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| Thread: "Happy Sorry Day" | |
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kookastar
Honorable
Legendary Hero
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posted February 14, 2008 09:55 AM |
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Words spoken from a Torres Strait Islander to me yesterday, a day that will hopefully be remembered by Australians forever. He mused at the irony of Happy and Sorry appearing in the same phrase. I can only imagine how it felt for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders to hear the long overdue "Sorry". But I for one was relieved that the government I voted for had done something right.
Here's part of the full transcript of the Prime Ministers speech. It begins half way through, where he is aknowledging the Stolen Generation, but there is still alot of hidden history that I believe needs to be taught, and grieved, and acknowledged. He is appologising for it all though.
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...between 1910 and 1970, between 10 and 30 per cent of Indigenous children were forcibly taken from their mothers and fathers; that, as a result, up to 50,000 children were forcibly taken from their families; that this was the product of the deliberate, calculated policies of the state as reflected in the explicit powers given to them under statute; that this policy was taken to such extremes by some in administrative authority that the forced extractions of children of so-called ‘mixed lineage’ were seen as part of a broader policy of dealing with ‘the problem of the Aboriginal population’.
One of the most notorious examples of this approach was from the Northern Territory Protector of Natives, who stated: "Generally by the fifth and invariably by the sixth generation, all native characteristics of the Australian aborigine are eradicated.
"The problem of our half-castes— to quote the protector— will quickly be eliminated by the complete disappearance of the black race, and the swift submergence of their progeny in the white ... "
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There is a further reason for an apology as well: it is that reconciliation is in fact an expression of a core value of our nation—and that value is a fair go for all. There is a deep and abiding belief in the Australian community that, for the stolen generations, there was no fair go at all. There is a pretty basic Aussie belief that says that it is time to put right this most outrageous of wrongs.
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In doing so, we are also wrestling with our own soul. This is not, as some would argue, a black-armband view of history; it is just the truth: the cold, confronting, uncomfortable truth—facing it, dealing with it, moving on from it. Until we fully confront that truth, there will always be a shadow hanging over us and our future as a fully united and fully reconciled people. It is time to reconcile. It is time to recognise the injustices of the past. It is time to say sorry. It is time to move forward together.
To the stolen generations, I say the following: as Prime Minister of Australia, I am sorry. On behalf of the government of Australia, I am sorry. On behalf of the parliament of Australia, I am sorry. I offer you this apology without qualification.
We apologise for the hurt, the pain and suffering that we, the parliament, have caused you by the laws that previous parliaments have enacted. We apologise for the indignity, the degradation and the humiliation these laws embodied.
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This new partnership on closing the gap will set concrete targets for the future: within a decade to halve the widening gap in literacy, numeracy and employment outcomes and opportunities for Indigenous Australians, within a decade to halve the appalling gap in infant mortality rates between Indigenous and non-Indigenous children and, within a generation, to close the equally appalling 17-year life gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous in overall life expectancy
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Let us turn this page together: Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, government and opposition, Commonwealth and state, and write this new chapter in our nation’s story together. First Australians, First Fleeters, and those who first took the oath of allegiance just a few weeks ago. Let’s grasp this opportunity to craft a new future for this great land: Australia. I commend the motion to the House.
That's a lot of words, but some of them are quite good 
The previous government refused to say sorry  , which makes this even more meaningful.
I never really understood how anyone could not be sorry for the way Indigenous Australians were treated.
Now it's time to change that flag, and rid our nation of an anthem called "advance australia fair"
{see why i can't post photos  }
{BTW this is in the OSM, comments are welcome, but any spam would be truly offensive to me...}
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william
Responsible
Undefeatable Hero
LummoxLewis
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posted February 14, 2008 10:27 AM |
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About time it was actually said. I felt a bit angry that John Howard refused to say sorry. For these coming elections, I will probably be voting for Kevin Rudd. He is doing good so far.
One thing my sister discussed yesterday, was the fact that the only living PM not to attend was John Howard. I guess he didn't attend because then if he did, people would question him as to why he is there, and why he did not say sorry years ago. It would be a lot of trouble for him.
But this whole sorry speech needed to be said, and I am glad that it has been said.
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~Ticking away the moments that
make up a dull day, Fritter and
waste the hours in an off-hand
way~
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Binabik
Responsible
Legendary Hero
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posted February 15, 2008 06:05 AM |
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Edited by Binabik at 06:12, 15 Feb 2008.
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Ah, the sins of thy father!
The son will not share the guilt of the father, nor will the father share the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous man will be credited to him, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against him.
But if a wicked man turns away from all the wrongs he has committed and does what is just and right, none of the offenses he has committed will be held against him.
First, I'll say I didn't know that stuff was going on in Australia, especially so recently. Second, before someone misunderstands me, just for the sake of discussion and thought I tend to write around the peripheral of things, rather than address them directly.....whatever pops in my head.
Guilt is a strange thing, and guilt from our father or brother or countryman is an even stranger thing. So when we say we are sorry, what does that mean? It can mean different things depending on the situation and our own feelings, or sorrow, or guilt, or shame.
If a friend has a family member who died, we say "I'm sorry to hear that". It's not an apology. It's merely an expression that we wish things could be different, that we sympathize with them.
If we do something wrong to a person we also say "I'm sorry". In this case it's an apology, an admission of guilt for a wrong we did to another. It can't undo the wrong, but is merely an admission of responsibility, an admission that we made a mistake.
But what about the sins of our father, or our brother, or our nation, or our race? Is it more like the first case where our friend's family member died? Or is it more like the second case, as if we committed the wrong ourselves? Or is it something else entirely?
When should we say we are sorry? I don't know the answer to that. But I'm very tempted to say it depends on ourselves, as well as the person(s) wronged. I'm tempted to say that if we "feel" guilt, or "feel" as if we should apologize, then we should.
On the other hand, guilt is a deceptive creature. If we feel guilt when we are not personally responsible, should we be asking ourselves why we feel guilt, rather than apologizing?
When we are talking about a nation, do the same rules apply? Even though we as individuals might not have committed any wrong, or might not have even been alive. Many times it serves us well to separate a nation from the individuals who live in that nation. When the official policies of a nation or it's government commit wrongs, it seems prudent for that "entity" called a nation to issue an apology. But what about the people who make up that nation? Are they equally responsible for the wrong?
I don't know the situation in Australia well enough and it appears to be quite different, and much more recent. But I know there are some people in the US who feel guilty for what was done to the native population in North America, even though they didn't commit any wrongs themselves, and most likely neither did their ancestors.
As individuals, or as a nation, does the guilt or need to apologize fade with time and generations? After all, if we look far enough back into history, I'm sure every one of us have ancestors who are guilty of wrongs against others.
Then there is the other side of the coin, the people who have been wronged. Who should they hold responsible? Is it really fair to hold responsible those who did no wrong? To hold them responsible for the sins of their father, their brother, or their nation? All the same questions can be asked of them.
Again, don't get me wrong. This is not just about Australia, but about something that has repeated itself throughout history in all parts of the world. Each case is different.
This concept of "westernization" is an odd thing. We, meaning the western world, have tried to influence and westernize the rest of the world as much as possible. The west is not alone in this by any means, but it's certainly the most "successful".
Beside control and power and wealth, what does westernization really mean? Basically it means that "our" views, ideas, and way of life are perceived as "better than" those of the people we see as lesser than ourselves.
The history of Europe, the Mediterranean and Middle East regions has been one of push and shove over the millennia. On a historical timeline, there has been somewhat of a balance of power. But as the west increased it's ability to expand further and further, it eventually found easy targets in the Americas, Australia and to a lesser degree in Africa, India, and parts of southeast Asia and the Indian/Pacific island nations.
The natives of these lands were viewed as lesser people, as backward, as uncivilized, as uneducated. From our ivory towers we decree that we are better than them, that they must become like us. Or we "allow" them to retain their culture as long as they live on whatever land we feel we can spare. We tell them that our way is better, that they must learn our language if they are to become "successful". We tell them that they must be "educated" in the western way to improve their lot in life.
But the odd thing is that we don't necessarily have to tell them our way is better. Very often they are enticed by the carrot on a stick known as wealth and leisure. Humans by their nature are much like the flow of water, they tend to take the path of least resistance. We don't even have to "conquer" them. We don't even have to govern them. It is often the case that all it really takes is to let ourselves be seen. Someone is happy with the fish they caught until they see that someone else consistently has two fish and did less work to get them.
More and more we hear the word "global". We hear about the ease of modern travel. We hear about the ease of communication.
I have a memory of something from when I was younger. It really struck me because I thought of the modern world as being fully explored. But suddenly there was all this talk about a new people who had been discovered. They were not even known to exist, an entire people with their own lifestyle and language. This seemed completely amazing to me that there was a place on earth that was so isolated that an entire people completely escaped notice from the rest of the world.
I think this was in National Geographic magazine. As usual it was full of pictures. Besides the fact that these people existed, something else struck me. The "west" had not only found these people, but the people had found the west as well. Many of the pictures showed these people holding and examining western items they had never seen before. These were people who had been living their lifestyle since antiquity. They had probably been there for hundreds of generations.
How do we measure wealth? If we were to measure wealth by the smiles on peoples' faces, is the west more wealthy than these newly found people? When I saw the pictures of these people they seemed like a happy lot, and they seemed well fed. They seemed friendly to the westerners who had found them. It had the appearance of a great social event with lots of smiles.
But there was something that really struck me more than anything else. I saw a people and a culture centuries or millennia old, and somehow the westerners just seemed out of place. The cameras seemed out of place. I saw the future and knew that these people would never be the same. I felt amazement, but at the same time I felt a sense of sadness, a sense of loss.
I don't know when that was, 30-40 years ago I guess. I wonder what became of them. Are they becoming "globalized"? Do they have television with a satellite dish? Do they have internet access? Where will they be in another hundred years? How much of their centuries old beauty and culture will survive? Will any of them know their native language?
Whether it's these people on an island in the East Indies, the bush people of Africa, the aboriginals in Australia, or the few surviving Inca in South America, will anything of what made them unique remain? For centuries their education was the education they needed to live, but suddenly it's not good enough. We quote unemployment rates for people who never knew the meaning of unemployment. From the day they were born they were destined to be a hunter or fisher or farmer. And with their high unemployment rate we feel obligated to "educate" them so they can get "jobs". And we pat ourselves on the back for the good we are doing for them, making up for past wrongs.
We no longer move them away from their native environment to westernize them, we build schools and westernize them right where they live.
Just rambling....
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BTW this is in the OSM, comments are welcome
OK, I commented.
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Trogdor
Legendary Hero
Words in a custom title
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posted February 15, 2008 11:30 AM |
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How come it took approx. 3 quarters of a century for an apology to those affected by the stolen generation? It could've happened earlier if Johnny Howard even had the guts to say sorry. However he didn't and as a consequence will not be placed highly on lists about our top Prime Ministers.
Kudos for Mr. Rudd for doing what Howard should've done and give an apology speech. It seems he really lives up to his promises.
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"Through the power of the dollar you can communicate with the dead." - Artu
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