[yankeedame]

It obviously isn't "complete and utter" bullfeathers. There was slavery in the United States, and Americans were involved in the slave trade, and slaves were often punished harshly.

Would Haley's story had been published, and the subsequent movie been made, if he had traced his ancestor from Africa to say Brazil? Haiti? Saudi?

Would Haley's story had been published, and the subsequent movie been made, if he had been a white man and had traced his ancestor from say Scotland who had been sold as an "indentured servant" by the British government to the American colonies in the 17th century?

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

Considering Haley is an American, those hypothetical movies would have happened.

Had he been a Brazilian, Haitian, Saudi, Scotsman, etc. and traced his slave ancestry from some other country, would his movie be produced? Probably.

In Brazil, people would probably watch a movie about a Brazilian slave and his descendants.
In Haiti, people would probably watch a movie about Haitian slave and his descendants.
In Saudi Arabia, people would probably watch a movie about a Saudi slave and his descendants.

In Scotland, people would probably watch a movie about a Scottish slave and his descendants (especially if the slave-owner happened to be English).

Some things are make-the-USA-look-as-though-it-is-the-cruelest-nation-on-Earth sort of things. This isn't one of them.

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

Indentured servants--once they completed their duties--became free men with a parcel of land.

Slaves remained slaves throughout their lives unless they were given their freedom by their masters. Furthermore, their children were also slaves. And those children's children were slaves, and so on.

Indentured servitude is on some levels comparable with slavery--and on other levels, definitely not.

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

Interesting the part of the post you quoted.

Not the part recognizing "Roots" as being propagandistic, and no recognition that complete and utter is what is being contested there (from comment 5).

Just the part when taken by itself with its emphases removed it appears to state that "Roots" is an accurate historical documentary.

[alexander_busek]

>>Would Haley's story had [sic!] been published, and the subsequent movie been made, if he had traced his ancestor from Africa to say Brazil? Haiti? Saudi?
Would Haley's story had [sic!] been published, and the subsequent movie been made, if he had been a white man and had traced his ancestor from say Scotland who had been sold as an "indentured servant" by the British government to the American colonies in the 17th century?<<

Would Haley's story have been published if he had been an Inuit... Lithuanian... Croatian... etc.?

My point: What's your point? Whom or what are you criticizing?

So what if his story wouldn't have been published had it not concerned American Negroes tracing their lineage back to Africa? Obviously, the story sold, the series was a hit, whereas the tale of a W.A.S.P. returning to the home village of his distant ancestors in Luxembourg probably would have BOMBED.

[RobbyS]

Probably not, but what you are doing is taking away from the power of the story. I was moved when I read the story and really captured by the television series. What I do find sad that so many blacks are so embittered that they are NOT open to tales about the hardships of the indentured servants, or for that matter, the impoverished lives of the British lower classes. Any discussion of the latter is taken as an apology for black slavery. They simply can't believe that the lives of poor white men could have as miserable as those of black slaves in Virginia. I would be curious to read a review of "Amazing Grace" by a black studies professor. Here is the story of a great man, the equal of Lincoln as a benefactor of blacks and, for that matter, the equal of Gladstone as the benefactor of the poor of England. But my guess is that he inspires only resentment.