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STAN GRANT: ‘We risk turning history into a formula for unending grievance’

Michael Visontay
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Published: 20 November 2020

Last updated: 4 March 2024

In the inaugural Colin Tatz Memorial Lecture, presented by The Jewish Independent last night, the journalist and indigenous advocate issued a challenge: we can ‘endlessly litigate the past or we can choose a peace and put the bones of our ancestors to rest’ SPEAKING AT NSW Parliament House in Sydney, and to an international audience via Zoom, Stan Grant used the title of his lecture, Talking with Ghosts: the haunting of history, to argue that so many of today's conflicts around the world are based on grievances about identities. These grievances are profound and need to be acknowledged, he stressed, referring, among others to Australian indigenous, American blacks, American whites, Islamic State, the Balkans, and the Chinese, who have felt humiliated by the West for decades. [gallery columns="2" size="medium" ids="39646,39647"] But in trying to exact justice for past wrongs, Grant said, many groups  were focussed on exacerbating conflict rather than finding a path to peace and reconciliation with the past. The only exception was South Africa, he said, which decided to have a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, instead of a truth and justice mechanism. "Justice perhaps would have been easier and it would have electrified the blood of a people with every cause for vengeance," Grant told the audience. "By choosing peace, Archbishop Desmond Tutu set South African people a more godly task. “Forgiveness is not facile or cheap. It is costly business that makes those who are willing to forgive even more extraordinary.” [gallery columns="1" size="large" ids="39619"] Professor Colin Tatz, who was a founding member of the advisory board to The Jewish Independent, passed away in November 2019. Professor Tatz was a distinguished Australian academic, scholar and public intellectual across broad race politics, genocide, the Holocaust and anti-Semitism, and racism in sport. He was the director of the Australian Institute for Holocaust and Genocide Studies. [embed]https://youtu.be/9faB2ORl47w[/embed] READ THE FULL LECTURE HERE Main photo: Stan Grant speaking at NSW Parliament House on November 20, 2020 (Michael Visontay); other photos by Uri Windt

About the author

Michael Visontay is the Commissioning Editor of TJI. He has worked as a journalist and editor for more than 30 years. Michael is the author of several books, including Who Gave You Permission?, co-authored with child sexual abuse advocate Manny Waks, and Welcome to Wanderland: Western Sydney Wanderers and the Pride of the West.

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The Jewish Independent acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the Traditional Owners and Custodians of Country throughout Australia. We pay our respects to Elders past and present, and strive to honour their rich history of storytelling in our work and mission.

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