Should I appologise for slavery?

Question

There seems to be a great demand for the european races to appologise for enslaving the colored races .
I think every one would agree that the whole idea of slavery isand was very wrong .
BUT
I never owned a slave and i find the whole idea repugnant so I see no reason why i should apologise for something someone did 100 years ago .
I think maybe when England was in the roman empire some of my ancestors were maybe slaves too and the same could be said of almost any country where the romans were .
In England in medieval times serfs and villeyns were as near slaves as could be and were owned by the lords .
How long will it be before the African people will let it go especially those who call themselves African American .
Curious ...I dont know any African English

Answer 1

I see your point, but nobody is seeking retribution from the Roman's for slavery, because they are conquered. America still stands, and part of its legacy is slavery. It was how our economy was born. Without slavery, some of our areas wouldn't be as developed as they are. They didn't just pick cotton. They built roads, railroads, shipyards, ships, farms, towns, villages, churches, and schools, etc.
I think it's too late for apologies though, and people on both sides of this issue need to realize that.

Answer 2

Here is my answer from a similar question:

I do not believe an apology is warranted unless the offense was directly between the two individuals or between the two peoples.

As far as the slave trade in America, not every white was invovled. There is a little thing called "Ellis Island" and even back in the slave trading days, not all whites were involved. It is silly even by the standards of the ones demanding an apology to ask for an apology from people whose ancestors were not involved.

I do not know of any white today that has enslaved a black. Now, it might be done in some perverted subculture, as are blacks enslaving whites (I have heard of this)... it is illegal and prosecuted by the Law. That merits an apology, and punishment, because that was done to a living individual BY a living individual.

For instance, I am Romani (Gypsy). However, I do not believe that I deserve an apology from any German or the German government for the Holocaust. Today's Germans did not fire the gas chambers and not all Germans did in the first place. The Nazis did.

I also would not expect an apology from the descendents of the Nazis. They did not do it. Of course, if they are Neo Nazis I would not be fond of them.

If apologies are expected for all atrocities between peoples throughout history, that would be quite a task and be, frankly, silly.

There is slavery today, there has always been slavery, and every race has, at some time, been enslaved. Oh, Gypsies have been enslaved numerous times and no, I do not think we need an apology.

Here is a little known fact: Blacks were not the only ones sold into slavery in America. The Scottish were as well. Nobody remembers that and that has been covered up by history. I have a close friend who is Scottish and has done extensive research.

I do not hear the Scots who were sold into slavery in America asking for an apology.

Answer 3

Every race was enslaved at some point in human history. Even our modern word for it came from 'slav', from the Eastern European region, as they were extremely common as slaves, and they were white. It is also not hard to argue that women were treated as slaves for freaking ever by many cultures in history. But my husband treats me as an equal, so I don't want him to apologize to me - I just want to understand my frustration if some doofus in the workplace tries to tell me I don't belong there.

Our more recent ancestors had the courage to do away with slavery, a way of life that had existed ever since tribes of men were able to overpower their neighbors, over 3000 years at least.

I do not think we need to apologize for something we ourselves did not do. I do agree it should be learned from.

Answer 4

Where is this "great demand" that you speak of? Last I checked, the people who apologize for slavery do so on their own free will. No one forces anyone to, nor cares about the apology of slavery.

The people who should have apologized are long dead.

And how long will it be before white people let go of slavery? Now that's a pickle!

Answer 5

No you dont owe anyone an aplogy. It was a horrible time in the world but one that none of us were a part of. People need to move on. This is the 21rst century and things have changed.

Answer 6

No. You have nothing to appologize for and no one to appologize to, because no one alive today has ever owned slaves or been a slave (unless you live in Africa, where slavery still exists).

Answer 7

No I don't think the individual need to apologies. I do however think the United States government officials should apologies by proxy for the misdeeds done in the past. By "Proxy" I mean apologize for those in power at the time that promoted and wrote laws to sustain slavery.

However, this is the United States. Even that small token will never happen.

Answer 8

i dont know where you are from, but 100 years ago was 1907 and slavery had ended in the US by then.

Answer 9

i don't advocate that you apologise for slavery but you do have to be aware of it's occurance and it's reprecussions to the african american people so that you can make sure you do not repeat the mistakes of your ancestors.

Answer 10

Go ahead it is the PC thing to do. Promise retributions too they love that.