Official Apology Thread (3 Viewers)

[arae]

I don't think anyone cares about this anymore.

dead before we see the reprocussions? love the apathy

 

[Captain Gh3y]

'We need to get the children out of here'

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national...ren-out-of-here/2008/03/13/1205126112217.html

ELDERS from a Far North Queensland community are calling for children to be removed in the face of a comprehensive breakdown of social norms.

 

[boris]

Yeah I read that this morning and laffed.

 

[henry08]

I saw screw them all.

 

[Captain Gh3y]

I saw screw them all.

surely not all of them?

 

[nerdsforever]

Finally somebody apologises.

and i reckon it was neccessary for him to apologise. I mean, if he didn't aborigines would never feel welcomed or at least appreciated by the whites. Aplogising also meant admitting all the past wrongs that were put in force by the parliament, which is being handed to Kevin RUdd. I mean, sure Kevin Rudd didn't take the children away but he DOES represent the people from the past that did take the children away.

The apology is about more than money. Its about pride.

I agree. By apologising, many Aboriginal school kids will feel better going to school without other kids teasing them about how their grandparents or other relatives got taken away by their parents. And I dont think this apologising thing is about money. Aborigines dont need money. They want recognition of past injustices. They want to feel proud of their culture after so many years. THe poor children need to know that there was nothing wrong about their culture that made them be treated so badly.

 

[ari89]

I mean, if he didn't aborigines would never feel welcomed or at least appreciated by the whites. Aplogising also meant admitting all the past wrongs that were put in force by the parliament, which is being handed to Kevin RUdd. I mean, sure Kevin Rudd didn't take the children away but he DOES represent the people from the past that did take the children away.

Since when did Kevin Rudd represent state governments?

I agree. By apologising, many Aboriginal school kids will feel better going to school without other kids teasing them about how their grandparents or other relatives got taken away by their parents.

troll?

 

[lyounamu]

Saying 'sorry' is important, in my opinion. It shows that you admit the tort that you commited.

 

[JaredR]

I was both disgusted and embarassed that I had to read about this apology in the Jerusalem Post whilst in Israel.

I am appalled to think that collectively we as the white people of Australia are guilty of some form of child abuse for taking children away from their homes for what our ancestors (whom I did not appear to in a vision and ask them to do this) thought was the best for them.

I am sorry for what happened to them, but in no way am I sorry for what I did, because I did nothing.

I'm sorry that 'sorry' was said and I hope that the waning Aboriginal population can accept Mr. Rudd's humble apology and not look at me, as a white Australian with such disdain.

 

[S1M0]

I was both disgusted and embarassed that I had to read about this apology in the Jerusalem Post whilst in Israel.

I am appalled to think that collectively we as the white people of Australia are guilty of some form of child abuse for taking children away from their homes for what our ancestors (whom I did not appear to in a vision and ask them to do this) thought was the best for them.

I am sorry for what happened to them, but in no way am I sorry for what I did, because I did nothing.

I'm sorry that 'sorry' was said and I hope that the waning Aboriginal population can accept Mr. Rudd's humble apology and not look at me, as a white Australian with such disdain.

Wouldn't this apology specifically regard Australians of Anglo-Saxon ancestry?

 

[scarybunny]

Err the apology doesn't implicate all white australians.

Rudd specifically says that he's apologising for the wrongs of past governments. And the opposition agreed on the wording. So what's the problem?

It's a symbol, and an important one. It didn't cost anything, but it meant a lot to aboriginal people.

 

[Gay Captain]

Well if it implicates all Australians, wogs and asians can claim they weren't here so it doesn't implicate them

But then white people can claim they weren't here either and if it implicated them it's just racist, so it doesn't implicate them either

Then you get mixed race people who might be half or quarter implicated (so maybe when we pay reparations they only have a quarter as much of their tax diverted to the reparations?) which is just plain stupid

Therefore it doesn't implicate any Australians.

Luckily it wasn't meant to, it's only the government

 

[scarybunny]

They said sorry without actually placing blame.

Everybody wins!

 

[Gay Captain]

If you want to carry on with the apologizing on racial lines thing you have to admit the majority of Aborigines alive today are of less than 100% Aboriginal blood, so they'd be apologizing to themselves

 

[JaredR]

Yes the apology made such a profound impact on the Aboriginal community.

THE gap between black and white Australia has either remained the same or widened in most social indicators in NSW, according to a state government report released today.

Source: http://www.smh.com.au/news/national...-its-mostly-bad/2008/04/21/1208742852017.html

Gees, was I stupid for thinking this apology would solve all problems with regards to Aboriginal affairs?

But then again, I guess it's easier to make a symbolic (as you called it, scarybunny) gesture than to actually work harder to rid Australia of it's Aboriginal ghettos.

 

[scarybunny]

Rudd et al never proffessed that the appology would solve all these complex problems. It was always conceeded that it was just a symbolic gesture. Since thats all it is, I find it difficult to see how anyone can be particularly concerned by it either way.

Exactly.

It takes years and years for ideas to turn into policy, for policy to be implemented, and for results to be seen.

Things are getting better, but slowly. The education system, in particular, is doing its level best to close the gap. I could harp on about it but I won't.

 

[Gay Captain]

The education system, in particular, is doing its level best to close the gap. I could harp on about it but I won't.

Kind of hard when it's not really geared up to do that sort of thing though

 

[1Time4thePpl]

A symbolic gesture that achieved nothing except a feel good attitude in both the indigenous and non-indigenous community. It didn't hurt anyone so who cares now that it has happened

 

[TacoTerrorist]

There are barely any Aboriginal people. I've seen like 10 in my whole life.

We did need to say sorry, even though the current generation did not commit the crimes, the burden lies on our shoulders.

 

[scarybunny]

Educated people have higher income and better health than non-educated people. So by increasing the outcomes of indigenous kids, there's a whole follow-on effect. Of course, this doesn't change the health of the adults, so that needs to be addressed in the meantime.

Although most indigenous kids have had access to education, they fell through the gaps because teachers didn't know how to approach them.

Hence the course I'm currently doing. High school teachers need to do a similar course, though, to keep the teenagers in school.

My aboriginal lecturers have instilled me with lots of hope for the future, so I'm being terribly optimistic.