Finally... "Sorry"

2008-02-12 01:20:51

#1

Spark: liquid fluoride thorium reactor; +874|7103|Canberra, AUS

After a decade...

The Australian Government (albeit the new one) is at last going to apologise tomorrow for the one of greatest blemishes on Australian history: that of the Stolen Generations: the policy of forcibly removing Aboriginal children from parents to 'assimilate' them into mainstream society (making America's racial wrongs, in my opinion, seem insignificant by comparison)

This is the final wording, released a few hours ago:

Today ^{meaning tomorrow morning} we honour the Indigenous peoples of this land, the oldest continuing cultures in human history.

We reflect on their past mistreatment.

We reflect in particular on the mistreatment of those who were Stolen Generations – this blemished chapter in our nation’s history.

The time has now come for the nation to turn a new page in Australia’s history by righting the wrongs of the past and so moving forward with confidence to the future.

We apologise for the laws and policies of successive Parliaments and governments that have inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these our fellow Australians.

We apologise especially for the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, their communities and their country.

For the pain, suffering and hurt of these Stolen Generations, their descendants and for their families left behind, we say sorry.

To the mothers and fathers, the brothers and sisters, for the breaking up of families and communities, we say sorry.

And for the indignity and degradation thus inflicted on a proud people and a proud culture, we say sorry.

We the Parliament of Australia respectfully request that this apology be received in the spirit in which it is offered as part of the healing of the nation.

For the future we take heart; resolving that this new page in the history of our great continent can now be written.

We today take this first step by acknowledging the past and laying claim to a future that embraces all Australian.

A future where this Parliament resolves that the injustices of the past must never, never happen again.

A future where we harness the determination of all Australians, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, to close the gap that lies between us in life expectancy, educational achievement and economic opportunity.

A future where we embrace the possibility of new solutions to enduring problems where old approaches have changed.

A future based on mutual respect, mutual resolve and mutual responsibility.

A future where all Australians, whatever their origins, are truly equal partners, with equal opportunities and with an equal stake in shaping the next chapter in the history of this great country.

Last edited by Spark (2008-02-12 01:21:14)

The paradox is only a conflict between reality and your feeling what reality ought to be.
^{~ Richard Feynman}

2008-02-12 01:24:26

#2

AussieReaper: ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°); +5,761|6581|what

I think it's a long over due appology myself. And really think it's a right move from the Government.

And Nelson's refusal to accept it just shows how still so out of touch the Liberals are.

2008-02-12 01:26:05

#3

Spark: liquid fluoride thorium reactor; +874|7103|Canberra, AUS

TheAussieReaper wrote:
I think it's a long over due appology myself. And really think it's a right move from the Government.

And Nelson's refusal to accept it just shows how still so out of touch the Liberals are.

Nelson did accept it, didn't he?

^{Note: Before some jerkoff comes in say 'lol liberals are xxxx', he is not talking about liberalism.}

Last edited by Spark (2008-02-12 01:26:58)

The paradox is only a conflict between reality and your feeling what reality ought to be.
^{~ Richard Feynman}

2008-02-12 01:31:06

#4

AussieReaper: ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°); +5,761|6581|what

Spark wrote:
TheAussieReaper wrote:
I think it's a long over due appology myself. And really think it's a right move from the Government.

And Nelson's refusal to accept it just shows how still so out of touch the Liberals are.
Nelson did accept it, didn't he?

^{Note: Before some jerkoff comes in say 'lol liberals are xxxx', he is not talking about liberalism.}

No Nelson wanted, (and lost his fight for) the wording of the appology to go through Parliment, and also remove the word "sorry" from the speech. In doing so he could have delayed the whole process by atleast 6 months.

Last edited by TheAussieReaper (2008-02-12 01:36:44)

2008-02-12 03:29:27

#5

Braddock: Agitator; +916|6719|Éire

About time. fair play to the new guy in charge for finally getting this seen to.

We're still waiting for our apology from England ...I'm not gonna hold my breath!

2008-02-12 04:03:43

#6

colgas101: Dead man talking; +4|6427|Mackay qld australia

why apoligisze ? this generation and the last had nothing to be sorry for .im 44yo and my mother grew up in the same instatutions as the stolen generation(mainly cathlic orphanages)her father had died in ww2 .
most of the children in these places had come from the outback qld and nt from missions the aborignes had visited ,they stayed while the missionaries gave out free food(and tried to convert them to christ amongst other things)and while there was free food they had kids then when they got bored they went walkabout leaveing the extra kids behind they knew they couldnt feed them on the road
the missionaries were not set up to look after these kids so they sent them to orphanages on the coast.
if the parents returned up to years later they just did the same never asking about their other children
So is it a stolen generation or a abandoned generation.
before anyone screams racist i am 1/4 cast myself and im not asking for a apoligy for draging my people out of the stone age....

2008-02-12 04:07:12

#7

Little BaBy JESUS: m8; +394|6577|'straya

Personally... this is useless.... its all just a show its not gonna accomplish anything... but its a start i guess.

2008-02-12 04:08:59

#8

Adams_BJ: Russian warship, go fuck yourself; +2,055|7051|Little Bentcock

Why the hell should we say sorry? What did we do? Why should we apologise for something that happened half a century ago? What is this going to achieve?

2008-02-12 04:14:34

#9

{HMS}_Sir_Del_Boy: Member; +69|7137|th3 unkn0wn

colgas101 wrote:
why apoligisze ? this generation and the last had nothing to be sorry for .im 44yo and my mother grew up in the same instatutions as the stolen generation(mainly cathlic orphanages)her father had died in ww2 .
most of the children in these places had come from the outback qld and nt from missions the aborignes had visited ,they stayed while the missionaries gave out free food(and tried to convert them to christ amongst other things)and while there was free food they had kids then when they got bored they went walkabout leaveing the extra kids behind they knew they couldnt feed them on the road
the missionaries were not set up to look after these kids so they sent them to orphanages on the coast.
if the parents returned up to years later they just did the same never asking about their other children
So is it a stolen generation or a abandoned generation.
before anyone screams racist i am 1/4 cast myself and im not asking for a apoligy for draging my people out of the stone age....

Spelling FTL

2008-02-12 04:15:42

#10

colgas101: Dead man talking; +4|6427|Mackay qld australia

it will proberly give some lawyer the idea to sue the goverment for admiting responsabillityfor something we had nothing to be sorry about
(see my previous post)

2008-02-12 04:16:04

#11

AussieReaper: ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°); +5,761|6581|what

Adams_BJ wrote:
Why the hell should we say sorry? What did we do? Why should we apologise for something that happened half a century ago? What is this going to achieve?

Might not mean much to you, but to them it means a lot.

2008-02-12 04:16:48

#12

colgas101: Dead man talking; +4|6427|Mackay qld australia

i never said i can spell

2008-02-12 04:20:53

#13

Adams_BJ: Russian warship, go fuck yourself; +2,055|7051|Little Bentcock

TheAussieReaper wrote:
Adams_BJ wrote:
Why the hell should we say sorry? What did we do? Why should we apologise for something that happened half a century ago? What is this going to achieve?
Might not mean much to you, but to them it means a lot.

The REAL ones yes, but unless you leave in the NT, its not gonna matter much except another reason to blame us for something and to get benefits out of it.

2008-02-12 04:24:11

#14

colgas101: Dead man talking; +4|6427|Mackay qld australia

why apologize ? this generation and the last had nothing to be sorry for .I'm 44yo and my mother grew up in the same institutions as the stolen generation(mainly Catholic orphanages)her father had died in ww2 .
most of the children in these places had come from the outback qld and nt from missions the Aborigines had visited ,they stayed while the missionaries gave out free food(and tried to convert them to Christ amongst other things)and while there was free food they had kids then when they got bored they went walkabout leaving the extra kids behind they knew they couldn't feed them on the road
the missionaries were not set up to look after these kids so they sent them to orphanages on the coast.
if the parents returned up to years later they just did the same never asking about their other children
So is it a stolen generation or a abandoned generation.
before anyone screams racist i am 1/4 cast myself and I'm not asking for a apology for dragging my people out of the stone age....

i should say sorry for not using spell check before posting but that wasnt the point

2008-02-12 06:28:25

#15

sergeriver: Cowboy from Hell; +1,928|7186|Argentina

Way to go Australia. We should apologize to our aborigins too, oh wait we killed 'em all. GG Argentina.

2008-02-12 21:05:53

#16

Spark: liquid fluoride thorium reactor; +874|7103|Canberra, AUS

colgas101 wrote:
why apologize ? this generation and the last had nothing to be sorry for .I'm 44yo and my mother grew up in the same institutions as the stolen generation(mainly Catholic orphanages)her father had died in ww2 .
most of the children in these places had come from the outback qld and nt from missions the Aborigines had visited ,they stayed while the missionaries gave out free food(and tried to convert them to Christ amongst other things)and while there was free food they had kids then when they got bored they went walkabout leaving the extra kids behind they knew they couldn't feed them on the road
the missionaries were not set up to look after these kids so they sent them to orphanages on the coast.
if the parents returned up to years later they just did the same never asking about their other children
So is it a stolen generation or a abandoned generation.
before anyone screams racist i am 1/4 cast myself and I'm not asking for a apology for dragging my people out of the stone age....

i should say sorry for not using spell check before posting but that wasnt the point

What was the point of posting this twice?

Some people are severely traumatised by this. I think that the government (not the people) should apologise, and have.

The paradox is only a conflict between reality and your feeling what reality ought to be.
^{~ Richard Feynman}

2008-02-12 21:48:19

#17

cospengle: Member; +140|6915|Armidale, NSW, Australia

I think he posted the second time after using spellcheck. colgas, there's an edit function...

Anyway, I think saying sorry is important. I can understand all these people jumping up and down saying "Why should I apologise?". Fair enough, they didn't do anything wrong. But it would help in terms of reconcilliation if everyone supported the government's token gesture. It's not you personally saying you accept the blame, just that you recognise our past government made a mistake and people have suffered because of it.

I agree the apology won't fix all that's wrong, but it does clear the air to a degree and it's a step in the right direction.

2008-02-12 22:02:25

#18

Tetrino: International OMGWTFBBQ; +200|7159|Uhh... erm...

It's good that they recognize and apologize for what their government has done in the past. I wonder when Turkey will do the same regarding the Armenian Genocide.

2008-02-12 22:32:45

#19

Home: Section.80; +447|7276|Seattle, Washington, USA

Adams_BJ wrote:
Why the hell should we say sorry? What did we do?

Spark wrote:
forcibly removing Aboriginal children from parents to 'assimilate' them into mainstream society

2008-02-12 22:52:46

#20

Nappy: Apprentice; +151|6658|NSW, Australia

im not taking part in anything to do with apologies, yeh sure i feel sorry for them but im not apologising

john howard has the same opinion and i agree with it

Last edited by Nappy (2008-02-12 22:53:29)

2008-02-12 22:58:43

#21

RoosterCantrell: Goodbye :); +399|6908|Somewhere else

TheAussieReaper wrote:
Adams_BJ wrote:
Why the hell should we say sorry? What did we do? Why should we apologise for something that happened half a century ago? What is this going to achieve?
Might not mean much to you, but to them it means a lot.

I see adam's point. But I think that everyone knows it's not the current government's fault, and it's merely an attempt to what little now can be done to right the past wrong. It's more of a way to try to NOT deny the past, and not act like nothing happened.

2008-02-13 00:55:09

#22

belldawg: Serial Jay-Walker; +52|6412|Perth, indian ocean

Do we get a public holiday out of this? (sorry if that was inconsiderate)

This apology won't accomplish much, but it's a start. A chance to wipe the slate clean.

2008-02-13 02:10:22

#23

colgas101: Dead man talking; +4|6427|Mackay qld australia

listening to the radio today it was amazing how many people came out with"and now we need to think about compensation"

2008-02-13 02:17:47

#24

some_random_panda: Flamesuit essential; +454|6819

The speech had sorry 3 times!

2008-02-13 02:22:32

#25

cospengle: Member; +140|6915|Armidale, NSW, Australia

belldawg wrote:
Do we get a public holiday out of this? (sorry if that was inconsiderate)

Well some might say it's inconsiderate, but it's very Australian

But actually, it's probably a better reason to have a holiday than some of the other excuses we use.

Nappy wrote:
im not taking part in anything to do with apologies, yeh sure i feel sorry for them but im not apologising

john howard has the same opinion and i agree with it

Yeah, but no one's asking for your's or John Howard's apology. It was the government that needed to apologise, and John Howard as Prime Minister had a responsibility to offer the apology on the government's behalf. He failed in his obligation because he was too proud. Typical north shore snob.

Last edited by cospengle (2008-02-13 02:33:19)

BF2S Forums Finally... "Sorry"

TheAussieReaper wrote:

Spark wrote:

TheAussieReaper wrote:

colgas101 wrote:

Adams_BJ wrote:

TheAussieReaper wrote:

Adams_BJ wrote:

colgas101 wrote:

Adams_BJ wrote:

Spark wrote:

TheAussieReaper wrote:

Adams_BJ wrote:

belldawg wrote:

Nappy wrote:

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