Why should I apologize for slavery?
This is a sensitive subject so don't send me angry messages about my being "racist" because I'll just delete them.......or compile them in a list so I can laugh at you.
The Virginia governor apologized recently for a “slavery omission” in a proclamation dubbing April “Confederate History Month”. Sooooo, this has been a long-standing topic of debate and high tensions, but here’s my thought: by the debate incited by this apology are we just going to pretend that slavery never happened, along with perpetuating the myth that the North was good and just and honest and the South was nothing but greedy, inbred hicks without souls? Yes, slavery in America was a horrible stain that will never leave our soul as a nation, but remember: WE WEREN’T THE ONLY ONES DOING IT. Hell, the Africans themselves were capturing people from rival tribes and selling them as slaves within the continent before the Europeans stepped in and said, ‘hey, can we get a slice of that?’ And even then African tribes sold slaves to European traders and the coast to be shipped to the Caribbean and Americas. As for the basis for the Civil War itself, it WAS NOT OVER SLAVERY. What the war was really about was the South not liking being told what to do by the North, hence the secession from the Union into the Confederacy. A lot of it was actually over taxes and money (shocker!), not whether a person with dark skin was even human or not. The war didn’t become focused on slavery until Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address wherein he mentioned slavery itself. So before you prattle on about how the Civil War was like the Empire vs. the Republic Rebels in Star Wars, get your own fucking history right.
Apologizing for slavery in the US is like bald people apologizing for the atrocities committed by Oliver Cromwell in England. Face it: just because you’re black doesn’t mean you know what it’s like to be a slave for your entire life, and to even pretend that you do is an insult to those who really suffered through it. You didn’t get that job you wanted but were highly underqualified for? Blame it on being black and “the man” trying to keep you down. You got your license suspended for reckless driving and endangerment? Blame it on being the descendant of slaves in “a white man’s world”. It seems that the most vocal people in this matter are those who have nothing to do with slaves and what they faced. To paraphrase someone I heard on a show on Comedy Central some years ago, the closest you’ve gotten to being a slave was picking the cotton out of an aspirin bottle. It’s incredibly stupid to keep wanting an apology for the practice of slavery, and then get mad when someone gives you one. What do you want us to do? Empty words aren’t going to fix everything and allow us to live the land of rainbows and glittery unicorns holding hands in harmony until the apocalypse in 2012 (XD). I’ll tell ya what: lemme just find the Doctor, borrow his time machine, and go back in time and personally apologize to every slave I see. How’s that? Does that make you feel better, jackholes?
The Confederate flag is not a symbol of racism and prejudice and ignorance as is so commonly thought. Seriously, the Union flag could be seen the same way. Let me explain: do you really think that when the War ended slaves were treated equally just like everyone else? Do you really believe that once they got to Boston or NYC or wherever they had it made and lived out their lives happy as clams? If you thought those things, re-read your history books and slap the person who made you believe otherwise. Blacks and freed and runaway slaves were still generally treated like shit no matter where they went. Even nowadays there are assumptions and prejudices against people of color on the sole basis of the melanin content of their skin. The Confederate flag is still a symbol of Southern pride for some people, and if there’s one flying out front of a home, let it go. The person living there is not automatically a racist who will break into your house and eat your children and sodomize your dog. If you do think that, well, then that makes you the prejudiced one, doesn’t it? So fuck off, you jerk :p
To make a long story short (too late), no one should have to apologize for slavery. It’s stupid to expect one, and it’s even stupider to think the pain will go away for those who have reason to suffer just by some insignificant peon saying “I sowwy”. So grow the fuck up and find something more worthwhile to fight for than an apology, like helping to stop the constant violence in Darfur or help children around the world have shoes on their feet or help abused animals in need of rescue. In short, get a life.
The Virginia governor apologized recently for a “slavery omission” in a proclamation dubbing April “Confederate History Month”. Sooooo, this has been a long-standing topic of debate and high tensions, but here’s my thought: by the debate incited by this apology are we just going to pretend that slavery never happened, along with perpetuating the myth that the North was good and just and honest and the South was nothing but greedy, inbred hicks without souls? Yes, slavery in America was a horrible stain that will never leave our soul as a nation, but remember: WE WEREN’T THE ONLY ONES DOING IT. Hell, the Africans themselves were capturing people from rival tribes and selling them as slaves within the continent before the Europeans stepped in and said, ‘hey, can we get a slice of that?’ And even then African tribes sold slaves to European traders and the coast to be shipped to the Caribbean and Americas. As for the basis for the Civil War itself, it WAS NOT OVER SLAVERY. What the war was really about was the South not liking being told what to do by the North, hence the secession from the Union into the Confederacy. A lot of it was actually over taxes and money (shocker!), not whether a person with dark skin was even human or not. The war didn’t become focused on slavery until Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address wherein he mentioned slavery itself. So before you prattle on about how the Civil War was like the Empire vs. the Republic Rebels in Star Wars, get your own fucking history right.
Apologizing for slavery in the US is like bald people apologizing for the atrocities committed by Oliver Cromwell in England. Face it: just because you’re black doesn’t mean you know what it’s like to be a slave for your entire life, and to even pretend that you do is an insult to those who really suffered through it. You didn’t get that job you wanted but were highly underqualified for? Blame it on being black and “the man” trying to keep you down. You got your license suspended for reckless driving and endangerment? Blame it on being the descendant of slaves in “a white man’s world”. It seems that the most vocal people in this matter are those who have nothing to do with slaves and what they faced. To paraphrase someone I heard on a show on Comedy Central some years ago, the closest you’ve gotten to being a slave was picking the cotton out of an aspirin bottle. It’s incredibly stupid to keep wanting an apology for the practice of slavery, and then get mad when someone gives you one. What do you want us to do? Empty words aren’t going to fix everything and allow us to live the land of rainbows and glittery unicorns holding hands in harmony until the apocalypse in 2012 (XD). I’ll tell ya what: lemme just find the Doctor, borrow his time machine, and go back in time and personally apologize to every slave I see. How’s that? Does that make you feel better, jackholes?
The Confederate flag is not a symbol of racism and prejudice and ignorance as is so commonly thought. Seriously, the Union flag could be seen the same way. Let me explain: do you really think that when the War ended slaves were treated equally just like everyone else? Do you really believe that once they got to Boston or NYC or wherever they had it made and lived out their lives happy as clams? If you thought those things, re-read your history books and slap the person who made you believe otherwise. Blacks and freed and runaway slaves were still generally treated like shit no matter where they went. Even nowadays there are assumptions and prejudices against people of color on the sole basis of the melanin content of their skin. The Confederate flag is still a symbol of Southern pride for some people, and if there’s one flying out front of a home, let it go. The person living there is not automatically a racist who will break into your house and eat your children and sodomize your dog. If you do think that, well, then that makes you the prejudiced one, doesn’t it? So fuck off, you jerk :p
To make a long story short (too late), no one should have to apologize for slavery. It’s stupid to expect one, and it’s even stupider to think the pain will go away for those who have reason to suffer just by some insignificant peon saying “I sowwy”. So grow the fuck up and find something more worthwhile to fight for than an apology, like helping to stop the constant violence in Darfur or help children around the world have shoes on their feet or help abused animals in need of rescue. In short, get a life.