Sorry Day
This morning Prime Minister Rudd made history by apologising to the Aborigines for their mistreatment at the hands of the government. It’s been a long, long time coming, and for the past few weeks (once it was confirmed he was actually going to do it) there’s been a sense of excitement and happiness at the gesture. Over on Ravelry, someone suggested that we all change our avatars to say “sorry” for the occasion. I admitted in the thread that while I’m totally on board with the apology, I worried that people would resent my participation since I’m such a new arrival myself. I know people can get very defensive when they think they’re being criticized or judged by “outsiders.” The girls over there were great, and they pointed out that we’re all immigrants here and it shouldn’t matter whether your family in Australia goes back seven years or seventy. I’m a citizen here now, and as a citizen I think it’s right that my government should apologise for what was done in the past.
So there I was, feeling all proud of my government and happy to be here for such a historic occasion… when I made the mistake of mentioning the Sorry Day speech in front of the wrong person. In retrospect I should have known better; this person (while lovely in a lot of ways) has shown herself to be ultra-conservative in the past. She made it clear that she completely disagreed with the apology. “Don’t even talk to me about that,” she spat out. “It’s just going to lead to liability and lawsuits–” I countered with the facts I’d read here. “Actually, the apology doesn’t have any legal impact. They could sue before. Even Tony Abbott didn’t claim that in his editorial in support of the apology this morning…” She didn’t want to hear it. Then she launched into a story about how an Aboriginal group had petitioned the council where she lives (“… and where I pay council rates!”) for the return of a piece of land (“… because some sacred somebody took a piss there once”), and then when they were granted it, sold the property to a developer for millions. “Hey, I’m not going to begrudge somebody with HALF MY LIFE EXPECTANCY the chance to sell out,” I half-joked. She wasn’t amused. And then came the kicker, of course. “Well, for those of us that have lived their whole lives here…” blah blah blah. It was exactly the “You’re not a REAL Australian” argument I’d been dreading. Rather than say something I’d regret, I turned and left.
I’d almost forgotten there were people like that around. Disappointing.
Bex
February 13, 2008 — 1:49 pm
Oh man – i’m dreading arvo tea with my dad on Friday. Lets just say he voted for Howard in the last election…. and has voted for One Nation.
jp
February 13, 2008 — 1:58 pm
Man. I am sorry that you had that experience, but it is evidence why it has taken so long. Like Bex, I know I won’t have this conversation with my mother for the same reason.
Just to point out that I don’t think anyone that agrees with you would worry that you hadn’t lived here all your life.
And I am sure they would have some reason why I didn’t know what I was talking about and I was born and bred here.
kms
February 13, 2008 — 3:17 pm
it amazes me that there are people who think like that still but i think there are lots of them. hopefully they will be shamed into silence by the amount of support for todays events. we’re all immigrants in this place.
Ali
February 13, 2008 — 6:12 pm
Goes to show that just cos she’s lived her whole life here doesn’t mean she’s been paying attention or actually engaging with what’s been happening.
Lara
February 13, 2008 — 10:35 pm
People like that are the reason the apology was so long in coming. But they aren’t in power now, hopefully Rudd will go on as he has started, and the miserable cow will have a lot more things to complain about in future 🙂
missfee
February 14, 2008 — 10:23 am
what a shame to be so narrow minded – we are but the caretakers of this wonderful land and caretakers for the future inhabitants we have no right to claim that sort of ownership whether we have lived here for our whole life or for a week, or if we can trace our roots back here or anywhere else. This is not a local village for local people we are a MULTICULTURAL society – and now well back on track towards reconciling this with the indiginous folk as well as everyone else.
SallyO
February 14, 2008 — 3:56 pm
I also had this problem and being a Pom, I know that my forefathers caused most of the problems. And for that, I’m sorry. But I’ve lived in a remote Aborigine community so feel that in a lot of ways I know more about the problems than an enormous number of Australians. Most decent people though are able to at least come up with some sort of empathy. You don’t have to be Australian, you don’t have to be an expert on Aboriginal affairs. You just have to be a human being who can try to understand in some way the trauma caused in these lives by our ancestors. I think we can deduce that the woman you spoke to was not much of a decent human being.
Kris
February 14, 2008 — 5:10 pm
I spoke to a different lady today. She ACTUALLY SAID that she wished she could trade places with an Aborigine, because they have it so good, what with the government giving them houses and cars and stuff. I said, “You know what? If you were an Aborigine, you WOULDN’T BE ALIVE,” (you silly old 70-year-old IDIOT).
Kris
February 17, 2008 — 8:54 pm
I’m not sure who you’re addressing, Martin, but seeing as this is my site, hey, I never insulted her. The only adjectives I applied were “ultra-conservative” and “disappointing,” and the last was in regards to her attitude towards me, not her attitude towards Aborigines. I have since spoken to a few other people who agree with her, and while I strongly disagree with their point of view, they were able to argue their points without resorting to aggression or condescension.
Anonymous
February 17, 2008 — 8:57 pm
I would like to know when George Bush is going to say SORRY for taking young Americans away from their mothers,wives and children. When will George Bush say SORRY to the communities of New Orleans? Will America be saying to the people of Iraq for pointless destruction and mass murder? You should probably apologise to for the mistakes of your Birth country, before you criticise your adopted country.
Kris
February 17, 2008 — 9:15 pm
WHOA, once is enough there, Anonymous! I deleted the extra three posts.
And yeah, duh, a lot of Americans have been saying sorry for several years now. More than 50% of us voted for the other guy(s). We’re working on it. You think you’re very clever with your little rant, like you’re the first person that’s ever pointed out to me that America’s not perfect? Pffft. You’re barking up the wrong tree, mate.
Kris
February 17, 2008 — 9:23 pm
Two more duplicate posts! Learn how to use a web browser, Anonymous, or I’m going to have to block you until you learn some manners!
Anonymous
February 17, 2008 — 9:54 pm
I pretty sure i hit the nail on the head. Many Australian have felt sympathetic for years. But that didnt mean squat until the Government publicly announced it. So just because “a lot” of Americans have been saying sorry for years(guess what it doesnt mean squat) Why should Australians today be sorry for past mistakes. Are you sorry??? You’ve claimed not to be insulting anyone Hello
“you silly old 70-year-old IDIOT”
Kris
February 17, 2008 — 10:07 pm
The point of mentioning the other woman’s age was to highlight the ridiculousness of her proposition, namely that she’d like to trade places with an Aboriginal person. The average Aboriginal life expectancy is TWENTY YEARS less than a white Australian’s. So basically she’s saying that she’d prefer to be dead. Which is why she’s an idiot for saying that.
And hey, I’m an idiot for feeding anonymous trolls on the Internet. I’m not sure what your point is here. Are you disagreeing with Sorry Day? Or are you annoyed that some commenters here expressed their opinions about someone who does? This is exactly what I meant when I said that some people are able to argue their positions rationally, while others resort to aggression, name-calling, and condescension. I’ve spoken to people who disagree with me and I respect them for sharing their views like a civilized adult. Instead, you hide behind anonymity and try to suppress my opinion with rants about America’s failure to apologize for its own wrongs. Not only are you missing the point; you’re illustrating mine.
Kris
February 17, 2008 — 10:10 pm
You know what? I’m tired and – though I’m sure the other visitors to this site would have LOADS to say on this topic – I’m going to close the thread. I’ve had a rough enough day and I don’t want to spend one more second dealing with dickhead trolls. You successfully stirred the pot, so pat yourself on the back and go to bed.
Anonymous
February 17, 2008 — 10:50 pm
So far the only name calling has been done by you. Theres a reason that every previous government refused to say sorry. The present generation has nothing to be sorry for. You have nothing to been sorry for! Most people under 35 have very little knowledge of what this is about. Again i will ask, Are you sorry??? if so what for?
Have a lovely day
Kris
February 18, 2008 — 7:36 am
Of course. I wouldn’t have made the post if I wasn’t. Let me spell it out: I’m very sorry that it happened. (See what I did there?) And even though I personally had nothing to do with it, I’ve benefitted enormously from the white privilege that such racist policies engender. So yes, as a tax-paying Australian citizen, I’m very sorry for what my government did to their ancestors.
Is that so difficult?