a state. This is the law that "allowed" the English to invade the territory. However, let's remember, this is WHITE men's law that was applied in a completely different society. A society where they had absolutely no knowledge of white customs before January 26, 1788. The natives cherish their land. Their connection to their land is intricate. For them no one owns the land, it cannot be bought and sold. Their land is spiritually and socially intertwined with their lives. It's their identity. The commemorations of these public statues are a brutal reminder of the violent breakdown of Aboriginal society and a legacy of pain and suffering that endures today. The Stolen Generation, Myall Creek Massacre, etc. Etc. are ideas that should not be celebrated. 200 years ago, 60,000 years of culture and way of life were stripped away. Colonial statues honor the lives of Cook and others, reinforcing the idea of ​​Australia as a wild, deserted land. Is it ethical for a nation that thrives and is known for its acceptance and multiculturalism to acknowledge events of invasion and mass murder? This does our reputation no good and anyone who thinks otherwise needs to question their humanity. In 2008, Kevin Rudd, on behalf of Australia, gave a national apology to Indigenous people. There he explained that we must “write the mistakes of the past”. He said we must have “decency, human decency, universal decency.” However, we live in a society that glorifies men who have made mistakes and refuse to correct them. Our country should be a country of hope, diversity, respect and equality!