Apologies to the LGBTQ+ Community: Is It Really Necessary?

[scarlett]

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made headlines by delivering an emotional filled apology to all members of the Canadian LGBTQ+ community for past discrimination and wrongdoing they endured. People around the world are praising Trudeau for his act of bringing awareness to the decades long struggle the LGBTQ+ community has faced against oppression at the hands of their own governments.

Today, we offer a long overdue apology to all those whom we, the Government of Canada, wronged. We are sorry. We hope by acknowledging our failings we can make the crucial progress LGBTQ2 people in Canada deserve. We will continue to support each other in our fight for equality because we know that Canada gets stronger every single day that we choose to embrace diversity - Trudeau

Some are wondering when (or if) other nations that have historically oppressed this community will also acknowledge their wrongdoings. However, others are questioning why apologies for past wrongs is necessary. Does apologizing really make a difference? Some say we should let the past stay in the past and it makes no sense to apologize for things others in the past did. This is the notion that I am addressing in this myTake.

I believe Canada is ahead of the game when it comes to gaining equality for all historically oppressed minority groups but it doesn't hurt to acknowledge that mistakes were made in the past. By acknowledging those mistakes, it shows a big step in the right direction and may even help other nations follow suit in giving their LGBT communities those basic rights that are still missing in much of the world.

Here is a brief excerpt of his speech.

As an example of one thing Trudeau is apologizing for, apparently "the government introduced legislation to expunge the criminal records of those convicted of having consensual same-sex activity. Canada decriminalized homosexuality in 1969, yet records of the convictions remain. The bill earmarks 4 million Canadian dollars ($3.11 million) over the next two fiscal years to carry out the destruction of these criminal records.

Trudeau also announced an agreement had been reached in a class-action lawsuit for 110 million Canadian dollars ($85.80 million) to be paid out to former civil servants and members of the military who lost their jobs because of their sexual orientation. A ban on lesbian and gay military service persisted until 1992." (taken from this news article).

I agree that it is unacceptable for members of the LGBTQ+ community to continue to carry around criminal records simply because of who they love! Actions like this can go a long way towards helping individuals reconcile with the Canadian government for the hatred they experienced in the past when Canada was not so LGBTQ+ friendly. It is also a big step towards healing. And since many of those people who experienced that discrimination are still alive today, I say apologizing IS necessary! I would also love to see more countries follow suit, acknowledge their wrongdoings, and continue to strive for equality.

What do you think about this? If you are not Canadian, do you feel your country should follow Trudeau's footsteps? Share your thoughts below. ❤️💛💚💙💜

[truthbeknown]

Canadian here, and I fucking hate JT!!! Ok, the apology thing is for anyone who was fired or denied employment in any level of a Canadian Government job, including RCMP, Military, Parliament, and even municipal levels simply because you were gay. I fully support any sexuality, and therefore if you were fired or denied employment simply because you are gay, then yes, you should get an official apology. What I don't agree with is the possibility that the Canadian government may be open to or obliged to financially compensate those people in the same regard as Omar Khadr or Abdullah Almalki, Ahmad El Maati and Muayyed Nureddin were. I highly doubt any monies would be in the millions of dollars, but this still could cost tax payers in the millions depending on how many there are and how far this goes. Paying people out is not fair because other employment opportunities existed, plus, there was no guarantee they would have stayed there or possibly had been fired for legitimate reasons anyways. This is just more proof that Liberal mentality is a mental disorder saying that just because you are gay you are automatically repressed and therefore a victim and you should be automatically compensated for by everyone else. Socialism and wealth redistribution one "sorry" at a time.

[USA1960]

truthbeknown - You are a wise man Sir.

[Anonymous]

Nah, there was never a lgbq massacre so what is there to be sorry for?

If it's the bullying then fat people need an apology too

[QooLipBite]

Exactly 😂😂😂

[RachelleDraws]

Ever heard of the holocaust? LGBT+ people were killed in that. Many other mass shootings have happened too. Look it up.

[QooLipBite]

@RachelleDraws don't be dumb. There weren't genocides on a mass scale that SPECIFICALLY target LGBT+, they were just a small inclusive group. NEITHER were they politically motivated by governments.

[RachelleDraws]

@QooLipBite LGBT people have been targeted and thrown into gaol. Police would raid gay bars and do this. MAnd many LGBT people have been bashed, assaulted or raped due to their sexuality. ass genocides for LGBT would be a lot harder than people of a different race, as LGBT people do no look different from heterosexuals, but this doesn't mean it hasn't happened, genocides towards gay people are happening right now in Chechnya. Many gay men are abducted, tortured and killed. And there are countries you can get the death sentence for being homosexual and many others (mainly in Africa) you are put in gaol, some places, for life.

[QooLipBite]

@RachelleDraws in case you've lost the plot, this is talking about an apology for Canadians and the Canadian community. YOU are referring to bizzare minuscule events that are happening FAR in the third world countries, something that the Canadian GOVERNMENT is NOT responsible for. The question still stands. "What is there to be sorry for"

No politically motivated massacre was carried out against homosexuals in Canada.

[Opinion Owner]

Thanks for mho

[hellionthesagereborn]

Nope, its moronic. Did he do those things? No. Did the current generation do those things? No. Does the current generation carry the sins of their forefathers on their back and thus have an obligation to prostrate themselves to people who have not been adversely effected by these things? No. So why make the apology? The irish where forced to the America's against their will as "indentured servants"(i. e. slaves in all but name), they where discriminated against, worse then blacks early on actually as blacks where considered more agreeable and more resilient to the heat. Does the current generation owe us an apology? No. They did no wrong, we did not experience this discrimination so we where never wronged, and they did no wrong. An apology is pandering, but more importantly its instilling a victim complex and a sense of entitlement to people who have not really been effected. Are their some individuals who do wrong and have discriminated? Sure, but those are individuals, why would we hold an entire generation, or an entire country accountable for the actions of an individual? This again, causes a victim complex and a sense of entitlement which creates inequality. That's why you have the controversy where a Christian baker, believing that gay marriage went against his religious beliefs, is being sued and punished for not doing what a gay couple felt he should do, felt they where "owed". Meanwhile the man had been there baker for years never having issue with their sexuality only with the marriage as he believed it was between a man and a woman yet his rights did not matter, the rights of the LGBTQ community mattered more. That's why when a gay coffee shop owner discriminated against a group of Christians by kicking them out of his coffee shop simply because he found out they where Christian, no one batted an eye. We have now set a precedence that LGBTQ entitlments trump other peoples rights. That is very very dangerous. So no, you cannot treat people as equals by discriminating against others, by placing others on a pedestal which Trudeau did. We have all been wronged at some point in history, their is not a single group that has not been discriminated against, not a single group that has not discriminated, by acting as if one where many, by assigning group guilt we are effectively ensuring that this new group gains enough of a protective status to start discriminating themselves. Focus on the individuals actions, do not assign them to the group.

[lord_chilled]

Damn right. This.
Couldnt have said it better myself. This needs to be reposted wherever someone comes along with some entitled victim complex.

[hellionthesagereborn]

@lord_chilled Thank you!

[lord_chilled]

Np, this was spot on

[meowcow]

The apology is meaningless, and he is shedding crocodile tears.

Why would an LGBT person even give a shit about an apology?

Here's the reason why they should not care:
1. The LGBT community today were largely not even alive when the government was cracking down on them. Millenial LGBTs have not experienced any of the issues for which the gov't is apologizing for.

2. The actions to crack down on LGBT were done by the state... Canada. Canada is not a person... it is essentially a corporation with unlimited continuity. Yesterday, the PM was Harper. Today it is Trudeau. This means that Trudeau played ZERO part in the LGBT crackdown back in the 50s-60s. In fact, he wasn't even alive himself. So why would anyone care about Trudeau's apology for an action that he played no part in?

[RachelleDraws]

I give a shit about it. He's apologising on behalf of what other people have done. You don't understand what it feels like to have people say awful things about you for something you cannot control.

[meowcow]

@RachelleDraws

"He's apologising on behalf of what other people have done."

That's exactly the point. He is apologizing for what OTHER PEOPLE have done.

If a person on the street randomly punches your great great grandmother in the face back in the 1960's, and then a random stranger apologizes to you in 2017, even though that person didn't throw the punch... even though you weren't even born yet... for some reason, you give a shit? Give me a fucking break.

What exactly do you give a shit about?

Please stop following the sheeple.

[RachelleDraws]

I don't know if you know this, but homophobia still happens. I experience it regularly.
And the scenario you've given is unrelated. Being punched isn't the same as being fired from your job or sent to gaol for something you can't control.
For example, in Australia, we have something called 'National Sorry Day' which is a day to say sorry for the "Stolen Generation" in where mixed-race Aboriginal children were forcibly separated, from their families in the marring them off to white people interest of turning them into white Australians. In 2008, then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd gave a speech about this saying sorry. This stopped sometime in the 1970s. Trudeau is doing the same thing. He's officially apologising for something that happened in the past. It is something that is needed and appreciated.

[meowcow]

@RachelleDraws

You must be very gullible then. I guess if insincere apologies make you feel better, then good for you. At least he has tricked a few idiots.

No logical person would ever believe that Trudeau's tears are real or sincere. How could they be? He played absolutely no role in what he is apologizing for. He was probably thinking of his pet dog that ran away as a kid, in order to muster up the tears during this fake apology.

[meowcow]

Also, if you look at the chain of other messages below, you'll see that everyone else thinks the apology is fake, unnecessary, and insincere. Except you.

[musicbrain5]

What's more necessary than an apology is acknowledgement of wrongdoing in the past. So to me, the apology itself is not necessary. The most important thing is recognizing that there was discrimination, oppression, abuse, etc against them (especially in the military). For all I know, this could be just another empty apology made by the government, like the one Harper did when he "apologized" for the treatment of First Nations children in residential schools.

I'm Canadian, and I know for a fact that we are really bad at acknowledging our history and the truth about things that have happened in our past. The history classes in schools just gloss over negative topics like they're no big deal, or omit them completely from the curriculum. I'm not a fan of Trudeau, but I'm glad he has brought this issue to the forefront. Now it's time to move forward and not make the same mistakes again.

[scarlett]

I agree, which is why I mentioned several actions that are being taken in regards to wrongdoings of the past (such as expunging the records of LGBT people who were convicted of engaging in same-sex relations before homosexuality was decriminalized and also the agreement that was made with military members and civil servants who lost their jobs because of their sexual orientation) to show that at least it's more than just talk and the government is actually trying to do something.

[Bananaman177]

You know what? Life is really tough and really hard and everybody just tries their best and for most people most of the time, their best is never good enough and then they die.

So if anything, EVERYBODY owes EVERYBODY an apology, and all these fucking little victim groups need to seriously stop trying to monopolize victimhood. Everybody has been hurt and nobody likes it, and it's not fair to anyone.

And if you feel like you've been hurt MORE than everybody else, that should make you more protective and caring and sympathetic, if you use your pain as an excuse to just spread more pain, then you don't deserve any sympathy from others, plain and simple.

I see way too many of these victim groups using their victimization as an excuse to be hurtful and hateful and hostile about everything all the time for no fucking reason.

[D_Bone_Steak]

Your media is saying people around the world as if everyone is agreeing. This happened at least a day or so ago and all I remember is people making fun of him for it. Along the lines of "what a virtue signalling cuck boy" if I remember correctly. But we already knew that, Trudeau is where he is by riding the 3rd wave intersectional feminist movement wave.

I suggest you go on youtube and search the event... watch people's videos on it. Pay close attention to the likes to dislikes ratio on the videos praising him compared to the ones making fun of him... pay attention to who's bothering to even make the majority of videos about it.

Most of the world are laughing at his virtue signaling ass if they even heard about it. I'm not even trying to be funny by saying that.

[D_Bone_Steak]

Let me also add that you'll have a hard time even finding anyone that is against the LGBTQRUSTUVWXYZ community... just how he's virtue signaling and acting like that... gay guys think he was pathetic.

[RachelleDraws]

When I was little, I was relentlessly bullied for my sexuality. I would hide in my room and cry. I didn't want to be a lesbian. But that's just how I was. Hearing something like this warms my heart. I still feel insecure about my sexuality, that I won't be accepted. I normally bury this deep down, but it always pops up when I'm meeting a new person, I worry that they will turn on me when they find out my sexuality, as others have before. I know that not everyone was like this and that those people may not feel like they need to give an apology, but even hearing it from people I know would never say things like that, them apologising on behalf of other people makes me feel better and more accepted.

[Sara413]

If it was an empty apology then I would say it's pointless, and even harmful in that it just let's people be the good guy without actuslly having to do anything.

But that wasn't the case here. Along with the apology was acknowledgment of the complicity of the government in oppression, the introduction of a bill that removes the remnant legal tools of oppression, and a settlement for those whose lives were destroyed.

I don't much care for Trudeau, but he's on the right side of history with this and I give credit where it's due.

[pamela147]

I think the love they feel is no different then any other love, but is different from the normal. Everyone should respect who they are and what they feel, you don't have to love what they do or agree, I think the LGBT community needs to understand that this isn't only happening to them, they are not alone, you don't need to get marry to show someone you love, that is just a paper and a ring. There will always be people that will love your or hate you no matter what. Is not a country issue is a world wide issue. Love yourself and who is around you, no matter what.

[lord_chilled]

I dont know if this guy is a naive little kid at heart (in which case he shouldn't be running f*cking country) or if he is just another snake in a suit.
Politicians in tears, what a joke! Crocodile tears, thats all it is. He may look convincing, but i dont trust the guy. He seems to be maintaining face and the sheeple eat it up.

Not from Canada, but definitely disappointed that any developed country would have a guy like this as a leader.

Im sure the real atrocities that lgbt people faced were ling before this guy was born. What experience does he have to apologize for or feel emotional about to cry for.

I dont think any nation should apologize. Treat everyone with basic respect, give everyone equal opportunities in life. Thats the best action to take rather than these phony, fake apologies

[ladsin]

I don't care about apologies, although they are nice. I care about what we're doing in the here and now, you can apologize until you're blue in the face, but unless you're actively supporting equal rights I won't give two shits about your apology.

For me it's like our current president (trump) saying he was the party of the LGBT community then picking a VP that was for electroshock torture of the gays.

[bloodmountain1990]

Mike Pence is such a weirdo. He refers to his wife as Mother and won’t eat dinner with someone besides his wife. As if you can’t speak with another women unless it’s sexual or something.

[bloodmountain1990]

But I agree actions speak louder than words.

[ladsin]

@bloodmountain1990 yeah, he's certainly an interesting fellow, this whole administration drives me pretty crazy, and not because I'm liberally minded (liberal libertarian) but just because they're all so awful, I don't understand how this all came to be.

[ladsin]

There are plenty of decent Republicans that even though I may disagree on certain issues I would still find to be respectable... but this is just a shit show

[bloodmountain1990]

Yeah I'm liberal, but i vote for the person and their policies, not based on what party they're with. I think this administration has gone way beyond left or right, although we are super divided, but more or less being a good person. You don't have to be a liberal to know that racism and greed are bad.

[ladsin]

@bloodmountain1990 It's asinine the things that good, honest, and moral people are saying in defense of this orange monster, I really can't understand it, although to be honest if I was 5 years younger I'd probably be with them

[bloodmountain1990]

Yeah I hate to say it, but at this point I don’t think there’s anything Trump can do that’ll change his supporters minds about him. He’s mocked disabled people, bragged about sexually assaulting someone, said blatant racist shit and top of many other things and they still say so well he speaks his mind, tells it like it is, he ran a business. It’s not even the fact that he’s a republican, despite I strongly disagree with Republicans. But the fact that he’s. a mere piece of shit.

[bloodmountain1990]

I’m even baffled that Trump has a strong Christian Conservative voting base. Maybe it’s because of Pence or the fact that they’ll blindly vote for anyone with an R next to their name.

[WTFliberals]

Every sane person knows that Justin Trudeau is cuck !!!
He gave millions for convicted terrorists
He made half his cabinet of women... why? he said its 2015 !!!
He apologizes for anything PC related.

I don't have any respect for him.

[InTimoreDei]

Me neither. Such a pathetic cuck...

[BobMonster]

Yes, I would like to respect him so much, but he just makes it impossible.

[sawno]

People need to stop bowing and apologising to that community in general if they make unreasonable demands. By doing so they keep encouraging very poor sjw behavior and this movement as a result have weaponized there victimhood to oppress others.

[musicbrain5]

I don't think LGBTQ people are making any unreasonable demands in this particular instance. At least I haven't heard of any in the last couple of days. The apology is politicized for sure, but it's about acknowledging the fact that many Canadians were fired from civil servant or government jobs, or dishonourably discharged from the Canadian Forces because of their sexuality.

[WTFliberals]

Just like these old christian couples who refused to bake for fags.
their store got shut down cause the fags couldn't handle it.

[FakeName123]

It makes no sense. The majority has no obligation to apologise to the minority. The majorities job is it to make a functional society. Once it functions and creates safety and wealth, miniorities will benefit from what the majority created as well.

Apologising essentially downplays the creation of a functional society that made it even possible in the first place for all those people to have an open lifestyle.

[curiousnorway]

I think it would be more effective and better to focusing on the present where people are working on improving people's rights instead. I think it's a good thing people are looking at the past to learn, so they don't do the same mistake again. But what people did in the past isn't what people who lives today is responsible for, because they weren't involved in what happen before their time. It's nothing wrong with apologizing, but it wouldn't make the most sense either.

[luna_love]

yeah there is no need for any of this. we are all equal under the law and that's enough. no need for apologize for something your great grandfather might or might not have done. you are responsible for things you do and say, not for things somebody else has done or said.

[USA1960]

I believe in the old adage, " Live and Let Live". However, I do not " support " that LifeStyle. It goes against my personal and moral beliefs. The LGBTQ Groups have been shoving their " lifestyle " down the throats ( No Pun Intended ) of Heterosexual persons for far too long. and that is total b. s. Apologies? Hell no.

[RachelleDraws]

As a straight person, you have never had to live with the fear of people turning on you or hating you purely for your sexuality. You didn't hide in your room crying, wishing you were a different sexuality then what you were born. And the 'shoving down throats' thing you only experience due to being homophobic. I only argue and/or pester someone about the subject who is directing homophobia towards me, my friends or people I know.

[USA1960]

@RachelleDraws - 1. I'm Proud to be " Homophobic " as your sort likes to dish out. 2. Gays have LONG enjoyed the rights and freedom from beatings and the like, just as any Nationality, Race, or Gender does, yet " yes " all those mentioned, and more are sometimes done wrong on various levels. 3. No, I do not, nor have I ever had to cry in my bedroom over such a twisted ill-logical belief system that I am but what I am, that being a male. I am Heterosexual, and I am an M. F-ing Proud Heterosexual. I offer zero apologies for that. Nor do I offer sympathy for men " thinking that their anything but a male, nor a female with similar twisted views. So take you " Homophobic " name calling ass on down your yellow brick road Dorthy. I will continue to fund Organizations that repel your bizarre and sick thinking, and I will continue to speak the truth and never give into to the perversion of the LGBTQXRS etc idiocracy.

[HandsomeGuy500]

@RachelleDraws Disagreeing with someone's lifestyle doesn't mean you have a phobia. I disagree with pornography, but that doesn't mean I have a phobia of porn stars. I believe that gay people should have the right to be what they want to be and live their lives without being bullied or harassed. But why is it that people like you can't respect other people having a different opinion? Some people hold deeply religious beliefs or they simply disagree based on their conscience. People like you always talk about tolerance, yet I can't help noticing how intolerant you are towards those who don't agree with you. So yes, gay people should have the right to be what they want to be, but they have no right to force their sexuality onto the rest of society. There has to be respect on both sides.

[RachelleDraws]

@HandsomeGuy500
homophobia
ˌhɒməˈfəʊbɪə, ˌhəʊməˈfəʊbɪə/Submit
noun
noun: homophobia
dislike of or prejudice against homosexual people.

[HandsomeGuy500]

@RachelleDraws Ok, cool.

[Peralta]

So they're forcing you to be gay?

[USA1960]

@RachelleDraws - Why would I care for those that live and promote a vile and despicable "lifestyle"? It goes against my moral and humanistic lifestyle and I would never agree to give on "Group" of people any special privileges over another. No, I never had to " hide in my room "blah blah blah. That's because I don't exercise the perversion of homosexuality in all its disgusting levels of existence.

[RachelleDraws]

How does it go against your morals? Homosexuality is neither immoral or moral. You can't define it like that. Homosexuality has nothing to do with morality. To judge if something is moral or not, it has to be something you do consciously and it has to affect someone's well being. An action has to be both conscious and affect well being to judge it as moral or immoral.

[RachelleDraws]

Having said this, I'll provide a few examples:
If I was to do something like, lift my hand, it's a conscious act but doesn't affect someone else's well being. As such it cannot be judged as moral or immoral.
If I was to roll over in my sleep, it would neither be a conscious act or affecting someone else's wellbeing.
If I was to sleepwalk and knock over a glass without knowing and the next day, someone stepped on the glass and cut their foot, although it affected their wellbeing, it was not a conscious decision, so I could not be held morally accountable.
If I intentionally tripped someone, this is both a moral act and affected their well being, as such, I would be morally accountable.
There are reasons this needs to be classified like this, for example, if a volcano erupted, killing millions of people, we couldn't hold the volcano morally accountable.

[RachelleDraws]

Now on the topic of homosexuality. Does homosexuality affect wellbeing? Being a homosexual does not affect anyone's wellbeing. A homosexual couple does not affect anyone's well being, they do not put anyone in danger by being in love. As such, it cannot be judged as being immoral.
Now, is homosexuality a conscious choice? No. It isn't. Regardless if you believe it was due to the environment said person grew up in or their genes, at the end of the day, it's still not a choice. As such, you cannot be held morally accountable.

[BeekidyBop]

In general, I'd prefer an apology that wasn't necessary to no apology when one was needed. In this case I belive that Trudeau's apology was sincere and deserved and I commend Canada's leadership while wishing my own country would take this as a lesson and get with the program.

[BuchitaBuchys]

Yes. Those in power had real affect in the lives of these people. It would be better if those making such policies like openly allowing discrimination like firing just for being gay, or blocking marriage equality, etc to make the apology themselves, but bigots would never do such things.

[Purple_Babe14]

Yeah, because just because someone is different, does not give us the right to judge them. Fucking let them be them, and you be you. What's the point of throwing all this childish ass shade. If you offend someone of the LGBT community just be a grown ass person and apologize.

@Hemlock, I would love to meet your cousin if I had the chance. I would love them no matter who they are, or what they like. This is what I should have said.

[Hemlock]

Thanks and OMG I will tell him to Join G@G. Quincy is hilarious.

[Purple_Babe14]

@Hemlock Lol, kk.

[Purple_Babe14]

Oh I never asked how old he was?

[Hemlock]

Sorry for the wait, he's 14, he'll be 15 in August.

[Purple_Babe14]

@Hemlock awww:( R u sure he's not Bi? Lol (if you get my drift).

[Hemlock]

He's 100% gay lol

[Purple_Babe14]

@Hemlock Damn... lol

[Izumiblu]

It’s cheap and meaningless as it doesn’t actually accomplish anything. Therefore I don’t really care if he apologized or not. I also don’t care if the leader of my country apologizes because it takes not effort and doesn’t do anything positive or negative.

[musicbrain5]

I agree. Apologizing doesn't really mean anything. We can't change the past, we can only acknowledge it and move forward.