I don’t understand your point, it makes perfect sense for ancient cultures to have spaces considered sacred around them.

Are you casually suggesting that a culture that has lived in an area far longer than anyone else doesn’t have the right to consider parts of the landscape around them sacred?

Just because the land was stolen from indigenous cultures doesn’t mean they don’t still rightfully have a claim on it. At a bare minimum they should be able to demand preservation of the sacred places among the land stolen from them.

If you want to come after “people trying to make everything into sacred spaces” or something, sure, let’s talk about the way churches can completely dodge taxes and other laws that the rest of us have to adhere to (at least in the US), why waste your breath saying “c’mon” about a devastated indigenous population protecting a beautiful and highly unusual natural feature?

As a last point, do you honestly NOT understand how this place or Everest or Niagra Falls or the Giants Causeway are sacred places? You don’t have to subscribe to spirituality of that culture or even believe in god at all to understand when a place is sacred. Do you look at a place like Niagra and think “meh, just another place who cares”? Do you think the tallest mountain in the world should have so many tourists shuffling along to climb to the top that the mountain is inundated with trash?

When an indigenous culture identifies a place as sacred, those are the people that know that land better than anyone else and have passed down a culture of stories born out of that landscape, we should listen.

Ancient folks? Indigenous people are still around, you just don't give a fuck about them, and you don't give a fuck about their most sacred places.

I feel the same way. If I'm going to be an atheist, I can't draw the line at which primitive superstition is nonsense. Either they all are or none are.

I get it, it's a natural wonder that nobody at the time could comprehend. That doesn't make it "sacred".

Banning it for safety? Sure. This is why we can't have nice things.

So what you're really saying is that they don't deserve their history and to have sacred spots. That, it seems, is only for others to have.

I heard stories that whenever the Australia government want to do anything. Say they find aluminium and want to mine it. Aboriginals will come from all around and say that it's a burial ground, or it's sacred or something because then they can get more money because the government has a system for pay off the Aboriginals. I don't know how true that is but I can believe it.

I chatted to an elder and he said they was building something in town so they asked him to come and ceremony for it. He refused. He said that as far as he knows no one ever lived there. He said sure people lived there, pointing over there, and there. But no one lived here. It's no body's land how can I talk about my ancestors if my ancestors didn't live here. He then went on a rant about how he hates everyone saying they are aboriginal and getting free funding or money and stuff. Then there some black kid (they soemtimes described themselves as black or blackfellers in this part of Aus) not having access to a school or any funding for them.

It was really interesting.

But I got to admit there is a lot of shit the aboriginal get away with and they need both the government and the elders to treat people more like grown ups rather than as someone has been slighted and now has loads of excuses to act in shitty ways. Like recently seen a video of lot of damage done to Alice Springs, just because. So how sacred this thing is I don't know.

But also me and my girlfriend was talking about how our housemates judged us for going out and doing stuff on Easter Sunday. But you could easily argue from a Christian point of view enjoying God's creation is a form of worship. Wonder if they have different opinions like that in Australia.