Should we apologise for the slave trade?

Question

Here in the UK our government wants to apologise for the British part in the slave trade. I am furious and don't see why we should.
I think if we apologise then they should thank us as it was the British who stopped it.
Also why am I being asked to apologise for some thing my fore fathers did. If this is the case then I think Fred West's Children should apologise for him. It's utter rubbish. I will have no part in it. I am sick to death of white people being told that they are the cause of all wrongs against blacks. The government can get stuffed along with any blacks that feel I owe them a damn thing.

Answer 1

Tell them to appologise for my cat dying also. That way, I can later sue for monitary damages.

Answer 2

The whole reparations, guilt-trip over the slave trade and other alleged issues is a propaganda technique. It's a psychological tool used to force a certain mind control on the populace. Consider that black slaves, are still a reality in various African nations and in the Middle East. Yet, you do NOT hear anyone talking about it.

Furthermore, the percentage of the population that had slaves is about 1%. What's more, current citizens who have ancestry from Africa receive many government subsidies such as affirmative action, government grants, special treatment in schools, etc.

In short, the governments of the UK, and the US want a population that's dominated by thirdworlders. (UK vastly importing muslims, thirdworlders, etc.). The reason is simple. Take a look at Mexico. The leaders of Mexico live like kings and use physical force on the population. When you have a nation dominated by mostly uneducated, poor, unskilled people, that's where the martial law and corporate corruption comes in. The US and UK elites see what the Mexican elites get away with and they want it too.

Answer 3

what the hell do we all know about slavery and the trade. the only thing we know is what the man tells us, it was a terrible thing but as was stated before it is over or is it. i personally thing all governments should apologies but there it stays. how can the white man apologise and was it just the white man that had slaves, i think you may need to check history properley and not be to focused on the black white thing because thats not what its all about, slavery, what you all know about slavery. slavery is still in practice today, there are thousands of disabled persons working in so called help factories manufacturing all sorts of things and being paid pitance for there work, minimum wage doesnt work in these places, so is that not the same thing. re the response you gave to my answer. ime the bigot and ime the stinking liar, where do you get off or are you just trying to start another race war what the hell are you thinking, you asked the question and what you got was opinion back, what did you expect. malcom X to pop up and shake your hand. i dont see people here dissagreeing with you i see a lot of people agreeing with you but saying that they were not responsible and i also stated that i believe that an apologie is in order but not from people that were not involved with it, yet again someone did something wrong but the whole of the white man gets the blame because of the color of our skin, did i actually say i approved of it. no i bloody didnt so now you went and put me on my soap box. so do we now blame all muslims for what a few fanatics did on 9/11 and so, on get real man this is racial hatrid no matter which way you look at it so who is the real biggot, get over yourself and thank your lucky stars that you now live in a world were the majority of people are against slavery and this will make sure that this type of thing will never happen again. and as i said before check your history or just read the answers given to your question. and now 2 days later this guy removes my answers from his other questions mmmmmmmmmm cant take critisism

Answer 4

First off, I want to say that your attitude is rather sad. Secondly, I don't feel that any person alive today should apologize for history, they are not directly responsible. Times, laws, and opinions change. While the British were one of the first countries to outlaw slavery, they do deserve an applause for knowing the difference between right and wrong, and furthermore, having the morals and guts to do something about it. Thirdly, slavery has gone on since the beginning of time and continues to happen. Slaveowners at the time did so only because it was a mean to get rich quick and because they were lazy. Let's not have history repeat itself. I really think that if you had a better attitude about this, you would see that this is no way about trying to get white people to bow down to blacks, but instead a means of putting water on a fire that has been raging for entirely too long.

Answer 5

I have always maintained that I do not apologize for something I did not do. I shall never change my beliefs in this regard.

I understand the political angle, however. Seems people are rather concerned with political correctness.

Since it is not my way to make decided efforts to appease anyone's sensibilities for the sake of being correct - politically or otherwise - I do not support that view.

All people must stop the finger pointing and name calling and all the other foolish behaviors, which from the beginning of time to date, have never and never will do us any good.

We all must grow up. It is about time!

For the record, I am not white!

Answer 6

Guilt is good and useful to the extent that it can compell you do the right thing now and in the future. The value of guilt is lost on some people.

I am blasé about gestures like this because they have no teeth and ARE merely gestures. If the USA had apologized for torture in the past, wouldn't the present administration's recent actions be making a mockery of that apology? That's the point to me: when you just KNOW someone would do it exactly the same if they had to do it over again, they can save their damned apologies for someone more gullible and stupid.

Answer 7

In short, what the problem is that, for years in Europe, America, and Africa, slaves were used for free labor. The problem with that especially in America is that they were heavily abused in the process. With being molested, raped, killed, and dehumanized. I can't speak for Blacks or African decedents in other countries but in U.S. blacks had a direct influence on the U.S. economy and architexture, and landscaping. The U.S. Government, in fact, promised that when slaves were freed after the Civil War that blacks families were entitled to 40 acres and a mule per and never paid up. In fact Blacks in the U.S. were the only Group of people in the world that were not in some way given some restitution for what has happen to them.

I know that the American Natives deserve more than what they received, but they got something. In fact The United States gave some restitution to the Jews in Germany and the Japanese in Japan after WWII but never gave anything back to the African Americans. After African Americans fought and died in the Revolutionary War thinking that if whites got their freedom from England they would too and didn't. After they fought and died in the exploration of the West for whites, after they died to cook and clean and not talk back to the whites. Fought and died for the country to be one and for their freedom during the civil war which we all know that the war really wasn't over until they received civil rights in the United States, which was in the 1970's.

Even to this day Blacks aren't officially allowed to have the Right to Vote. Every so and so years they have to approve a bill that was passed to allow blacks to vote in the US and this year the bill was revisited and it almost didn't pass. Even in the City of DC, the nations capital, which was built by African Americans from the ground up, for free, people feel that they owe blacks nothing. People that feel that because they didn't in slaves blacks there is no need for and apology. I can understand the individual identification that people are applying to this matter. Feeling like "It wasn't me that did it, it was someone else". Well to be honest, it wasn't an individual that caused the problem it was a group of nations. And since those nations still exist, they owe and apology. If your part of that nation, than its part of your responsibility to apologize. The suffering that blacks faced years ago is a direct relationship to the problems that are in our black communities today. With that the problems that your ancestors caused is in a direct relationship with you!

Answer 8

All fault lies with the Dutch...no, it's the Brits...oh, wait, it was in fact the Spanish...get over it! After reading some of the previous responses, it is obvious that the blame (concerning the slave trade, that is) falls in many areas of the world. With that said, however, I'll have to agree with you in saying that the descendants of these wrong-doers should not be held accountable for what took place so many years ago. As far as slavery goes, you're absolutely right, you owe us (Blacks) nothing. Nevertheless, as fellow humans, we must acknowledge at least one thing that we owe to one another--RESPECT.

Answer 9

1. How can we apologize for the actions of other people?

2. Slavery was a default condition of most of the world's population for most of recorded history. When the US and UK participated in it, it was considered a respectable part of commerce. It was the abolishonist movements in the US and UK that created the changes in the world that finally put an end to slavery. Shouldn't someone be congratulating us for ending it instead?

3. If we are forced to apologize and continually pay for our ancestor's involvement in the slave trade, it should open up the doors of many other movements to make people apologize for the centuries of invading each other, enslaving each other, taking each other's lands. It also begs the question of how long must the Germans pay and apologize for their ancestors' actions in the Nazi era.

Answer 10

I Don't feel I should Apologize I didn't do anything wrong considering I was born 100 years after the end of slavery. It is the past, no matter what you cannot change it. just learn from it and move on. things like this just help to further divide the races. Why not move forward instead of continuing harping on the past. And the Blacks of today don't deserve anything because of slavery either, they were not there either. we could all asked for apologies for the past, Blacks were not the only people ever wronged in the world. How can you ever hope to close the racial gap if you don't move forward? Use the past as a educational tool on what not to do again!

I don't buy into the term African American either. American is American period. I don't go around calling myself a European American. this to further divides us in my opinion. Some of my Black friends feel the same way on the African American issue. Who refuse to use the term also. They just consider themselves Americans.

Answer 11

Well I am American but I think that It is ridiculous. I'm fairly certain most nations and most races have participated in slave trade including the black race. Blacks captured and traded slaves. And not all slaves throughout history have been black. In America we have peole from around the world as forefathers it would be hard to say whose were and whose were not slave traders or even whose forefathers were slaves.I will admit if my forefather owned any of your forefathers then perhaps he personaly should apologise to the ones he owned beings as they are all dead now I guess this apology is left to what happens on the otherside.