Learning from Australia

Call me a cock-eyed-optimist, but I hold onto this desperate hope that it is possible for people to learn from the past and thereby change their approach to present versions of not-new situations.

I am currently reading a book about the founding of Australia called The Fatal Shore and for the first 300 or so pages, I was simply enjoying the story and Hughes engaging style of writing. Australia was founded as a convict colony and as it developed into a more permanent settlement, the governing body was in a position in which society was divided into two quite distinct classes: the free and powerful who were living side by side with the prisoners who were there to be punished and provide labor. On page 378 Hughes describes the system that kept the prisoners ‘in place’:

“The more capricious the convict-overseer system was, the better it ‘worked’, since it demoralized the convicts as a group and made them weaker.”

Keeping the prisoners divided internally was official policy and one of the tools used was the continual reorganization of the convicts’ working groups. The officers sewed distrust among the convicts as a method to further ensure the security of the ruling class. The system was perfected under the leadership of George Arthur who, “never lost sight of the fact that to control a state’s labor supply is to control its political life.”

In order to maintain this type of strict division, Arthur knew that more than anything he needed people he could trust: loyalty was an acceptable substitute for imagination and he lived by the principle: “Never apologize. Never explain.” He was also incredibly vain and could not stand the least criticism of any kind and made every effort he could to demolish free press. It was the only voice that could make itself heard since any participation in the everyday mechanisms of government were denied to the convicts and anyone speaking in their support was ignored entirely.

End flashback.

What is there to learn here? Well, clearly that Brady and her style of administration is nothing new. At UNCG employees are now treated as second-class citizens in a land being divided up to benefit those who see themselves as unstained by having ever been like us. Reorganization, transfer, RIF, and the pressured exit are the tools used to shake up the bonds we form and keep us from recognizing the same shared grievances. Internal discord prevents the unity needed to speak as effective participants in our university’s governance while the capricious and unpredictable nature of our ‘leadership’ has caused such demoralization that we lose our will to struggle.

Do we have to sit through this again?

Enough. It is time to come together in support of openness and transparency at UNCG.

Bottom line to all those who engage in and perpetuate the anti-social, bullying behaviors that have become the norm in upper administration (you know exactly who you are): 

Apologize, Explain, and Demonstrate.

I know it hurts your pride, but it is time to humble yourself.

You may not believe you owe an explanation, but you do.

No more secrets, obfuscation, and outright lies.

Nothing heals like the light: let the sun shine in.