White Guilt, Black Exploitation

George Mason University ^ | 06.04.03 | Walter Williams

[Eala]

Last year, Senator Trent Lott made this suggestion

[Arkinsaw]

Have to disagree with this. I think a slave memorial is not a bad idea providing that it is an appropriate one. It shouldn't show the slaves as "victims" or as weak and helpless people. It should portray them as they were, strong minded people who persevered through 300 years of slavery and maintained a culture and an extremely strong religious faith all the while.

I would oppose any slave memorial designed to show them as weakling victims, which is what I imagine it will end up being for political reasons.

I believe strongly in maintaining and protecting the memorials to our Confederate and Union ancestors and I see no reason not to have an appropriate memorial for the lives of the slaves also.

[Believer 1]

Eala, this entire scenario makes me so frustrated. How will any of this change the past? We have Black history month, black quotas (afirmative action by another name...), teachers bending over backward to avoid any appearance of criticism of blacks and who suffers with all this? The black kids who buy into all the victim mentality thereby promoted. Rather than insisting on equal treatment and expectations for all the kids we separate the "underpriviliged" out, labeling them and lowering expectations. What are they to think? That somehow they are less than others? I think that is the result. Are there any Blacks on this thread who would discuss this with me?
God bless and keep those kids on the straight and narrow.

[archy]

I think a slave memorial is not a bad idea providing that it is an appropriate one.

Not me. I'm offended by it.

If they hate my history, I hate theirs. Tyrn about is fair play.

-archy-/-

[Arkinsaw]

Not me. I'm offended by it. If they hate my history, I hate theirs. Tyrn about is fair play.

I prefer to take my history as it was rather than one side or another's version of political correctness.

[archy]

I prefer to take my history as it was rather than one side or another's version of political correctness.

I might agree, under circumstances involving a reasonable chance of historical accuracy, or fair and open debate, upon a level playing field. But that's not the case. The other side intends and has been promoting nothing less than the ethnic clensing of history, and will alow only their voice to be heard. So be it. Silence them.

-archy-/-

[Arkinsaw]

I might agree, under circumstances involving a reasonable chance of historical accuracy, or fair and open debate, upon a level playing field. But that's not the case. The other side intends and has been promoting nothing less than the ethnic clensing of history, and will alow only their voice to be heard. So be it. Silence them.

I don't disagree with you about what's going on, and I am under no illusions that a slave memorial will most likely end up being a celebration of victimhood which I would oppose. But that doesn't change me sticking firmly to how I think things SHOULD be. I'm not going to let the professional pot-stirrers change what I think is right either on the issue of the Confederate flag, my Confederate ancestors, or their ancestors.

I prefer not to be the one distorting the history of the slave and African-Americans in general and turning them exclusively into victims. More and more black Americans are seeing it as an attack on their own heritage. (J.K. Edgerton and the good sized numbers of black Mississippians who voted for the State flag are cases in point). I stand with them.

[joesnuffy]

No Confederate history allowed
but slave history promoted
not with my money you dont

[freekitty]

It will serve no useful purpose for anyone.

[ETERNAL WARMING]

What "White guilt?" I don't know anyone with "white guilt." This is just a trumped up lie from someone or group with a hidden agenda.

[Republic If You Can Keep It]

300 years of slavery

Not quite. In the USA, it was 76 years (1789 to 1865)

[Teacher317]

What "White guilt?" I don't know anyone with "white guilt." This is just a trumped up lie from someone or group with a hidden agenda.

Try checking out a public school sometime. It is very common for black males to use shame and guilt as a weapon to cajole white girls into sexual liasons. Any who refuse are quickly asked, "so what are you, racist?", and in most cases they quickly and meekly change their position. Aisde from overhearing it in the halls and hearing about it from the kids, I also have read several confiscated notes with the same theme.

[man of Yosemite]

Will the memorial also shame the black tribes in Africa that dragged other black tribes down to the slave ships to be sold to the white slavers. There were not white armies hording blacks out of Africa without the aid of other blacks.

[Arkinsaw]

Not quite. In the USA, it was 76 years (1789 to 1865)

Does time prior to the formation of the USA not count as slavery time for some reason?

[Snidely Whiplash]

300 years of slavery

Not quite. In the USA, it was 76 years (1789 to 1865)

Well, yeah. In the actual United States of America themselves as created in the Constitution, that's correct. But IIRC, African slaves arrived with the first settlers of Jamestown in 1609. That makes it more like 250 years. And don't try and argue that those folks weren't Americans. They were Americans in every significant moral and spiritual sense except the flag they flew.

Snidely

[Snidely Whiplash]

Will the memorial also shame the black tribes in Africa that dragged other black tribes down to the slave ships to be sold to the white slavers.

Funnily enough, they wouldn't have been doing that if the slavers hadn't been there looking for slaves.

There were not white armies hording blacks out of Africa without the aid of other blacks.

Armies? No. Significant numbers of men with guns? Yes.

It's worth noting here that African slavery was not originally a racially-motivated thing; the concept of "race" didn't gain currency until the mid-1600s, while Africans were first enslaved in numbers in the 1500s. The racial character of American slavery came about as the system evolved to where the overwhelming majority of slaves (really indentured servants at the time) were black, and laws were put into place to keep it that way. Prior to that, slaves were largely indentured, and of a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds.

Snidely

[judgeandjury]

Armies? No. Significant numbers of men with guns? Yes.

Actually there were no significant numbers of men with guns. The black slaves had already been captured by the black slave traders before the slave ships arrived. When the slave ships docked on the west coast of Africa, the black slaves were already chained and ready to be loaded onto the slave ships.

[man of Yosemite]

Thanks for your comments. I realize that white people were responsible for slavery. I just wonder how long people like myself who never had any family members involved in it are expected to carry the guilt of it.

[nutmeg]

ping!