Makes me angry
So BBC asked its online readers to respond to a prompt about the legacy of slavery. Here is what BBC wrote, and then I'm going to post what is the MOST recommended response, garnering 328 "props" from other readers.
BBC writes:
What is the legacy of slavery today?
How should we remember the trans-Atlantic slave trade?
On Sunday it will be exactly 200 years since the British parliament passed the Act of Abolition, which banned the trafficking of slaves from Africa to the New World. Over 11 million people are thought to have been forcibly transported across the Atlantic and over a million of those died on the journey. The slaves were put to work on plantations which generated huge wealth for their owners. But it created terrible suffering for the victims, left Africa impoverished and created the conditions for the subsequent colonisation of the continent. Should Europe pay reparations for slavery? Should western politicians apologise for the slave trade? What are the main consequences of slavery today? How should we mark this 200th anniversary?
[politicallyincorrect], from Leeds, UK responds (with the most recommended post)
We should mark the anniversary by celebrating the fact that it was Britain that did the most to stop it. We were the first country to ban it, and the size and power of the Royal Navy during the 19th century gave us the power to destroy it elsewhere.
No, we should not apologise. In fact, a "thank you" from a large part of Africa would be in order.
A THANK YOU?!?! would be in order? This kind of sentiment makes me mad. Frustrated fuckin tears because the douche seems to think he lives in a time vaccuum where the decisions of our ancestors have no impact whatsoever on the current state of things. YAY Britain! You stopped slavery...what KIND of slavery, first of all?Slavery still exists, and that dude's country certainly participates in it. Second, what about the hundreds of thousands of people you helped to displace (along with most powerful nations and their people throughout the world). Oh, but you stopped slavery, so everything's jolly good now. A thank you from Africa. Now that's something. People are also saying that African warlords enslaved their own people. Does this justify the Atlantic Slave Trade then? Because someone else is doing it, it's okay that I do it too? Or I shouldn't apologize?
Then there are other recommended comments about how we don't ask Viking or Roman descendants for reparitions or apologies so Africa shouldn't ask us to apologize either. This logic is flawed, too. And I'd say it's all the occupational bullshit that HASN'T been repaired or apologized over that has contributed to the fragmented global society we live in. People exploiting one another and continuing to exploit one another. And I know I participate in it too, when I walk into WalMart or shop at the mall. Our global economy is built on a slave system of its own.
I really don't think people get it. 200 years is not a long time. But no, no, AFRICA, get it, the most impoverished continent in the world, AFRICA needs to say thanks to Britain.
Man I wish I could compile a really sweet ass history lecture and slap the shit out of these people with it.
Seriously, go to this website: http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?sortBy=2&threadID=5793&edition=2&ttl=20070324182739&#paginator and make sure you're looking at the most recommended thread. The arguments people are making (and approving) are history's most common bullshit, a reason why injustice still prevails.
BBC writes:
What is the legacy of slavery today?
How should we remember the trans-Atlantic slave trade?
On Sunday it will be exactly 200 years since the British parliament passed the Act of Abolition, which banned the trafficking of slaves from Africa to the New World. Over 11 million people are thought to have been forcibly transported across the Atlantic and over a million of those died on the journey. The slaves were put to work on plantations which generated huge wealth for their owners. But it created terrible suffering for the victims, left Africa impoverished and created the conditions for the subsequent colonisation of the continent. Should Europe pay reparations for slavery? Should western politicians apologise for the slave trade? What are the main consequences of slavery today? How should we mark this 200th anniversary?
[politicallyincorrect], from Leeds, UK responds (with the most recommended post)
We should mark the anniversary by celebrating the fact that it was Britain that did the most to stop it. We were the first country to ban it, and the size and power of the Royal Navy during the 19th century gave us the power to destroy it elsewhere.
No, we should not apologise. In fact, a "thank you" from a large part of Africa would be in order.
A THANK YOU?!?! would be in order? This kind of sentiment makes me mad. Frustrated fuckin tears because the douche seems to think he lives in a time vaccuum where the decisions of our ancestors have no impact whatsoever on the current state of things. YAY Britain! You stopped slavery...what KIND of slavery, first of all?Slavery still exists, and that dude's country certainly participates in it. Second, what about the hundreds of thousands of people you helped to displace (along with most powerful nations and their people throughout the world). Oh, but you stopped slavery, so everything's jolly good now. A thank you from Africa. Now that's something. People are also saying that African warlords enslaved their own people. Does this justify the Atlantic Slave Trade then? Because someone else is doing it, it's okay that I do it too? Or I shouldn't apologize?
Then there are other recommended comments about how we don't ask Viking or Roman descendants for reparitions or apologies so Africa shouldn't ask us to apologize either. This logic is flawed, too. And I'd say it's all the occupational bullshit that HASN'T been repaired or apologized over that has contributed to the fragmented global society we live in. People exploiting one another and continuing to exploit one another. And I know I participate in it too, when I walk into WalMart or shop at the mall. Our global economy is built on a slave system of its own.
I really don't think people get it. 200 years is not a long time. But no, no, AFRICA, get it, the most impoverished continent in the world, AFRICA needs to say thanks to Britain.
Man I wish I could compile a really sweet ass history lecture and slap the shit out of these people with it.
Seriously, go to this website: http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?sortBy=2&threadID=5793&edition=2&ttl=20070324182739&#paginator and make sure you're looking at the most recommended thread. The arguments people are making (and approving) are history's most common bullshit, a reason why injustice still prevails.