<html><head></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div><br></div><div>I am not sure it is possible to know of all the bad (or good) things that all of one's ancestors might (or might not) have done (or have permitted to be done). That much is probably true of everyone on the planet, regardless of their (present) ethnicity. But, equally, probably everyone should "do what we can to improve things to the best of our understanding and ability" -- also regardless of their (present) ethnicity.</div><div><br></div><div>Cheers,</div><div>Carl</div><div><br></div><br><div><div>On 06 May 2011, at 06:08 , Dave Sayers wrote:</div><blockquote type="cite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-size: medium; ">I think that one of the contrasts aimed for in the linked lecture, although not particularly well advanced in it, was between apology on the one hand, and constructive acknowledgement of past wrongs on the other hand. So, the former would look like "<i>We're</i><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>sorry for what<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>we</i><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>did" (the criticism being that the second<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>we</i><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>simply no longer exists), while the latter would look more like "<i>We</i><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>acknowledge what<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>our ancestors</i><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>did, and<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>we</i><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>(now) will work to right those wrongs in any way we can". The latter can include a kind of apology, in the same way that you might apologise for someone associated with you and who has caused some offence (apology by proxy); but it also draws a clearer line around the meaning of 'apology' in the purest sense.</span></blockquote></div><br><div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-size: medium; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">--</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">Carl Edlund Anderson</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><a href="mailto:carl.anderson@unisabana.edu.co">carl.anderson@unisabana.edu.co</a></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">O <a href="mailto:cea.unisabana@gmail.com">cea.unisabana@gmail.com</a></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><a href="http://unisabana.academia.edu/CarlAnderson">http://unisabana.academia.edu/CarlAnderson</a></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><a href="http://www.mendeley.com/profiles/carl-edlund-anderson/">http://www.mendeley.com/profiles/carl-edlund-anderson/</a></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">Departamento de Lenguas y Culturas Extranjeras</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">UNIVERSIDAD DE LA SABANA</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">Chía Campus Universitario, Puente del Común</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">Bogotá, Colombia</div></div></div></span></div></span></div></span></span>
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