The following verse is to Jean-Michel Basquiat’s painting Jack Johnson, 1982 acrylic and oil paintstick on canvas. Jean-Michel Basquiat died at 27 years old from an overdose. He was the kind of artist who did not let you stand indifferent to his work; for some he was a genius, for others a junkie without talent. However, his paintings still change hands for millions of dollars.

BLACK JACK: b. 31 March 1878

Some call me spade,
stud, buck, black. That last
I take as a compliment-

“I’m black & they
won’t let me forget it.”
I’m Jack

to my friends, Lil’
Arthur – like the King
of England to my mama.

Since I got crowned champ
most white folks would love
to see me whupped.

They call me dog, cad
or card, then bet
on me to win. I’m still

an ace & the whole
world knows it. Don’t
mean most don’t want

me done in. But I got words
for them too – when I’m through
most chumps wish

they were counting
cash instead
of sheep, stars. I deal

blows like cards –
one round, twenty
rounds, more. “I’m black all

right & I’ll never let them
forget it.” Stepping
to me, in or out

the ring, you gamble –
go head then dealer,
hit me again.

And there had come into prominence a huge Negro, Jack Johnson, who was anxious to fight Burns. In England we had hitherto heard very little of Johnson. He was three years older than the white champion, stood 6 feet and one-half inch, and weighed 15 stone. He appears to have started his career in 1899, and from that down to December, 1908, when he finally succeeded in getting a match with Burns, he had, fought sixty-five contests, half of which he won by means of a knockout….He was very strong, very quick, a hard hitter, and extraordinarily skillful in defence. He was by no means unintelligent, and not without good reason, was regarded generally with the greatest possible dislike. With money in his pocket and physical triumph over white men in his heart, he displayed all the gross and overbearing insolence which makes what we call the buck nigger insufferable.

Bohun Lynch (1923), Knuckles and gloves.

Which makes what we call the buck nigger insufferable

The following is an excerpt of a letter sent to Rt. Hon. John Howard, MHR, Parliament House Canberra, during his term as Prime Minister of Australia. The letter is housed on the Australian League of Rights (“ALOR”) database:

Dear Sir, You are quite right to confront, indeed defy, the reconciliation demands of the aboriginal industry. I do not believe we owe the aborigines anything, even so much as an apology. The mass media is saying that everyone in Australia agrees that an apology is due. I beg to differ. Should you come to the position that you say ‘sorry’ please do not do so on my behalf. All eight of my great-grandparents arrived in Victoria in the 1850s. Half of them pioneered fruit growing near Melbourne. Their sacred sites have been swallowed up by the urban sprawl. A quarter of them pioneered the wool industry near Hamilton, while the other quarter pioneered agriculture in the Horsham district. Their descendants are still there producing more from that land than was ever produced before. What would there be in those areas today if my forebears, as a microcosm of settlement, had not pushed the aborigines out? Of course, it would have remained in the hands of a nomadic hunter-gatherer primitive people. That is, unless some other civilisation even less sympathetic to the aborigines had not filled the void.

As for the stolen generation, the ‘stolen’ ones should say thanks, not demand an apology. The ones that were left were left to continue the cycle of abuse to the extent that an aboriginal child in N.S.W. is eight times more likely to be abused than the rest of the community. Please, don’t blame all of that on poverty among the aborigines.

[…]

The advantages of civilisation enjoyed by aborigines today would not have existed had the country been left to its pre-l788 inhabitants. Where would they be without the spectacles we see so many of them wearing? Where would they be without the aeroplanes their activist leaders use to travel overseas to abuse us in front of the world’s media? What about the permanent buildings, the roads, the educational system, the universities that their activist leaders availed themselves of in order to gain a springboard from which to assail us.

As is probably obvious from the tripe it publishes, the ALOR is a proudly conservative organisation which vows to “promote loyalty to the Christian concept of God, to the Crown, and to the Country… [t]o defend the Rule of law which makes all equal before the Law” and to stress the value of our system of Common Law, originally built up in Great Britain, to protect the rights of the individual; and to that end, to expose corruption and partiality in all their forms.” All very noble vows, except that, in the view of our aforementioned letter writer, these vows or values do not extend to Aboriginal Australians. They especially don’t extend to members of the stolen generation(s) who should say thanks, not demand an apology.” The ALOR though ultra conservative by nature has nonetheless proved a powerful force in Australian politics. Its views have permeated all walks of Australian life and its effects reverberate to the disadvantage of all Australians whose ancestors were pushed off their traditional lands by our letter writer’s ancestors who boasts, “What would there be in those areas today if my forebears, as a microcosm of settlement, had not pushed the aborigines out? Of course, it would have remained in the hands of a nomadic hunter-gatherer primitive people.”

To the minds of people like our aforementioned letter writer, any Aboriginal Australian who strives to become what white Australia demands, that is, educated, employed and Christian, runs the risk of being branded an insolent, insufferable buck nigger. That was the situation in Britain in 1923 when Bohun Lynch penned his boxing ‘classic’ Knuckles and gloves. It remained the norm in Australia when our aforementioned letter writer penned his gem of racial tolerance to former Australian Prime Minister John Howard and it remains the norm to this day in the Australian Bureaucracy.

Some call me spade, stud, buck, black. That last I take as a compliment

Like Jack Johnson I also take the last as a compliment! In my capacity as a black, or more specifically as a blak Australian, I demand that my white brothers and sisters remember the ALOR vow [t]o defend the Rule of law which makes all equal before the Law”. After all, it was to further the ‘rule of law’ that our aforementioned letter writer’s ancestors “as a microcosm of settlement… pushed the aborigines out”. Actually, I couldn’t have worded that better myself.

It is because of my demands that white Australia, specifically those sub-sets of white Australia that make-up the Government of the Australian Capital Territory, the Australian Federal Police and Ernst and Young adhere to “the Rule of law which makes all equal before the Law” that on Monday evening on my way to my car I was set upon by four pillowcase wearing gutless wonders, had a pillow case placed over my head, a noose put around my neck and petrol poured on me. Thank you for your efforts, it tells me not only that I have gotten under your skins, but also vindicates me about the missing $130,000,000.00 from the ACT Department of Treasury.

I won’t go into all the details about the apparent role Ernst and Young played in my assault. These have been addressed in the posts: A prayer to the Gods and Ernst & Young, threats & intimidation. What I will say is that what happened to me on Monday night has its genesis in the racism and corruption that passes for the ‘rule of law’ in the Australian beaurocracy and the Australian Federal Police.

This is the second occasion on which I have been assaulted by people whose sole stated objective was for me toshut the fuck up about the missing money from the ACT Department of Treasury. The first assault occurred at the Willoughby News Agency in 2005 and was witnessed by a number of people, including Mr Phillip Hart who provided the following statement at that time:

… I witnessed one of these attacks in April 2005 during which I saw two people who had a hold on him use a photograph of a family member to try and threaten and intimidate him saying harm would come to the family member if he continued to complain about the systemic racism within the public service and the Australian Federal Police. The reason I witnessed this attack at 3am was because [Bakchos] had called me to wrap and deliver newspapers for his business. Not knowing what was going on these people we were shouting holding him on seeing this I hid in a door way and yelled a challenge to them they turned it was then that I saw they had weapons drawn what was more amazing they then yelled at me to stay out of it produced Identification Cards and Badges to show they were Australian Federal Police Officers. The one holding [Bakchos] released him walked towards myself pointed a finger and shouted at me to stay out of it. They then both walked down to the street corner threw the photograph they were using to make the threats at myself and [Bakchos] got in a car which had ACT  number Plates on it and drove off at a fast pace. I have complained bitterly about this attack to everyone both officially and to anyone who would listen to me.

It was the worst attack by Government officials on someone I had seen and they still refuse to investigate this as of today…

What role Ernst and Young has to play in all this or why they would want to be involved, I can’t say. What I can say is that what happened to me on Monday evening and an earlier incident involving my car were notified to me via ‘pingbacks’ from the Ernst and Young United States website. The issue of the ‘pingbacks’ has been addressed in the posts mentioned above.

The Rule of law which makes all equal before the Law

What I would like to ask the learned racists who make up the Australian Beaurocracy, the Australian Federal Police and Ernst and Young is, “How does setting four goons on a blak man, who place a pillowcase over his head, a noose around his neck, pour petrol over him then threaten to lynch and burn him adhere to the ‘rule of law’ which makes all equal before the law?” Quite clearly in Australia, there are two separate laws and systems of justice operating; one for white Australians and another less equal for black Australians.

The real problem is that the Australian Beaurocracy, unlike the British which it purports to be modelled on, is not a truly professional beaurocracy. In Australia they strive for the lowest possible common denominator. This means that the rigors and moral learning that come through education and hard work count for nothing. It creates an environment where someone who failed first year accounting at one of Australia’s least prestigious tertiary institutions can rise through the ranks without the intellectual or moral discipline necessary to perform at the higher echelons of a modern beaurocracy. It creates an environment where nepotism and cronyism have full sway. It’s creates an environment where corruption reigns supreme. No room for the ‘rule of law’ here, just ask the ACT’s Wiradjuri former Commissioner for Revenue!

You see the ACT’s Wiradjuri former Commissioner for Revenue, ‘Pat’, was ‘nigger hunted’ out of the ACT beaurocracy with the assistance of Ernst and Young, because he demanded equality before the law, just like the ALOR vows aim to ensure! But, in Australia equality does not extend to the black or blak man.

Like Jack Johnson of old, all Aboriginal Australians who strive to better themselves, to become part of the wider community to embrace the ‘rule of law’ become without good reason regarded generally with the greatest possible dislike. Why? Because sometimes, indeed often, just because you’re white doesn’t mean you have morals, intellect or vision. The days of white is right are over. Australia, it’s time to wake up and look at what the Australian Beaurocracy and the Australian Federal Police are doing in your name.

This Post Has 27 Comments

  1. Bakchos Glass I’m also proud to be called black and Aborigine. Sorry to hear about what happened on Monday. Though I guess the UN now awaits with a red carpet! Good luck!!!

  2. I can’t begin to imagine how you must feel after having had something like that happen to you. Personally I think that you are very brave speaking out like you do, as a loan voice. Keep up the fight and don’t let them get the better of you.

  3. Somebody needs to go to jail over what happened to Bakchos on Monday evening. If it’s the AFP or E&Y it should not matter. A crime is a crime, in this case Bakchos is the victim.

  4. If the missing $130,000,000.00 was the focus of the attack on Bakchos and the threat came through E&Y one can but assume that E&Y are somehow connected to the missing money. There are a lot of unanswered questions about what happened to Pat at ACT Treasury and the latest attack on Bakchos Glass. Lets see what happens next.

  5. Smart move whitie. The world’s watching and you threaten to lynch and burn me cuz! If it actually hapens Canberra will burn, there will be protests like the ACT Government conuld never imagine in a thousand years. Lets rock and roll then you gutless whitie bastards.

  6. Guys there will be accountbility. Watch this space for news. Speaking with the SRC’s of as many Universities as I can.

  7. Hi estelle that sounds like a grand idea. We need to do more to get the message out about the corruption that passes as the ‘rule of law’ in Australia. Whitie must be accountable to his own laws.

  8. Mahmud Ahsan via Facebook

    All this man is asking for is justice and accountability. Is that so hard for Australia to give? If so, should the world community really be even considering Australia’s application for a non-permanent seat on the UNSC? If there is no justice for black people in Australia, how can Australia claim to be in a position to deliver justice to other countries?

  9. Mahmud Ahsan you’re right this should spell the end of Australia’s tilt at the UNSC. It’s a clear case of racism. The extent that the ACT Government has gone to, to protect a racist in its ranks beggers belief. How about some accountability before the October elections!

  10. You guys who did this are nothing but a pack of gutless fucks. The man you attacked is sick with a lung condition and you poured petrol over him and threatened to set him alight after lynching him. Gutless curds! Why don’t you gutless curds from the AFP, yes we know who you are, there was a witness, step forward and speak with me – I’m not suffering from a illness at the moment! Guess what, a picture is worth a thousand words! Nosey neighbours, can’t live without ’em!

  11. How dare you thugs in the Australian Federal Police do this to an Aboriginal citizen on his own land. Yes rumor with swift wings has spread the message far and wide. I received an email on my University account about what happened to Bakchos and who did it. The word is out, the AFP is guilty and there will be ACCOUNTABILITY this time.

  12. I can’t believe this – the pingback really does go back to ACT Policing. What on Earth are ACT Policing doing referring to Bakchos Glass as a ‘coon cunt’? This is a real problem. A country’s police force is supposed to be impartial. How can a police service argue that it is impartial when it leaves pingbacks like this on human rights blogs?

  13. What do we have here? Yet more proof that the AFP are racist fucks. This time they even have the nerve to place the threat on their own website. Thanks Tabitha Van Vechten for alerting us to this. So we have the AFP threatening to burn and lynch Bakchos Glass followed up with a comment on their own website announcing that they wand the cunt to burn. Racist filth!

  14. Bakchos sorry to read about what happened to you last Monday evening. I hope that the police catch the bastards who did this and they spend a long time in jail. AS for the ‘pingback’ to ACT Policing, now there is an interesting turn of events. So ACT Policing are proud to be identified as being racist! So much for equality and the ‘rule of law’.

  15. Really the only think you can say of the ‘pingback’ to ACT Policing is that they must be arrogant to the extreme. What could Bakchos have possibly done that could generate so much hatred and venom. Sorry, he wants the white establishment to be accountable to their own laws. What a big ask, no wonder there is so much hatred directed in his direction. I hope the AFP remembers that the world is watching.

  16. If ACT Policing really behind what happened to Bakchos last Monday night it will prove to the world community once and for all what a racist nation Australia really is. As Bakchos said in this post – a public service cannot perform its functions to the community if it is staffed and run by those who can’t even manage to pass an exam at the most basic level of tertiary education. No wonder the ACT Department of Treasury is in such a mess. The permotion of the person we all know as the ‘Inquisitor’ on the basis of a reference from the Chief Minister for the ACT is corruption. There is no other word for it. That corruption, created the current cycle of racism, hate and death threats now being played out on the world stage. Good work Katy!

  17. Proud you should be Bakchos Glass. If more Aborigines had the courage to stand-up and tell whitie to behave as he says he will, then many of society’s problems would cease to be roblems at all.

  18. I’m absolutely disgusted by what those gutless pricks from the AFP and ACT Treasury have done to Bakchos and his family. Time for accountability, time for the ‘Inquisitor’ to be exposed for the racist cunt that he is.

  19. Bakchos Glass hopefully there will be some accountability for what happened to you this time. I for ome am appalled by what has happened to you and your family at the hands of the AFP.

  20. Bakchos Glass It’s great to see you having the courage to stand up for what you believe. I’m sorry about what those red neck KKK shits did, but if you keep fighting, you will eventually win.

  21. Bakchos Glass have you found out who attacked you yet? This is something that no Australian should be willing to accept. My sumpathy goes with you. Keep the fight going.

Leave a Reply to Tom Ashby via Facebook Cancel reply

*

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.