When are Americans going to face the crimes of its repugnant historical legacy and brutality of Slavery?

Question

Spare me the "it is time to get over it crowd" because it hasn't completely stopped to this day. And you know this is true! Racism is alive and well in America! (Just for the record, it goes both ways)
However, the White population of America has not yet imagined or placed themselves in the position of the Blacks at the beginning of our Nation.
How would you and your family be fairing at this point if your family had been in Slavery since the the later part of the1600's?
What if it were the White American's that had been enslaved just how well would your family and you be doing at this time?
Brutal Slavery has consquences!
Don't forget, if you and your family were inslaved, your daughters would have been subject to most any kind of servitude, including bedroom slavery. And the men would have suffered the wipe, or death, if they even smiled at the wrong moment.

Answer 1

What part of the Civil War did you miss? Do you have ANY IDEA how many white men shed their blood to free your great grandparents? And how have you repaid that? By whining that you didn't get 'enough' back??? GROW UP! America is the Land of Opportunity for EVERY race that has taken advantage of that fact. Stop waiting for handouts from rich Liberals! Grow some cojones, get out there, and TAKE what's yours!

Answer 2

I have faced it. As a government/politics student, I spent a lot of time studying American history. If you are interested, there is a book about the civil rights movement called My Soul Is Rested which is a compilation of first-hand accounts from some of the major players. It is a very moving book that shows black Americans' honorable reactions to horrible hate crimes. You might be surprised to learn how many white Americans also suffered to help their movement.

I am well aware of the ugliness in our history. There is nothing we can do about that past except remember, and fight for those who are enslaved today. Slavery is not dead. Countless women and children are sold as sex slaves every day, all across the world, and yes, even here in America. For anyone who is interested in helping these victims and stopping the pattern of violence, I recommend getting involved with a local chapter of an NGO like Human Rights Watch.

Answer 3

OK, let's get our facts straight... Blacks were not the only race enslaved in this country. American Indians were, as well, before Africans. That happy scene of Thanksgiving usually portrayed probably was more like the True Americans waiting on the pilgrims and doing their work. (The men with whips were left out becuase they weren't dressed appropriately, lol)... Native Americans were given blankets during cold winters, after they were displaced which was nice, except that the blankets were intentionally infected with diseases -Genocide. So it wasn't just blacks, less-than-learned-one... Now, as far as "America" having a history of slavery... Who do you think built the Pyramids? The Great Wall? Did most of the work for the roads in the ancient middle east? Did the labor that made the great Greek and Roman statues and gave them time for philosophical and epicurian endeavors? SLAVES!!! Wrong? Hel* yes!! But the simple fact is that the history of the entire world comes from slavery... many of the slaves brought to the US were purchased, they were already enslaved in Africa, which is a very old tradition over there, as well... So look at history, and whatever race you are, your ancestors at some point, maybe thousands of years ago, but at some point -- were probably slave owners. And also slaves. Racism is alive and well, unfortunately, worldwide... Why do you choose only the US? Maybe you should remove the log from your own eye before trying to remove the splinter from mine. (by the way, American Indian here, and yes, slavery was practiced at times in my race, as well)

Answer 4

As a white person myself, I acknowledge that I personally never owned a slave, nor did my family. I do have to acknowledge that blacks still suffer because of slavery. That's the part most of us white people miss. Today's youth (I'm 26), is ignorant to the fact that Jim Crow laws were in place until 1965. It's only been 42 years since our government has legally let go of racism and we expect equality among the races. What a joke. The wealthiest people in America today are the very first English immigrants. More so than Irish, Italians, etc. So if you want to tell me that what happened in slavery doesn't matter today, then you're a fool. After 200 years of slavery (mid 1600's to mid 1800's) and then another 100 years of government instituted racism in "separate but equal" laws, black don't even have a fair shot! And America whined about Affirmative Action as if it was giving blacks the country.

I guess as a question back to the author, what would you have white america do about it? I've heard reparations as a suggestion, but do you have other ideas?

Oh, and just one last comment about all you who think you should just "get over it" and "take what's yours," you can really only do that if you're white. The next time someone doesn't give you a job and you think it's because you're white, post it. I'd like to know if it happens, because it happens to black people all the time.

Answer 5

New flash! America was not the first nor is it the last country to have slavery! Africa was one of the first recorded countries to have slavery, they sold their own people into slavery to traders, and they still have slavery today! Slavery stopped in 1865-its 2007. There have been a variety or set backs for African Americans and there have been many triumphs as well. NO one within the last 2-3 generations has suffered from slavery so please spare me the guilt. Any inefficiencies that you has as a member of society result from your own lack of motivation. You dont see women bitching about being second class citizens all the time do you? Women have been in a powerless horrible position within all cultures and societies since the dawn of time! Yet we dont use the "we were enslaved" excuse whenever we feel jipped. Grow up and move on!

Answer 6

First of all... EVERYONE is a little bit racist, and maybe if everyone would admit that, we could all get along better.

Secondly, how exactly is white america suppossed to "face the crimes?" Who exactly gets punished? All white people who had family living in America when slavery was legal? Or only those people who's forefathers actually owned slaves? How can we tell the difference between the two?

And what is the punishment? How long does the punishment last? When would it end? Wouldn't that just create even more tension between races resulting in this racial nonsense being dragged on for the next 3 centuries?

What is YOUR solution?

Answer 7

As others have noted, American Indians were enslaved as well. Yet most were not enslaved for long, at least in what became the United States. They ran away, and didn't return. Apparently, black slaves were too stupid or lazy to do that, just as many if not most of their descendants are too stupid or lazy to improve their situation. They won't attempt to improve themselves at school--"that bez wut yt do." They won't take advantage of affirmative action to improve themselves--they consider it a handout, and won't use it to any advantage other than to get something without working for it. Yes, "slavery has consequences." One of those is an entitlement mentality. Ex-slaves were kicked out of Washington, D.C. during the Civil War--because they refused to work, and simply wanted handouts. I think we should calculate the lost gross lifetime earnings of all the whites killed in the Civil War, and see how much blacks owe us for reparations. Quit crying and get a job. If you're too stupid for gubmint work, get acquainted with a pick and shovel.

By the way--slaveholders must have anticipated not only future black crime but the DNA testing to prove it if so many slaves were subject to the "wipe."

Answer 8

First off, I myself did not own slaves, so why should I pay for the crimes of white ancestors? I am not racist nor do I hate anyone for their beliefs or the color of their skin. It is time for you to forgive and forget. It's a terrible thing that blacks were slaves. The Holocaust was a much more terrible thing than slavery, and you don't hear about Jews holding grudges against Germans now do you? I am not at all saying that slavery wasn't a terrible time in history, because It was a tragic thing, but it's the past.

Just so you know, some African Americans owned slaves to at one point as well.

Answer 9

First of all, only a small percentage of whites in this country ever owned slaves.
Second they were sold into slavery by their own people in Africa.
Many races including white have been in slavery throughout history. Those freed slaves went on to be better people than some of the trash today that are still blaming slavery when they never endured it. We have black doctors, lawyers, politicians,professors, etc. So don't blame they fact that someone once in your family was a slave as an excuse not to be a productive member of society.

Answer 10

If you are always looking backwards, you can never move forward. Societally, America has faced its complicity in slavery. We outlawed it.

But outlawing an act does not eliminate it from the minds of individuals...nor can it. You cannot FORCE all people to change their feelings, only change their behavior so as not to hurt others. Expecting more than that is simply a recipe for eternal frustration.

Quit caring what other people "might" be thinking and obsessing over what happened to your great grandparents. If they were alive today they would be celebrating the opportunities that are open to you and angry with YOU for not taking advantage of those opportunities.