If you have not read Nelson's response to Rudd's apology do yourself a favour and check it out. It's a bit of genius.
I read it as follows...
It's always gonna hurt when a kid is separated from their parents.
We are sorry for the pain, but we are not sorry for doing it because it was done in most cases (in all cases that are historically invesitgated) with the best of intentions. The intention was not to destroy a culture, it was to save kids.
Ok sometimes things go wrong even with the best of intentions, we are the first to admit that and we are sorry for any damage that was done. We think that there was not that much damage done apart form the unavoidable pain you felt, in fact in most cases (all cases) the kids was better off in the long run.
But other policies pursued by the left since Whitlam, also with the best of intentions, DID do alot of harm. Sit-down money has produced an aimlessless in indigenous life that has dragged it to 4th-world levels of degradation which would never have occurred under the old tribal ways. The degradation is our fault, not yours. Well actually it's the ALP's fault but heck, we are sorry for the ALP.
The best of intentions they had was to believe that treating people as victims would enable them to be victors. That money-for-nothing would make you want to do something. Hey, what can we say except sorry some white people are so molly-coddled and middle-class that they believe shit like that. Stoopid eh? I tell ya if we had tribal law there's a few c*nts i'd spear is a second but that's beside the point.
Sorry that your culture got short end of the stick, mate. But you gotta admit that the young-uns in your communities see modern culture and covet it as much as our kids do, for better or worse. I guess the best intentions of the Left were to try to isolate you from that. They failed to see it was already to late. That was their mistake. Time waits for no man, black or white.
I personally think it would be patronising to hold you back. Why shouldn't you guys want the benefits of modern culture. After all, modern culture wasn't invented solely by British setters for British settlers and their decendants. It's not white culture. It's kindof a mixture of all new shit all over the world at any one time. Boomerangs, Tribalpainting and the Dreamtime are as much a part of it as anything else. We covet it not. The whole idea is to adapt it your purpose. We should help you to do that. Our ancestors brought it to these shores so the least we can do is help you adapt. We can see now since Whitlam and Keating that if we dangle the image of it in front of you, but encourage you to isolate yourselves from it, then all that anyone gets is misery.
Sorry, there can be no more sit-down money. I think we can aggree that the way forward is for all of us to embrace the realities of the modern world. That reality is jobs in the modern economy. Believe me there are some mornings where i'd rather be spear-fishing in Cape York than running for the tram, but there are great benefits like modern medicine and stuff that dont pay for themselves. We all need jobs, real jobs. Unfortunately the luxury of spear-fishing is mostly reserved for the weekends in the modern day. I'm Sorry for both of us there.
Unless ... If you were a tour guide on the Cape you could fish to your heart's content. Say why dont we set up a little tour company and do just that. I'll rustle up the cash and some pale-faced customers who'd kill for the chance. You teach 'em the ancient ways and they'll love ya for it. And heck, maybe we can make some dosh and put the kids through college. Some people would say that debased your culture. I'd say you can have your cake and eat it too, what'dya say?
Y'know, i had a feeling you blokes were all right.
