Should we apologise for slavery?

Question

I don't agree with slavery, but should our prime minister apologise for slavery. Didn't the brits also abolish slavery?

Answer 1

You personally don't have anything to apologize for, since you never enslaved anyone.

The government, on the other hand, either allowed slavery or was complicit in it. Even though the government is staffed by all new people, it as an institution still exists and is the same institution that permitted slavery.

The argument over whether to apologize applies to the government, not individuals. I don't see anything wrong with a government expressing regret about what it as an institution allowed in the past, in less enlightened times.

The whole apologizing thing becomes very, very tricky when you start to talk about reparations. If the government is sorry, is it willing to compensate descendants of slaves? (You know the lawyers will be right there to ask that question first off.) Do we offer to repatriate descendants who want to be? How do we determine who is a descendant and who gets what, exactly? Who do we take it from, to give it to them? Very, very sticky.

Answer 2

No we should not apologise for slavery

This is all part of the PCers and " liberal" agenda to further spread there Power.
This may sound harsh but is TRUE.
Gorbavhev horrifed "liberals" when he finally abandoned Communism.
All the Communists
Socialists
Trotsykists

.Went into the Closets
And came out all "liberal"

Blair
Mandelssohn and their ilk changed to Socialists
However
This was not enough:see how The Windbag went down when he declared:
"Socialism is the most ispired creed ever to be put before Mankind" They then became "Liberals"
But "liberals" with an inspired twist! They would combine the old Commie double -talk with Political Correctness and use this to impose their Will upon the poor sods who were actually doing any work.
The Hard-liners were already with them(because) they thought"Happy days are here again " Noses in the Trough"
And with the supprort of the Middle Class were hoping too get abetter deal
they were in!!

NEXT !
By Pandering to Minorities.
By Pandering to the Workshy
By building up a Civil Service
and Councils.
They would have a Power-Base that no-ne could destroy
They woulda follow 1984 and make Language so meanigless that no-one could object to any thing .
Because Language an meaning would bedetroyed
All the workshy bums would need to do would be to shout:
Racist
Or sexist
And the wleelbarrow full decent taxpayers

MIDDlLE-CLASS! DECENT PEOPLE !
YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND how these peopleHATE YOU!
Hey Dont Dash off1
Get your'grampa's Commodore 64 out and learn Political Correctness
Tune in and learn "some Commie double talktalk_
USE your C64 and baffle a Yale Pofessor!
Any one think of a name?
"silent majority,Blow you're own trumpet"
American "liberals" find out how tacit agreement with Bush is C**p"
has upset the French,but not in the way you think!
Even better!......thought you spoke French ?
Why didn't you tell him
Alors,Jean...C'est Jean.

NOW ! about this guilt:
WE ALL have worries about our inferiority.
THIS IS NORMAL CONCERN.
All young people know the feeling of worrying
about whether some girl will like them.
whether they can live up to class-mates.

HERE is the clever bit:
"liberals and PCers" tell you that this guilt is because your great---Great grandaddy once dropped a fart in Outer Mongolia.and you should kiss the **** of anybody who is says he once walked across a field in Mongolia

a lot of the Sub-human-Filth
actually believe this because they are severely NEUROTIC
Neurotics have an IDEALISED-SELF.
And a REAL-SELF.
you cannot live up to your idealised-self so your feel guilty
"liberals" play on this guilt and tell you you are guilty because five hundred hundred years some idiot black was stupid enough to walk under an English horse and cart.
You always feel inadequate so you believe him.
they exploit YOU for their political. means.
THAT isI why I refer to them as:
SUBHUMAN FILTH .
They have not the brains to refute this argument. ,SO they will resort to shouting insults.
I eagerly await your commenst
Read: "Neurosis and Human Growth" by Karen Horney
amuse yourselves by picking out your type.
It doesn't mean you are NEUROTIC because we all have these feelings
See what sortof neurotic Peter Madelsohns is.
Hope I don't have any "accidents"

Answer 3

How long is WHITE America going to have to hear about slavery. Where I live whites are the minority and blacks treat us badly. I don't know anyone who was ever a victim of slavery and I never enslaved anyone. I am so sick and tired of hearing about what happened back then. There are so many current issues in the world today to worry about then to repeatedly apologise for what happened that many years ago. Maybe the Africans shouldn't have sold people to the Americans and slavery wouldn't have been an issue at all. Jesse Jackson and crew just needed something new to complain about. If we say sorry are all the blacks in this town going to apologise to my family for the constant harassment we Indore every day today...you know 2007???

Answer 4

No, we went through this a few years back here in the states and as an American of African descent, I was humiliated by our so-called community leaders demanding apologies and financial reparation for slavery from people who had nothing to do with it.

I haven't heard anything about this in the UK but I do know that things can get pretty ugly when people feel they are wronged, so perhaps, if there is no satisfying them, and all they want is an apology, it might better serve the peace and the country as a whole to offer a carefully worded one just to restore order.

I believe the same was done with Japan over Hiroshima and they were satisfied, the Muslims demanded an apology from the Pope over his ill chosen comments last year. They did get one...not the one they wanted, but one was issued. But it did seem to calm things down somewhat.

Answer 5

No,

Slavery existed all over the world from our earliest beginnings...

Even until the 17th Century, English people were kidnapped off the coast by Barbary Pirates and sold into slavery ... plus in Africa, slavery was the future fro anyone who was on the losing end of a confrontation between two tribes ...

So we shouldn't apologise...it wasn't our fault. But we should do all we can to prevent slavery in the modern world -- especially with globalisation!

Philip

Answer 6

This is just a political act by Bliar. If he had any knowledge of history he would know that the British were often slaves of the Romans,Normans etc. It's from the same school of thought as apologising for the Irish Potato Famine(a natural disaster).
Strangely enough the only other people keen on changing past events were the Nazi's and Communists.

Answer 7

The best apologies for slavery have been laws of abolition and civil rights legislation. Slavery began long before the subjugation af blacks by colonists and continues in some parts of the world today.

Should the Egyptians apologize to the Hebrews or the African tribesmen who conquered and sold other tribesmen to French slave traders. Perhaps the English should beg the Scots forgiveness.

Putting the past behind us and not allowing similar events to ever reoccur would be the best apology.

Answer 8

I am not denying that slavery wasnt bad. But, if we keep living in the past how is anyone supposed to move on and let go of all this hatred? From what I learned in school, slaves were sold by thier own family members. My ancestors starved during the potato famine in Ireland. I dont see anyone offering anything. I am not trying to offend anyone I am just trying to make a point. Remember the holocaust? Those poor people were tortured and they got over it. Not for nothing, but I am sure they would have prefered working for low or no wages and getting a roof over thier head, than being gassed.

Answer 9

How many slaves do YOU know?. I don't know any. The reason I don't know any is the fact that slavery was abolished 150 years ago in Britain.
Should we regularly ( say, every 10 years), make a public apology for the wrongdoings of our ancestors?. If so, at what level should we apologise at?. Government level, Industry level?, Personal level?.
Do you regularly look over your shoulders for Dinosaurs?.

Answer 10

Well I don't know about you, but none of my ancestors were even involved in all that. I have nothing to be sorry about. We can't apologise for anything we didn't take part in. Slavery was a horrible thing, I'm just thankfull the white man has put all that behind him. Unlike some cultures around the world who still do it.