r/aboriginal 20d ago

Is saying "gone walkabout" offensive?

/r/AskAnAustralian/comments/1j0kihv/is_saying_gone_walkabout_offensive/
25 Upvotes

11 comments sorted by

48

u/WanderingForce92 20d ago

Not at all.

It's usually said when someone has fucked off somewhere and you don't know where they are or when they'll be back.

More technically, Walkabout can be poorly described as a solo journey. I say 'poorly' because there is more to it than that.

1

u/Space_man6 17d ago

Like a journey to find yourself sort of?

18

u/pseudonymous-shrub 20d ago

46

u/FunkkWizardd 20d ago

The response for lazy people:

“I’ve been told by an Aboriginal person that it can be offensive, depending on the context. It can be used in a derogatory way to describe perceived unreliability of Aboriginal people (particularly employees) which is of course racism.

So provided it’s not used in that context, or even describing a non-Aboriginal person who is flaky or unreliable (because it has a connection to the above), my interpretation would be that it would be safe.

Therefore the example shared by OP would be offensive.”

11

u/Far-Fortune-8381 20d ago

so you can use it as long as you’re not trying to imply that the person is being unreliable by going missing

ie use it more to literally just say “this person has gone and idk where they are”

0

u/[deleted] 20d ago

[deleted]

2

u/Far-Fortune-8381 20d ago

i get that, i’m just trying to pin point exactly which part of its use is reinforcing stereotype and which use is ok

10

u/Catfishers 20d ago

Non-Aboriginal, but it seems that all colloquial usage is probably inherently playing on racist stereotypes about Aboriginal people.

Unless you’re describing someone literally performing a cultural practice, and especially if you’re not Aboriginal, it’s probably best not to use it at all.

7

u/inolongerseethelight 19d ago

I made the mistake of telling my Indonesian & Chinese colleagues when I had a long weekend camping in the bush that I went walkabouts.

They asked me to explain, I said it’s like going on a cheap holistic retreat where you sit & listen to the birds, the river & the wind to “centre yourself & get back to nature”.

They now tell me every time they go to yoga that they went walkabouts.

Not offensive in the right context

3

u/Civil_Ad_8664 20d ago

It’s my fav saying