(10-31-2022, 05:12 AM)PaulP link Wrote:i really don't see why this is such a big deal. People apologise on others' behalf in all walks of life. If your 2 year old clocks the 2 year old next door, do you refuse to apologise ? In court cases involving serious crime, family members of the perpetrator apologise to the victim's family. If your partner gets on the turps and offends someone close to you, you apologise on their behalf etc. Why is this so hard to understand ?
I think it's a fair question to ask Gina if she believes in the same things her father said.
I'd also be more than willing to apolgise for my children's behaviour up to a point where they are of an age that they can understand right from wrong and become reponsible for their own actions.
We can feel a responsibity for those close to us if our actions facilitated their wrong doings or we failed to intervene when we could have.
But I just don't belive we are responsible in any way for the actions of our ancestors.
We have no control over those deeds or actions...and in many cases our own beliefs may conflict sharply with theirs.
We can be sorry that things they were responsible for occurred...but we shouldn't bear the guilt.
It's too complex a situation because in our own ancestry there would have been many 'victims' of racism and abuse.