Sure. I would certainly acknowledge that. But that's not the specific statement we were responding to. There's no need to read more into our responses than what we actually said -- that most white families did not own slaves.

This is off-topic, but I was reading an article a few weeks ago about how the great-niece of Heimrich Himmler fell in love with an Israeli Jew who lost family in the Holocaust. She waited for almost a year to tell her BF who her family was; eventually their marriage couldn't survive the various problems something like that brings up. We're obviously a few more generations removed from slavery than the Holocaust, but I thought I'd just throw that out there.

Exactly my point DS. People.....f#$k the stats, I never stated that all whites owned slaves. To say a small percentage did is bull too. I am just not shocked if I ran into someone whose ancestors did have slaves, whether they be Black, White, American Indian, etc. I never said that made McCain or Obama a bad person. If Nat Turner was related to me, does that mean I am a bad person, no.

Thank you for bringing this up. African Americans aren't the only ones in the world who have been tortured and killed, but you don't see these other races and nationalities constantly up in arms that someone somewhere owes them something.

And we should remember, many people in this country came here after in the 1900s. They didn't own slaves.

Whoa-
O.k. who the hell said someone owed them anything? I don't look for handouts. Since you want to take it there, how about SOME, not all in this country, like to sweep slavery under the rug like it is something that happened one day and ended the next. I would never compare the enslavement of African Americans to the Holocaust. One doesn't trump the other.

I thought this thread was supposed to be over on post 14 or 26?

PM_Mama, I don't think "they" (my, that is a loaded word) said anything about being owed anything. There might be a few fringe wackos who get publicity every now and then carrying on about 'reparations,' but to say that all blacks are in favor of that, I think would be overstating things. (but who is ever opposed to free money so long as they don't have to pay?)

No, slavery wasn't really over 150 years ago... heck... my father's stepfather's uncle still had what were essentially slaves well into the 1960's, still living on the plantation, still living in the same housing their forefathers occupied prior to the Civil War, working on the farm in exchange for company script only redeemable at the company store -- only a small violation of the FLSA there. The legacy of slavery is still well alive today. I really don't think that's disputable.

You do realize that your very own ancestors owned slaves, correct?

Very few of the slaves were simply caught by white folks with net or something, most were enslaved by rival tribes and then sold to the white folks.

It may be your own family.

You are so wrong on so many levels for writing this... stuff.

Nobody HERE said anything about being owed anything, first of all. Secondly, just because SOME black Americans call for reparations, and other things, doesn't mean that we ALL do! We are not the doggone Borg! We do not share a collective conscious and we do not all do ANYTHING alike. :mad:

And, for the record, YES these other ethnic groups DO speak up loudly when they feel they are being disrespected. A prime example is I never see/hear/read anyone saying the same thing about the Anti-Defamation League, or other Jewish groups, when they get their britches in a knot about something.

Freudian slips really aren't slips.

Slavery has almost always existed. That cannot be disputed. But, to toss out that Africans owned slaves in an attempt to diminish the impact of American slavery is fallacious. West African slavery was not anything like American slavery. America took slavery, and the slave trade, to a level of barbarity that was unprecedented. You should do some research, because you're way off the mark on this.

Huh? The article, that was in this month's Marie Claire, was actually about how the relationship couldn't last because of the tension.

You're arguing with him about a point he isn't making. He isn't talking about African tribes owning slaves, he is saying that's how the American slaves got here. There wasn't much in the way of white slave catchers in Africa. African tribes would go to war with a neighboring tribe, and then the winner would trade the other tribe to slave-ship owners for goods.

thus that is why you need to do your homework...slavery as it was known in Africa back in the olden days was nowhere near as brutal and dehumanizing as chattel slavery was in US.

In some cases, being a slave among some African tribes gave you a better lot in life than if you stayed free amongst your kinsmen.

And I state again, altho that period is over with, there is still the issue of some of the deeply seeded behavior that still exists among blacks and whites in our country.

What DaemonSeed said. :)

Right on! ;)

Makes you wanna holla sometimes, doesn't it? :cool:

Some people just don't get it.

I read a story over the summer about that....how some people living in some sections of South and Mid West still had Black families working for them and in one case I read, had them inbreeding....disgusting.

And now you're arguing with me about a point I wasn't making either. I don't give a rats ass what slavery in Africa was like, it doesn't change the fact that it was other Africans who sold them onto the damn boats.



Some people just don't get it. And it makes you want to holler sometimes, doesn't it.

Yes I do and that is why I stated such. Please learn to read.

Which is apparent in this thread.

African slavery was just as bad as American slavery in a lot of cases if you actually do the research, its just convenient to say that it wasn't barbaric.
There were black slave owners in America too.

Again,.... we know.

I really wish some of you could understand how silly and simple some of you sound trying to debate this point...

"Well some black people owned slaves too..."

"But a small percent of white people owned slaves"

"We are sorry about making you all slaves...but dont sue us."

"them" = the other races and nationalities and religions. I never said ALL. If I meant ALL, I would have said ALL. And yes, there are some African Americans who do believe that "we" owe them something. I never said anyone specifically on this board. You would never compare it to the Holocaust, but there are people who would and have.

What Freudian slip?


I was just happy that someone brought up other events where people were brutalized (I think I just made that word up) because of what they are. Some (note SOME)* people sweep those events under the rug.

I don't think anyone (ok maybe the KKK and whitepower jackasses) has or will ever forget that slavery existed.

*I said some.

Apparently we all want a big fat reparation check too! Ignorance is catching.

yeah...I want my 40 acres and mule....heh

http://www.africawithin.com/karenga/ethics.htm

*sigh* You're doing exactly what I said. Thanks for making my point.

The few instances you could name does not negate that the NORM of West African slavery (and we are only talking about W. African slavery) was nothing like the NORM of American chattel slavery. As a matter of fact, West Indian slavery was much more brutal than American chattel slavery and some of the barbarism that U.S. slavery got came from there. But, that still does not negate that the norm of W. African slavery was nothing like the norm of American slavery. It was a totally different system, altogether, actually.

And, thanks for not being too condescending to me :rolleyes:... but I have done the research, thanks. Have you done thorough research and not just read the things that would support the position you already held? :cool:

Yes, there were a FEW black slave owners in America, too. There have always been blacks that didn't identify with other blacks. So what?

I guess we don't know better....

Ignorance is catching.:rolleyes::D

Of course we don't. :cool:

We're supposed to know more about other people's history than our own. It's funny. I don't go around telling white people how to be white. More specifically, I would never presume to tell an ethic white person what they don't know about their own history. Now, doesn't that just sound crazy? :confused:

No one is trying to tell you a goddamn thing about your history. No one was arguing anything even remotely related to you two moron's point until you decided to "rebut" every argument with it.

Talking about black africans selling to slave ships =/= saying slavery was ok because africans had slaves too. But it is a wonderful strawman argument if you can't win on a topical point. That being said, at least in my understanding of it, that isn't where this argument came from either.

I think when people in this thread said that Obama's ancestors probably owned slaves too, they were referring to the fact that ALL OF HIS FAMILY IN AMERICA IS/WAS WHITE. But of course that isn't as easy to argue against, so proceed with your foolish misplaced outrage.

GC didn't send me any thread updates so I didn't even see this entire discussion. I don't believe the issue that the folks in the articles had was that there was slave-ownership, but rather that John McCain hasn't acknowledged these members of his extended family.

I think it would be very interesting for McCain to reach out to these relatives. Perhaps he could change their minds about him and his policies. Where better to start than with your own family?

Was it just a rumor or was it ever confirmed that Obama's mother's family in fact owned slaves?

guys...we are 'foolish' and 'morons'...we are so done here....heh

Gee...thank you for setting us straight Mistah Cracker.

No one is trying to win an argument and you're the only moron here. Comment on what you know about from now on. Thanks.

Funny -- I was thinking a very similar phrase :rolleyes:

This thrust of this thread shows the lack of progress that has been made -- sad.

Some of us get it DS -- it's just that we weren't all talking about the same thing.

I'm not so sure it's completely the lack of progress (although thst may be part of it) as much as lack of clear communication. I guess I'm the one who started this tangent by responding to a specific question. I wasn't trying to excuse anything or minimize anything, just answering a specific question. Since then, it's obvious to me that people are talking past each other. People are talking about different things but arguing as though they're talking about the same things.

The progress can't happen without the communication.

Why the hell didn't you people tell me we were having a race war????

I've been waiting for this all year!

LOL! I thought of you a couple pages ago but I've been lurking on this thread, so I didn't call you over.

I appreciate your perspective, but I stand behind my original assertion. The lack of progress is real -- I live it every day -- and much of this dialogue demonstrates it. That being said, some get it :rolleyes: