I am a white woman living on Ballardong country; stolen country, never ceded.

I agree that we should #ChangeTheDate. It’s not because I am ‘politically correct’ or ‘left wing’ or because I like to follow a crowd.

This is why I agree. #auspol #AustraliaDay #InvasionDay

2/ Because of every time I heard a white person drop a racial slur in front of me with stunning disregard, casual as cookies and milk, as though it was perfectly okay;

3/ Because of the child who has regarded me as her ‘real mother’ since she was a little girl, who was always bullied because her skin was darker than that of her siblings;

4/ Because she almost died of undiagnosed cancer because of systemic racism in the medical system, like so many other Aboriginal people;

5/ Because nobody ever talks about Lynette Daley but they all know about the white women who were just as raped and murdered, but who are, apparently, more ‘deserving’ of public outrage and sympathy;

6/ Because of Ms Dhu and Joyce Clarke and Mr Ward, who people know about, and Shona Hookey and Melanie Cutmore, who nobody cares about, because both Aboriginal AND intellectual disability;

7/ Because of every time I was never stopped to have my bag searched, but the FN woman in front of me was because racial profiling and let’s not pretend it doesn’t exist, we all see it;

8/ Because of every single historic document that exists in the library that is erased or ignored by white people but which talks about slavery and our genocide and murder of Aboriginal people;

9/ Because of the Aboriginal Scout in my Troop who banged himself age sixteen due to racism and intergenerational disadvantage - there is a memorial here, at Manjedal, and one near his home in Toodyay;

10/ Because of the other dozens of Aboriginal friends and family who have died before their time, plus those I didn’t know but who lived in my region;

11/ Because of the histories of people from the Wandering, New Norcia and Mogumber mission and the atrocities we carried out against those people and others in the region;

12/ Because of my nephew and all the other kids who don’t know where they are going because they don’t know where they came from.

13/ It’s such a small thing, changing a name or date. And let’s not pretend it is because of tradition that we care so much, non Aboriginal people. The reason we don’t want change is because of our white supremacy. For all the reasons above.

14/ Without change, nothing else changes. You see how marriage equality has started creating change? It’s just about valuing people, respecting them, listening to them.

Refuse to participate in Australia Day. Participate in Invasion Day protests. Reject white supremacy.

15/ This is up to us to start making change. It’s not up to Aboriginal people.

Time to start listening and allow healing to start. If each of us do one thing, we can make things better for First Nations people in the future.