Black Slavery in America

[JamesDouglas]

I just saw Django Unchained, which was a great film by the way, and it's really the first mainstream movie in a while (that I can recall) that's tackled the dark past in American history where whites enslaved blacks. It's great that it was addressed because it's an important issue that shouldn't be forgotten.

It's unfathomable how slavery was legal in that country, particularly in the south, for about 100 years. It's also pretty amazing given their country's history of slavery and racism that less than 150 years after slavery was abolished, the American people voted in a black president.

Do you think blacks living in American today should receive reparations for the slavery that their ancestors endured? It's been tried in the courts numerous times and it always gets shot down because of the statute of limitations i.e. too much time has passed and none of the slaves are alive today.

If you were a slave back then would you have revolted against your slavemaster?

 

[frankcastle]

No reparations for wrong doings to your ancestors is wrong.

Statute of limitation being the best reason why. Not to mention the wrongdoer is long dead as well.

If Iwas a slave back then I don't know if I could have revolted..... let's face it your are uneducated, under equipped, and have little to no support network. Let's say you kill your master then what?

I might consider trying to run north but admit that it's a long shot as well.

Flat out it's a tough situation to be in and if it was easy to revolt it would have happened.

 

[frankcastle]

Crazy to think the civil war was about 150 years ago.

Even crazier to think that the civil rights movement was only 50 years ago. Meaning many of us were born or remember a much more racist time. Which is why I'm not surprised by racist actions these days as I think we need another 50 years to get it to a more civilized place.

Mind you different countries are at different places.

I saw a news report talking about how common place rape is in India. I'm not saying Indians are uncivilized just pointing out that this is just one of many examples of how far we still need to go as a planet. Apologies to any Indians it just happens to be on the front page of my homepage news feed. It really could have been something else had it been a different day in the news.

 

[frankcastle]

Hell even the pay difference based on gender is still a relatively recent phenomenon.

Man with 2013 just around the corner. I'm a bit depressed as to how many problems we still have that are ridiculous (be it racism, sexism, and extremism)

 

[Celticman]

I just saw Django Unchained, which was a great film by the way, and it's really the first mainstream movie in a while (that I can recall) that's tackled the dark past in American history where whites enslaved blacks. It's great that it was addressed because it's an important issue that shouldn't be forgotten.

It's unfathomable how slavery was legal in that country, particularly in the south, for about 100 years. It's also pretty amazing given their country's history of slavery and racism that less than 150 years after slavery was abolished, the American people voted in a black president.

Do you think blacks living in American today should receive reparations for the slavery that their ancestors endured? It's been tried in the courts numerous times and it always gets shot down because of the statute of limitations i.e. too much time has passed and none of the slaves are alive today.

If you were a slave back then would you have revolted against your slavemaster?

Interesting questions James. I hope that the discussion stays civilised. A few thoughts:

It's great that it was addressed because it's an important issue that shouldn't be forgotten………hard to imagine that it will ever be forgotten, so for me, it would be a little hard to digest if a movie is needed to highlight the issues. Same applies to the Holocaust, the Japanese atrocities in WW2.

It's unfathomable how slavery was legal in that country, particularly in the south, for about 100 years…..from the perspective of our standards and culture today, projecting back into times that we cannot imagine, it is hard to fathom how slavery was practiced anywhere/everywhere. America, England, Europe (whites enslaving whites in Ancient & Medieval Europe), black on black slavery in Africa, Arab on black slavery in Africa etc.

It's also pretty amazing given their country's history of slavery and racism that less than 150 years after slavery was abolished, the American people voted in a black president….I am amazed that it took that long, an especially poor reflection on the Democratic party which typically attracts 90% of the black vote.

Do you think blacks living in American today should receive reparations for the slavery that their ancestors endured? It's been tried in the courts numerous times and it always gets shot down because of the statute of limitations i.e. too much time has passed and none of the slaves are alive today……………the question is should people who had nothing to do with it who are living today, pay reparations to people who were never enslaved? How far back in time do we go “rectifying” the past and do we try to “undo” all past grievances?

If you were a slave back then would you have revolted against your slavemaster?.....a noble sentiment, but it has to be feasible, and I do not think it was. Essentially it would have been suicide. Look what happened to the Jews in the Warsaw ghetto.

 

[fuji]

It's also pretty amazing given their country's history of slavery and racism that less than 150 years after slavery was abolished, the American people voted in a black president.

If by "amazing" you mean "it's amazing that it took so long", I would agree with you. I think many of America's problems can be traced to the lasting effects of slavery, and the persistent discrimination against blacks that continued on in institutionalized ways until the 1960's, and really is still lingering around today in less obvious forms.

If you want to know what is the cause of a lot of the gun violence in the United States my vote would go to, "the long-term effects of the enslavement and persecution of blacks".

 

[Petzel]

Find Harriet Tubman and flee on the Undergroud Railroad and end up settling in Buxton, Ontario.

 

[Aardvark154]

A few points:

Slavery in the British colonies was abolished in 1834 with the last slaves finally freed in 1840. In the Danish West Indies slavery was abolished in 1847. The Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was adopted in 1865. Hence any sense of superiority is based upon a thirty-one year difference, further one might note that several northern states had abolished slavery before Upper Canada.

Slave revolts were far more common in the Caribbean for the simple reason that slavery was far harsher there.

 

[Carling]

If by "amazing" you mean "it's amazing that it took so long", I would agree with you. I think many of America's problems can be traced to the lasting effects of slavery, and the persistent discrimination against blacks that continued on in institutionalized ways until the 1960's, and really is still lingering around today in less obvious forms.

If you want to know what is the cause of a lot of the gun violence in the United States my vote would go to, "the long-term effects of the enslavement and persecution of blacks".

please add also the racist policies that were made to lessen the population of blacks in America..introduction of crack cocaine and heroin to the black ghettos in the 60's and 70's also is a major problem with the gun violence...

 

[Aardvark154]

If you want to know what is the cause of a lot of the gun violence in the United States my vote would go to, "the long-term effects of the enslavement and persecution of blacks".

Perhaps, but I'd urge taking a look at Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America

 

[Aardvark154]

please add also the racist policies that were made to lessen the population of blacks in America..introduction of crack cocaine and heroin to the black ghettos in the 60's and 70's also is a major problem with the gun violence...

I'm sorry Carling, but there is no evidence that there was some sort of drug conspiracy.

 

[Celticman]

If you want to know what is the cause of a lot of the gun violence in the United States my vote would go to, "the long-term effects of the enslavement and persecution of blacks".

I question that premise. But if it is correct, how will the problems ever go away? In the US, there are about 30,000 gun deaths per year, but "only" 12,000 are murders. I wonder if the majority of these are by whites? I do not know the answer, but would be interested to know.

 

[Toke]

If by "amazing" you mean "it's amazing that it took so long", I would agree with you. I think many of America's problems can be traced to the lasting effects of slavery, and the persistent discrimination against blacks that continued on in institutionalized ways until the 1960's, and really is still lingering around today in less obvious forms.

If you want to know what is the cause of a lot of the gun violence in the United States my vote would go to, "the long-term effects of the enslavement and persecution of blacks".

Now I KNOW somebody has hacked fuji's account.

 

[afterhours]

please add also the racist policies that were made to lessen the population of blacks in America..introduction of crack cocaine and heroin to the black ghettos in the 60's and 70's also is a major problem with the gun violence...

umm who exactly should be responsible for introduction of these drugs?

 

[Carling]

umm who exactly should be responsible for introduction of these drugs?

cia....

 

[Rockslinger]

If you want to know what is the cause of a lot of the gun violence in the United States my vote would go to, "the long-term effects of the enslavement and persecution of blacks".

There is also gun violence in Toronto and Canada never had Black slavery. In fact, Blacks in Canada in the 1800's were treated better than Irish Catholics. So, what is the excuse for gun violence in Toronto? Note as well that almost all the gun violence in Toronto are committed by Jamaicans and Somalis, were their ancestors slaves in Canada?

 

[onthebottom]

please add also the racist policies that were made to lessen the population of blacks in America..introduction of crack cocaine and heroin to the black ghettos in the 60's and 70's also is a major problem with the gun violence...

I'm sorry but there wasn't any CIA conspiracy to keep the black man down with drugs.... And I think you'll find substantial violence in all black communities worldwide

 

[Rockslinger]

I just saw Django Unchained,

You should also watch Lincoln and how he did not have a post-emanciation plan for the freed slaves.

 

[rhuarc29]

Do you think blacks living in American today should receive reparations for the slavery that their ancestors endured?

Uh, no. That would be stupid. That would be blaming people who had nothing to do with slavery and rewarding people who were never enslaved.

What I find amazing is that I can find many people here in Canada who have an irrational hate for black people or asian people or gay people or women even. They'll say something so inappropriate they stick out like a sore thumb. Their mindset is so different from your own that you can't even rationalize with them.

 

[Celticman]

cia....

I am relieved to discover this. Thank you. My initial concern was that it was Aliens.