Dearest Foxy,

So ...... are you saying that there may be no evidence of something, in many cases, and so we should believe ? One could reply, with equal sense, 'Or not believe.' i.e. we would SUSPEND belief until we found a bit more than an incredibly sincere and tearful story.

Even Burnside would know that, without evidence, no matter how it has disappeared, fire, theft or whatever, it would constitute 'no evidence', of the 'My dog ate my homework' type, in front of a judge. She would throw it out and maybe caution the lawyers for wasting her time. And why not ?

Frankly, I don't believe that. My late wife simply applied for her file and was given access to it with no delay. There were quite a few surprises, but much that made sense of her early life, and just before. So it would go for pretty much everybody, or at least all Indigenous people, who also wanted to have a look at their files. Government agencies keep files, mountains of them. And I think Burnside would know that.

If it would be too painful for people to even look for their files, then what are we asking ? That, on say-so, they get compensated ? After all, that's what this is all about, isn't it ? Get the files. End of.

Nobody likes to admit that their parents, especially their mother, was neglectful. But it's happened. It's still happening: when coppers pick up a kid from the streets at 3 a.m., take her home but can't find anybody sober enough to take care of her, and spend the rest of the night going to relatives' houses trying the same, then there may well be an element of neglect.

I was talking to a retired copper friend who used to have to go out to sort out DV and child neglect cases: he said that they could have put the police car on auto-pilot and it would have found its way, the same places came up so often.

[TBC]

[continued]

There's talk of a new 'Stolen Generation'. But now, in 2017 ? Where's the horrible white men in white coats ? Some deliberate policy of ripping children from the arms of loving mothers ? Any evidence ? Could some current child neglect be very much home-grown ? Inter-generational and home-grown ?

And if the causes for it now are similar to those in the past, then is it possible that there might have been, I don't know, the odd rare case of child neglect back then ?

Love anyway,

Joe

Dear Joe,

The fact remains an apology was made by our government
to the Stolen Generation and that in itself is an
acknowledgement. There must have been enough documented
evidence on record for this to have occurred. The fact also
remains that our former PM John Howard would not make the
apology because he feared that there would be a rush of
compensation claims. The fact remains that many Aboriginal
people can be, and have been traumatised by having to face
white man's justice because they have to relive the terrible
past experiences. Why do you think so many rape cases used to,
and still do, go unreported?

Still despite all the information that this discussion has
attempted to provide for you you still keep on with the same
old denials. Fair enough. That is your right.

A democracy requires its citizens to make informed choices.
If citizens or their representatives are denied access to the
information they need to make these choices, or if they are
given false or misleading information, the democratic process
may become a sham. It is therefore important that the media
not be censored, that citizens have the right of free speech,
and that public officials tell the truth - no matter how
painful it may be.

See you on another discussion.

cont'd ...

There's a very interesting article about Syd Jackson
the famous football player in The Herald Sun that's worth
Googling. I'll give the link but you may have to be a
subscriber to read it. Anyway it's worth a Google.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/syd-jackson-says-he-doesnt-know-his-real-name-or-his-birthday-and-had-to-fight-to-be-recognised-as-an-australian/news-story/5e5f7c514bd95e3ca343b0d9760caa27

Dearest sweet Foxy,

You suggest: " ..... all the information that this discussion has attempted to provide .... "

'Information' ? Do you mean 'assertions' ? What information do you refer to ?

And surely you're not so naïve that you would hang an entire policy on the words of a politician, even a Prime Minister ? I don't believe it. I think you're pulling my leg :)

One crucial aspect of the Enlightenment has been the development of the 'scientific method', of establishing a theory or whatever only on the careful basis of evidence, testing, validating or invalidating hypotheses - but above all, relying on replicable evidence.

Of course, we can't replicate events such as the mythical RPF story, so if anything, we need MORE evidence, more data, more 'information' than we would if we just replicated the myth. As one of your videos tried to demonstrate, it is possible for a trained athlete, with a team of supporters, and regular meals, etc., to walk at least part of the way along the Fence, and video it for 'absolute' proof. But this is, in some ways, neither here nor there; just because something CAN be done, doesn't mean that it WAS done.

The archetypical case here is the Kon-Tiki Expedition: in 1947, a group of Scandinavians sailed a balsa raft from Peru to Polynesia, to prove that it could be done. Of course, then they concluded that it WAS done: that Polynesians were actually South Americans. The problem came a few years later when a Frenchman sailed successfully the other way, to demonstrate conclusively that South Americans were actually Polynesians.

So, evidence please. Or give me a lobotomy, so that I can enthusiastically believe without question.

Love,

Joe

Dear Joe,

The apology was a historic day. Through one direct act
Parliament acknowledged the existence and the impacts of
the past policies and practices of forcibly removing
Indigenous children from their families. And by doing so
has paid respect to the Stolen Generations. For their
suffering and their loss. For their resilience. And
ultimately for their dignity.

There are so many biographies of the Stolen Generations
that can be Googled on the web. Dr Lowitja O"Donoghue is
another one worth mentioning. Biographies are a revealing
in depth account of people who share their experiences,
people who have reached a stage of their lives where they
can look back and reflect. Through revealing in depth
accounts they share their lives - of beginnings and
challenges, landmarks and turning points. In so doing they
provide us with an invaluable archival record and a unique
perspective on the roads we, as a country, have travelled.