The Stolen Generation

I was recently given a few questions concerning the stolen generation which concerns the Australian Aboriginals loosing their land and children to the new colonizers.

1. The English came in contact with the Aboriginals in 1788, they became familiar with them by keeping their tree bark paintings after Aboriginal ceremonies. In colonizing, the Westerners took land from the Sydney Cove and out and forced Aboriginals out of their homes. In many cases they were killed.
2. When more Britain's began settling into Sidney there was mass confusion among them without a government to run things. So they figured they would simply take land from the Aboriginals and force them to move. During this the Indigenous people contracted diseases such as Smallpox, measles, Influenza, etc. The Europeans used this new land by cutting down trees and building up their civilization, also by bringing non-native animals which also destroyed the environment.
3. The Stolen Generation movement began in 1909 which was run under the Aboriginal Protection Board (APB). The Idea was to apprehend all non full-blooded Aboriginals and take them under white culture. With a great number of children gone, the full-blooded Aboriginals were predicted to just die out because at the time they were seen as an inferior race. The children were believed to be servants and slaves in the future to work for the Britain's, when in fact they were forcibly removed because the Aboriginals were thought to be unfit parents.
4. People must also remember this doesn't affect only the Aboriginals who lost, the children have also suffered. Eventually, many children learned of their Indigenous heritages and were also furious of what happened to them. Out of the frustration from the accounts of abbuse, these children have led to a life of running away to becomming alchoholics, violent, and lead to an early death.
5.  Currently, there are people still looking for children in an attempt to bring them all back home. Not just for the families sake, many of these children are phycolodgicaly, verbally, and sexually abbused and end up hitting rock bottom in adulthood. The matter of finding the right children is a situation too, because now they are mixed up with the other races and now they can't identify the right children. Plus, this cycle is still going on today because now when the stolen generation has kids, they can't decide wheather to parent them the new world way or the Aboriginal way, which ends up having thoes children removed by welfare agencies too.
6. For an apolodgy to the Aboriginals, I would tell the Prime minister that these people have lived here for thousands of years and have probably learned more about the land than the Australians. These people have lived off the land, taken good care of their children, and promoted a rich culture among themselves. The original reason behind the Stolen Generation was to eliminate the Aboriginals because at the time they were seen as inferior by the settlers and only occupying land. You could ask nearly anyone and they too will think it was a horrible act in history. Having to hold off a well deserved apolodgy such as this only makes you look worse, if this is to preserve dignity in Australia I honestly don't see the harm in saying "I'm sorry" and paying reparations to them would do.

Technology running us

I recently read an article which focuses on our over obsessive use of technology making it harder to enjoy vacationing. Because when traveling, we spend too much time focusing on mobile devises and other technology. The writer wants us to take in the enjoyment and memories that are better taken through your own eyes, and not a camera lens. We originally think to use these devises only for a few pictures and phones for emergencies. When in fact we forget the addiction we have on them back home.

I myself just recently went on a road trip with my family through the deep south, and all throughout the trip my dad would constantly make fun of me and my brother for looking down at our phones too much. I felt he was being hypocritical at the time due to his tens of thousands of digital camera shots of every little detail. But in a way, I sort of both agree and disagree with him because on my behalf I was just killing time on the road because there wasn't much I was missing that I haven't seen, mostly just bayou swamps, highway trees, and thousands of houses on stilts. But if it wasn't for will power I wouldn't have seen the nightlife of famed cities, popular hot spots, tasted great food, and noticed the thousands of Waffle Houses that are spread throughout the south (In all my life I've only seen one in Wisconsin and the buisiness didn't look too good).

After reading this I better understand now that we need to be cautious in letting the time we use on our tech. not takover the time we appreciate our trips. If we can't resist using the technology with us, we should at least leave it back at the hotel. Also, we could leave our chargers home and only use devises in emergencies to preserve energy.