I’ve previously made the point that in his discussion of Tasmanian Aborigines and their supposed cultural incapacity for things like “guerilla war” and even “compassion”. Keith Windschuttle is guilty of an extreme form of the cultural relativism he denounced in The Killing of History. I’m pleased to see, via Rob Corr, that conservative anthropologist, Ron Brunton agrees, saying

Windschuttle rightfully criticises the one-dimensional view of white settler attitudes that emerges from some historians’ accounts. But he holds an equally crude view of Aboriginal motivations and capacities.
He derides the suggestion that Tasmanian Aborigines might act with “humanity and compassion” because such notions were “literally unthinkable” to them.
This baseless claim not only displays the cultural relativism that Windschuttle otherwise scorns, it also goes against significant evidence that was available to him. (emphasis added)

Brunton’s intro says he also “finds a lot to admire”. Unfortunately, I missed this piece when it came out, and I’ll have to head off the library to check the whole piece (or pay Rupert Murdoch for access to his archives).

At this stage, I think it’s clear that Windschuttle’s critique of Lyndall Ryan, while weakened by his own misleading quotation of her work, has raised important, and so far unanswered questions. In addition, he has debunked some popular massacre stories. On the other hand, his quibbles about minor misquotations in the work of Henry Reynolds are looking increasingly petty as the weaknesses in his own work are exposed.