Fragony on 13/2/2008 at 15:01
Quote Posted by Thirith
So again: if your country still has some sort of profit from something it did in the past at the cost of some other country, would you say that your country has no responsibility to acknowledge this and act on it whatsoever? (How exactly it should act is a different question.)
As far as your notion of a "complete depoliticisastion of history" is concerned: perhaps we don't mean the same by politics, but I don't think there is such a thing as "depoliticised history". History, its representation, and present attitudes towards it are *always* political to some extent.
We are taking enough responsibility and doing enough, I am paying enough at least don't know what they do with it though. And of course there is such a thing as depoliticised history' you get that when you remove politics. Go to the Congo and talk about the belgium and hands, they have heard about, know an old lady who has seen it. But not so much more.
;edit
ercles on 13/2/2008 at 23:38
As Kevin Rudd pointed out yesterday, the stolen generation continued right up to the 70's. Considering how many baby boomers there are, it is fair to say that this did occur in many Australians' lifetime. As well, there are still some politicians around now who were politicians when it was still going on.
Regardless of whether or not you think you could make an apology 100% sincerely, surely if they're asking for one, we're obliged to make an effort to give one...
xxcoy on 13/2/2008 at 23:49
Quote Posted by SD
Holocaust, yes. Everything else, not so much.
[CENTER]
_____________________
I
so much apologize for any war any of my (surely widely-scattered all over "the old world") ancestors over the ages fought so far.
I also apologize for them not apologizing for it and not making their grandchildren's children apollogize and I deeply hope, they'll
never ever not apologize again after fighting or thinking about fighting for or against anything in the future.
Your turn, America, England, France, Russia, Serbia, Vietnam....
_____________________[/CENTER]
Ontopic: I think it was a good gesture, essential or not.
xxcoy on 14/2/2008 at 01:55
Slaughtered only for "scientific (ab)use". Not only Japan still insists on going on with it.
Most frustrating is that some species are put under protection today but going to be extincted by their genetical induced diseases for there are not enough of them to keep their gene pool diversified enough to avoid that.
"Forgetting the wars" was never an issue here and as far as I can tell won't be in the next generations. But growing up in a constantly maintained "climate" of well-cultivated guilt makes you kind of tired of it after 30 years - especially if you never raised a hand against anyone.
BTT. ;)
jstnomega on 14/2/2008 at 02:02
Soon, if not the case already, they'll be running State approved casinos & all you non-aborigine Aussies will wish you were so fortunate. Leastwise, that's how it's played out here in The States.
Muzman on 14/2/2008 at 02:14
Only really works if you don't have pretty much wall to wall state approved gambling already, I'd think.
sparhawk on 14/2/2008 at 08:46
Quote Posted by SD
Now all we need is for the Germans to apologise for World War II! :laff:
Why?
a flower in hell on 16/2/2008 at 01:09
Why would you apologize for something you didn't do? Not only is it meaningless and puerile, but it's dishonest. It's pretty damn impossible to offer a sincere apology for something totally outside your control.
If someone's great-grandfather killed or enslaved my great-grandfather, I wouldn't have any problem with them so long as they didn't try to kill or enslave me.
flexbuster on 22/2/2008 at 22:23
The reason is that it's not the individual apologizing, it's the nation apologizing. If a nation, as an entity, does something, then it's perfectly logical for it, as that same entity, to apologize for it later. It's not as if it's a personal apology, or at least it shouldn't be.
Of course you could say "but the nation as it is now isn't the same entity as the one it was before", except you could say the same about a person who's changed drastically and still apologizes about things they've done before.
