![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
denMay 26th was "Sorry Day." It used to be the policy of the Australian Government to remove Aboriginal children from their families and give them a limited education, teach them how to do menial tasks and then "assign" them to a white household to help in the running of that property. Quite often the parents never saw their children again. It was, effectively, the death of the child as far as the family was concerned.
"Sorry Day" is an attempt to get the general population to think about this, and to not necessarily apologise personally, but to feel sorry that it happened, and to acknowledge that it was a terrible thing to do.
Of course, there are bogans who think they have have nothing to say sorry about because they didn't do it. If you were to say to them "Jeez mate, I know you crashed your car but I'm not sorry because I didn't do it, and none of my family did it" they would think you're a bastard.
I'm sorry the government of the day took children away from their families. It should never have happened. I'm sorry Aborigines weren't even counted as citizens until 1960. But most of all, I'm sorry there are bogans who are not sorry.
"Sorry Day" is an attempt to get the general population to think about this, and to not necessarily apologise personally, but to feel sorry that it happened, and to acknowledge that it was a terrible thing to do.
Of course, there are bogans who think they have have nothing to say sorry about because they didn't do it. If you were to say to them "Jeez mate, I know you crashed your car but I'm not sorry because I didn't do it, and none of my family did it" they would think you're a bastard.
I'm sorry the government of the day took children away from their families. It should never have happened. I'm sorry Aborigines weren't even counted as citizens until 1960. But most of all, I'm sorry there are bogans who are not sorry.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 26 May 2004 23:42 (UTC)no subject
Date: 27 May 2004 00:09 (UTC)What a lot of people who say that the government shouldn't be made to apologise for the actions of the past don't realise (or don't Want to comprehend), is that it is the same organisation that was largely responsible. Sure, the 'CEO' might have changed a few times, there might have been a few policy changes, but the company as a whole is still the same one.
That's why Howard not saying sorry is such a spineless thing to do, because he's claiming that he PERSONALLY doesn't need to apologise, however, as a body, the Australian Government DOES have something to apologise for.
Now, when I say sorry to the koorie and torres strait island peoples for the possible actions that my ancestors might have committed, either through inaction, or action, against the culture of their people, and I will continue to be sorry for as long as people remember