MAN ABOUT TOWN: Sorry - and here's why

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Sorry - and here's why

This post was originally written as a response to a comment made on my blog yesterday, but after this morning, and the pride and joy and sorrow I felt at Federation Square, gathered with so many people and listening to the Prime Minister's apology, I thought it deserved a post of its own.

Anonymous said...

Loved the symbolism of the opening of parliament and really pleased that this will occur from now on.

On the other hand i just don't see why the government should apologise for past matters that i or most Australians today are just not responsible for.

Will the current intervention in the NT - will we be asked in years to come for an apology, i sure hope not.. The dispaire that many aboriginal kids face in those communities has got to stop.

I am sorry but i can't feel a sence of guilt for something i was not responsible for.

Ant
12/2/08 20:27

richardwatts said...

Ant - for me, it's not about 'a sense of guilt for something I was not responsible for'. It's about recognising the pain that others have suffered - in the same way we say 'sorry' to a friend who has lost a loved one. In this case however, it's the pain of several generations of people who were wrenched away, without consent in the majority of cases, from their families - invariably not because of the conditions in which they lived, but because of their race.

I also think that it's appropriate that the Government apologise for its past actions, because those actions were deliberate: the stealing away of half-caste children while the 'darker' children were left with their parents.

It was a deliberate attempt to 'breed aboriginality' out of existence.

To quote A.O. Neville, WA's 'Chief Protector of Aborigines' from a 1937 conference of Aboriginal Administators:

"Are we going to have a population of one million blacks in the Commonwealth or are we going to merge them into our white community and eventually forget that there were any Aborigines in Australia?"

Saying sorry for the forcible removal of Indigenous children from their parents, who were stolen from their families for the specified purpose of ensuring the eventual destruction of the very concept of Aboriginality, seems only fair and just to me - not to mention long overdue, given that the 'Bringing Them Home' report into the stolen generations was released in April 1997.

The full text of the Prime Minister's apology to the Stolen Generations

Today 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 the fathers, the brothers and the 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 Australians.

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 failed.

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, Australia.

Well done, KRudd. You didn't fuck it up. Aww, I think I'm gonna start crying again.

Labels: 2008, history, politics, pride, sorry

9 Comments:

At 13/2/08 14:03, MelbourneGirl said...: exactly richard. what a good day it is.

[dances]

to feel that pride that's been missing for so so long. to acknowledge the sorrow and the injustice. people who use the "we aren't resonsible" argument are so dim, it's such an invalid thing to say. like your example, when you are sorry for another's pain and loss.
At 13/2/08 14:58, David Prater said...: I think though it has to be remembered that K-Rudd is apologising on behalf of the Government - not necessarily everyone else (which is why the argument "I didn't do it" is so spurious anyway).

The majority of people who are sorry have already said so, and for those who don't want to, that's their business.

They can't tell a democratically-elected government not to apologise, however, especially as it was an election promise.

I think deep down the govt. knows they will have to pay compensation eventually, so why not start things off by saying sorry.

Good on K-Rudd for restoring some dignity to parliament, after the J-Ho debacle.

One request however: now we're changing things, can we get rid of the fricking Lord's Prayer from the start of the day's proceedings?

Surely a short indigenous welcome to country could be said every day instead.
At 13/2/08 16:21, Victor said...: I tend towards conservatism in my lifestyle but I too am very happy that this statement has been made. I don't feel personal responsibility for the past but I can scarcely imagine how traumatic it would be to be torn away from your parents and family. Saying we are sorry for what happened is the least we can do.
At 13/2/08 19:07, Anonymous said...: I didn't realise my comment would cause such a reaction, I guess in one way I was speaking for a significant part of the community who don't agree with an apology.

What it did though was give reasons as to why there should be an apology and your reasons are just as valid as mine which state I should not have to bear any responsibility for past government actions. Having said that - the apology was on behalf of the government and of the parliament and not on behalf of the Australian people.

I am certainly not excusing the behaviour of government or church agencies who took away children without consent, but what I find rather annoying is that will all this emphasis on an apology the aboriginal people still face appalling health rates, low education levels and a generally no hope as to where there future lies. This apology won’t help that aboriginal girl in the NT who is being raped or that young man lying in a jail.

Maybe we can start to move on but seeing the reaction to Brendan Nelson’s speech which was just as compassionate I guess divisions still occur. The moral high ground which those that turned there backs on him thought they have certainly didn’t have there hearts open or reconciled to a new beginning.

Ant
At 14/2/08 12:15, Quentin said...: i find it incredible that many Australians are saying "now I feel proud to be Australian." WTF? What did you feel before? Not proud before? Nothing has changed.

Now that we all "feel" better about ourselves, can we actually look at reality such as this case below and there are countless others:

http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2007/s1969275.htm
At 14/2/08 15:44, richardwatts said...: Ant said, "This apology won’t help that aboriginal girl in the NT who is being raped or that young man lying in a jail."

Actually, Ant, I think it will. When one party has been wronged, it's hard to re-establish trust without the other party saying 'sorry' first. Now that that's been done we can move on - with a renewed sense of hope and optimism on both sides.

And no-one is denying that the life expentancy gap between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians is shameful, or that there's a public health crisis in many indigenous communities, etc. The point is, just as you say 'now we can start to move on' and solve such problems together.

The apology meant that we've turned a page in the history books; it IS time for a new start, and that's why there's been so much emphasis upon it.

I hope that makes sense?

And Quentin: I suspect the reason that so many people are saying 'now I feel proud to be Australian' is because previously, under Howard, they - we - felt a sense of shame and anger that our then-Prime Minister wouldn't do what was morally right and simply say 'sorry'.

Now it's been said, that shame and anger begins to fade.

As to looking at realities - the stolen generations are as real as the tragic crime you have linked to. And again, as I said above, now there can be a chance to work together on solving such problems.
At 14/2/08 16:52, Another Outspoken Female said...: When you have stripped a people of all respect, sorry is the first step to regaining dignity. Just think about any friendship when someone's fucked up and it creates a nasty chasm and the longer you leave it, an apology, the harder it gets. All the aggrieved one really wants is acknowledgement that they have been wronged. White Australia has finally realised that saying sorry, really is the first step towards healing. A young girl being raped in NT, to me is a symptom of lack of dignity. Saying sorry yesterday will not stop another girl being raped tomorrow but it is the first step imho,
At 15/2/08 16:13, michael chalk said...: i agree, richard.

Saying sorry from the heart, without making excuses, is the first step to healing a relationship.

i think people who want to qualify the apology have not realised the depth of grief throughout the nations of this continent, or how widespread and aggressive these policies really were.

Also perhaps there's an element of responding mentally rather than emotionally to the whole occasion (?)

thanks, michael
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