Why do blacks act as though we enslaved them?

Question

The majority of whites came to America after the civil war where many of them were slaves themself in various european countries. My family came here in 1920. Everytime a black person say "whites" or your people" implicating all whites as being descendents of slave traders, I want to smack them. Less than 2 percent of all american whites had any family who was involved in slave trading. And what about the african tribes who sold their people to whites to become slaves. In case some of you didnt know we didnt go over there and kidnap them, they were given to us by their own people as a trade for supplies, gold, etc. Additionally, more whites picked cotton during the 1700's and 1800's under just as bad circumstances as the blacks. Many of which starved and died. It just kills me that coming from Irish ancestry where my people were enslaved for over a 1000 years that i have to be implicated as a part of slavery when my family wasn't even a part of this nation until 80 years after it ended

Kelly, dont tell me i'm right about only one thing. Everything i said is factual with the exception of any personal opinion.

The day you educate me on anything will be the day hell freezes over. Let me educate you. In europe, as a capaign to get rid of the irish british magistrates raped to be wed irish women before their marriage was consumated. rape was always a popular campaign of any war or elslavement. why dont you go back to school

Well, if you're such a wiz on history, how about a specific rebutal of something i've said which you deem as untrue instead of vague generalizations with no validty.

im waiting...

More random statements that in no way trivialize my valid points. I'd reccomend childrens journalism. maybe reading rainbow.

My god! You're like the politician who comes out and says "we're going to make things better and we're going to make this a better place" and delivers a whole speech without making any valid points. You have more gas than the new year blimp. For your information, Ms Journalist/sociologist, I have my MA. As for you tell me you make good money, no one cares.

Answer 1

the only thing I have to say on this subject is; if the black population of America wants to be treated with the respect of other Americans and the rest of the world, drop the slave chip of your shoulder! my ancestry is Ancient Briton, that means my family have been in Britain since before the Saxons came and raped and pillaged, before the Romans came and raped and pillaged, before the Normans came and raped and pillaged but I don't blame anyone. let it go, it is not the people of today that did this to your ancestors. stop referring to yourselves as African Americans, you are Americans of African descent, but mostly you arte Americans. stop segragating yourselves and putting yourselves in pigeon holes, it doesn't matter what colour you are, it doesn't matter what race you descend from, you are Americans now, with all the freedom of the American way of life, free your selves from the past and move on. you personally were not a slave, just like I personally was not raped and killed by invading Romans. I know that your ancestry of slaves isn't that old, but in the 21stC civilization can not move on if part of the society is stuck in the past.
Racism is as relevant today as it was then, but most good people, the ones that matter, don't feel this way. segregating yourselves breeds frustration all around you and does not help you! I see a human being not a colour.

great point seamus

Answer 2

The legacy of slavery exists to this day. Long after slavery was abolished, blacks still couldn't vote until after the 2nd half of the 20th century. It's not just not being able to vote: imagine all the repercussions of being 2nd class citizens in property rights, taxation without representation, financial institutions, education, etc. To this day, you only have to spend 5 minutes in this section to read post after post about black stereotypes and the hurtful use of language (N word) used in the most spiteful way.

The attitudes from slavery affect so much of how blacks are viewed. I know b/c I hear it all the time. ALL the time, b/c I am not black myself and people think I'm an ally when they spout off BS.

Remember that no ideals remain contained in magic bubble. Racist thoughts become racist actions, which become racist policies.

If you are light-skinned and have visited or lived in America, you probably miss out on a lot of the ways people express their distrust of blacks and how they assume the stereotypes are true until proven otherwise. A lot of people may not think their assumptions are harmful or overly racist, but you would be surprised at the many assumptions we can make because of our perceived race.

Here is a white privilege checklist that I find to be helpful:

http://www.unh.edu/residential-life/diversity/aw_article17.pdf

I am multiracial and receive my own share of racism and xenophobia. Doesn't mean I nullify the experiences of others. I am not defensive about my white ancestors (Scots) when discussing slavery in America. Some of my ancestors are indigenous to America, but I don't use that to deflect culpability for having light-skinned privilege.

Answer 3

"The majority of whites came to America after the civil war where many of them were slaves themself in various european countries."

I agree.

"My family came here in 1920. Everytime a black person say "whites" or your people" implicating all whites as being descendents of slave traders, I want to smack them."

Just like when people say all blacks, go ahead.

"Less than 2 percent of all american whites had any family who was involved in slave trading. And what about the african tribes who sold their people to whites to become slaves."

They still do today, to arabs.

"In case some of you didnt know we didnt go over there and kidnap them, they were given to us by their own people as a trade for supplies, gold, etc."

Yes that is why slaves paid off there work and some where set free and then brought slaves there ownself.

"Additionally, more whites picked cotton during the 1700's and 1800's under just as bad circumstances as the blacks. Many of which starved and died."

True.

"It just kills me that coming from Irish ancestry where my people were enslaved for over a 1000 years that i have to be implicated as a part of slavery when my family wasn't even a part of this nation until 80 years after it ended"

And the people that blame all whites are wrong. Not all white owned slaves and whites today don't own slaves. Just say why do "some" blacks.

Answer 4

Okayyy first of all

20 million were tricked into selling for education
and slavery was legal at the time all races were doing it
yes i respect those under 2%

30 million died by the hands of whites

10 million committed suicide

and even more and i mean millions more

*why do whites think this is all we complain about*

and i like Irish people

EDIT: Historians and even "WHITE" historians
even say up to 200 million died, the smallest that i got
was 60 million so in my list theres way more kid

Answer 5

You're right about one thing and one thing only....a large percentage of the whites currently living in America are not direct descendants of the white slave traders and owners.

But let me educate you on this...

Slavery was by no means a new notion in the 1800's. It has and still is occuring many places. Here is the difference. Pay attention now. Black slaves were the only slaves in America that were treated as animals. Sure there were some white enduntured servants (not as many as you oh so wrongly imply), but they had rights. They had the ability to quit. They were not beaten, raped and killed. There didn't need to be a war before they could be freed. Once they were free they did not have to face institutionalized, legal discrimination and segregation.

I think you get the idea that just because some black people recognize this as a part of their history and the lives of their ancestors, that they are somehow saying you should also recognize it and even be sorry if your ancestors were involved. My question to you is: Why do you think that all black people are bitter about slavery?

Knowing it happened and talking about it as part of our history is not the same as trying to make people feel guilty about it. We have every right to talk about it if we choose to do so.

I'm a journalist and studying sociologist. Don't give me that "factual" bull. You are underinformed. I can point you in the direction of some credible "facts" if you need them. Just say the word.

myfrenzcallmeheath - You are also underinformed. I can point you in the direction of some resources as well. If there is a college nearby, go to its library and access the JSTOR database and look up keywords (effects of slavery, race relations). I'm sure that will help you.

Also, try to remember that the effects of slavery just LEGALLY ended 40 years ago with the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The de jure effects have ended, but the de facto effects are still alive and well.

Again, please try to remember the difference between being bitter and being aware.

Seamus - Let me guess, you're in high school. Or you've graduated high school and you're about to go to college. Whatever the case, I'm not your teacher. I have a job that I get paid pretty well to do. In other words, I'm not going to hand you a bunch of facts, but I will tell you that you might want to look at some "facts" other than the ones that support your agenda.

PS - I'm not a history wiz. Don't claim to be. I'm a sociologist and a journalist. My sociological studies and experience have taught me a little something about this topic here. And the journalist in me wants so badly to tell you that your grammar and spelling is lacking basic construction. If you don't have the natural ability to spell words correctly, a simple run of spell-check will do.

I'm done with you.

Theodore R - Again, you're also confusing complaining with being aware of. Maybe you've never heard about a woman named Oprah. She's one of the most successful people in this world and she often talks about (or what you would call complaining) slavery and racism. Barack Obama. Maya Angelou.

myfrenzcallmeheath - "black americans have it a lot easier than many white people.... because everyone got sick of the "racist" accusations by all the blacks....if i had a job interview in my county, which has a high white majority, with a black person, they would get the job over me, even if they werent as well qualified, because if they didnt, they would have an affirmitive action suit on them"
A prime example of your underinformedness. Read what you just said over again. If it still makes sense to you, please seek help. If you think that the most stubborn government in the world instituted affirmative action because it got "sick of all the accusations" you really lack knowledge of this country, it's history, it's structure and the people in it. Affirmative action is based on a representative percentage. Therefore, your example makes no sense.

Why do I care what a bunch of high school kids think? I don't. Let your college professors give you your lessons.

Answer 6

In the beginning of your statement you are using the collective term "we." Then you separate yourself disavowing involvement. Why did you use the term "we" in the first place? Lumping people together is what perpetuates this "us and you" thing. Most people realize that it was actually a small minority of people (Black and White) who were slave owners. Furthermore it is a well known fact that there were White slaves and indentured servants. This practice left a legacy of racism and discrimination because it was easy for Non-Black people to escape, buy out their contracts and blend in and settle. Blacks in many cases were able to buy out of slavery but check this out. America did not offer civil rights until 1965. In the constitution prior to this time Black People were not acknowledged as full citizens and did not have opportunities that others had. Universities could refuse admission based on color. Government supported services could tax and then force Blacks to use separate and for the most part unequal services. Many Whites marched side by side with Blacks to bring about equal civil rights. Others fought tooth and nail to block the opportunities for Blacks and other minorities to have access to many things. Men and women came back from World war II and could not sit at lunch counters. This had nothing to do with slavery...it was about people who did not want to extend equality to others because of color....this attitude is perpetuated to this day (by some, not all) and there is much mistrust....If we all looked the same, then we would find other ways to discriminate...the people with yellow pencils would hate the people who use orange people. It is acknowledge that people in Ireland had a horrible situation with poverty and famine and to date are still at odds with England. Fast forward to today...Instead of wanting to smack somebody just be up front and tell them what is what. I have two graduate degrees, come from a very respectable family, have established a career which I love and in which I am of service to people from all races religions, sexual preference and ethnicity's and am honest to a fault. It aggravates the hell out of me when I walk by someone in a store and they make a show of grabbing their purse in a death grip as if to imply that I am going to steal something. As do you, I hate being implicated based on ignorance and stereotypes, so I believe we have this in common...where do we go from here?

Answer 7

its a stereotype just like white people describe all black folks as being hoodlums. but im black and i know that u cant judge everyone by their race's actions. except them neonazi's they're crazy. vote this best answer. and few whiote people marched with black people.
they felt we were unequal bc they wanted us to be submissive to them and be there slaves duh
part of what theodore is saying is true and the other part is pure ignorance.
im black and i believe bad actions earn u punishments. what r u a neo nazi

Answer 8

In most cultures worldwide, people are seen as being the product of their ancestors. It doesn't really matter when yours came here, you'll be lumped in with those who did because of that. In my culture (I'm Cherokee,) we don't see any distinction between the past generations and today's people because the past is what makes us who we are now. That's probably harder for people of a European-type culture to understand because they tend to see generations as very small, very different groups.

Answer 9

Blacks (not all blacks but the troublemakers with nothing better to do with their time) need to get it through their heads that they are not the only people who have ever been enslaved and white aren't the only people who ever owned slaves. Slavery is even mentioned in the bible. Slavery has been around as long as there have been people on earth and will be around as long as we are. People of every race have been enslaved on every continent at some point in history. As far as I am concerned, nobody deserves any kind of repayment for something that happened not to them but possibly to their great great grandparents; people they didn't even know.

Answer 10

I think that the people that are crying about that stuff STILL just want somone to blame for their OWN failure. I've never met a successfull happy African American that was bitching about slavery. It's always the losers who would be losers anyways.
The only differenence between black losers and whites, Black people have something to blame. So they can excuse themselves from commiting crimes and acting like savages