Philip Steenkamp: 'Sorry' isn’t enough; action is what makes apologies meaningful

  • 📰 VancouverSun
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 38 sec. here
  • 2 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Quality Score:
  • News: 18%
  • Publisher: 61%

Canada Headlines News

Canada Latest News,Canada Headlines

Apologies have been on the minds of many these days with the July visit by Pope Francis to Indigenous communities across Canada to deliver a formal apology for the evils of the residential school system.

Yet against those evils, an apology seems inadequate. How can words alone atone for a genocidal effort to erase cultures, languages and spiritual identity, and for the legacy of multigenerational pain that residential schools inflicted on Indigenous peoples?Nearly all of us have first-hand experience with apologies — receiving and giving them. And we’re pretty good at recognizing fake ones — the “I’m sorry if anyone was offended by what I said”s.

But when it comes to historic wrongs, apologies are a relatively recent practice by our federal government. It was only in 1988 that Prime Minister Brian Mulroney apologized for the internment of Japanese-Canadians and the confiscation of their property during the Second World War. And just last month, the Prime Minister apologized to the Black members of the No. 2 Construction Battalion, and their families and descendants, for the racist treatment they faced before, during and after the First World War.Yet some cringe at the thought of the Canadian government apologizing at all, let alone for a wide range of historic wrongs. They try to argue away the harm, minimize the damage and grasp for straws to justify terrible atrocities.

Source: Education Headlines (educationheadlines.net)

 

Thank you for your comment. Your comment will be published after being reviewed.
Please try again later.

Give us millions so we can blow it

Actions? Aren’t thoughts and prayers enough? Have a little faith…

oh, fook off already.

We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

 /  🏆 49. in CA

Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Woman Shames Company Who Increased Their Offer By Just 33 Cents After She Explained Why She Can’t Take Such A Low OfferWoman Shames Company Who Increased Their Offer By Just 33 Cents After She Explained Why She Can’t Take Such A Low Offer Shames Company
Source: boredpanda - 🏆 18. / 72 Read more »

STINSON: Leylah Fernandez returns to action after two-month injury layoffLeylah Fernandez says she has discovered she isn’t very patient, which suggests the rain delays upon her return to competitive action probably weren’t that…
Source: calgarysun - 🏆 63. / 52 Read more »

Enough is enough: Hockey Canada scandals another reminder big changes needed to end sexual violenceKathleen Finlay: Parliament needs to take a wider look at the damaging effects of non-disclosure agreements. That starts by listening to victims who have been re-traumatized by NDAs that take their voices from them. cdnpoli (subs)
Source: TheHillTimes - 🏆 11. / 79 Read more »

Chinese court rejects appeal in high-profile #MeToo caseBEIJING (AP) — A Chinese court rejected an appeal Wednesday from a woman seeking an apology and damages in a high\u002Dprofile case from the country’s short\u002Dlived…
Source: OttawaCitizen - 🏆 21. / 68 Read more »