I like the use of capitalization in this sentence. There is no need for periods when a capital says enough. So why not put periods in between? I think the point is to keep it as a long running sentence, as something white people, mainly the government, say to themselves over and over to ease themselves. Here are my final thoughts on the text (I'm including it in this annotation as there is no other place): I learned more about Truth and Reconciliation, about the TRC (which I didn't know existed before I read this), and learned more in depth about the actions the government took against the Indigenous peoples. It was also a good read because I was given more examples of how to evoke emotion through writing, how to make the audience picture something in their mind, and how to create and almost visceral like reaction. It was also a good reminder for me that creative writing can break formal, academic rules. No periods, weird capitalization, and so on and so forth.

If they didn't know, why are they fighting so hard to keep this country a colonial state?

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Reminds me of 2020, when everyone was talking about Black Lives Matter and then suddenly it went radio silent. This is a privilege. You cannot do this if you are black, you cannot ignore the injustices you face 365 days a year.

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Very prevalent now when discussing Palestine and Israel.

It's as if they don't actually care to critique the work because they assume being Indigenous, they are not allowed to. They are humans too, and critiquing their work would help them be seen as just as human.

White guilt.

I think this is something worth repeating. Any of us who have not been to residential schools may try to understand as best we can, educate ourselves, and read survivor's stories, but we will never truly relate to or completely understand the trauma that came with being there.

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I can also picture this so clearly in my mind. Excellent writing.

This passage is one of my favourites, I can almost feel the cracker crumbs and the sticky fingers.

This feels particularly prevalent as I am writing this on Truth and Reconciliation day. Truth is the first step.

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I also appreciate this prose, in which short sentences are used to make us feel like there is a beat being taken between each sentence.

I like this style of writing, in which you feel you are there with the writer, taking the same bus as them.

Even though this was written in 1883, this is still how a lot of people view the Indigenous population. Extremely sad.

Based on this line, I assumed this was written much longer ago than it actually was.

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An interesting perspective I hadn't thought of before, as I am white and never had to deal with "choosing a side".

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Also reminds me of how some people stick so stubbornly to "tradition! rah it's my tradition it doesn't matter!", yet we should be careful to not continue to use outdated traditions that harm others.

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I didn't know this!

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This feels relevant in today's day and age, specifically when talking about Palestine or Truth and Reconciliation. People will wear orange shirts without actually thinking about the real truth, or go to Pro-Palestinian protests without understanding the complexity of the situation.

This seems like a common theme - being "woke" but not explaining it to others as a way to feel better about yourself (you know it, they don't) when really we should be sharing in the name of progress.

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This is reminding me of the school's reaction to the protest yesterday and the message the dean sent to the students. They are upset because property was destroyed, yet they are funding Israel, who has destroyed far more property, and killed hundreds of thousands of Palestinian and Lebanese citizens.