just an observer, thanks for the comment. But, I have to agree with Monique in that you cannot justify slavery by saying "if slavery never happened, you would have never been born here, and never would have had the life you now know." The USA is a country full of immigrants, except for the American Indians. So it's very possible that if there was never a period of slavery, many Africans may still have immigrated to the Americas in search of the opportunities offered here. If there was never a period of slavery, there would be a number of differences I would expect, mainly the level of tension between white/black people to be much, much less than it is now. I'm sure there would still be some problems because of skin color differences, just nowhere near as much. But, how can you ever really tell what could have been? Maybe racism would be much greater, but there wouldn't have been the history of slavery. This is starting to sound like an episode of Sliders, so on to my next comments...


deja vu writes:
"It is written that the sins of the father will pass on to the sons" & "...and y'all bitch asses can't even fix your mouths to say, "I sorry that my Great Granddaddies or whoever worked your ancestors for free..."

How do you determine between the sons whose fathers committed the crimes of slavery and the sons whose fathers
died in a war to end slavery? If you're asking for an apology, who do you ask it from? How do you know whose granddaddies "worked your ancestors for free" and whose didn't? You surely can't say that it's just anyone that is white. You can't say that all white people's ancestors were slave owners. If that were the case, the south would have devastated the north during the civil war. There would have been no separation of states & no war to unite the country. The majority of population during that time lived in the northern cities participating in the industrial revolution. The northern armies outnumbered the southern armies by far. The white people who wanted slavery were in the minority, & that's why they lost the war. So today, their decendants are also the minority of white people, not the majority. I don't agree with the statement "that the sins of the father will pass on to the sons", I'm only debating the point.


shalom says:
"the majority of those whites are in the klan"

I would disagree if you said the majority of all whites were in the klan, or if you said that all whites were racist. But I do agree that it is possible that the majority of whites in that specific area/neighborhood/whatever are in the klan. I cannot speak facts because I am not from the area you are referring to, but I'm sure it's possible. I know many white people (along with other ethnicities, of course), but I do not know anyone in the klan. Several (white) people I know do have issues with racism, but these people are probably less than 1 percent of the white people I know. But, I'm sure it depends on where you live. If I lived in shalom's area those numbers would surely be different.


shalom says:
"When the message was said that it would be best for us tocelebrate the NEW Year inside of our houses....racism kicked me once again in the ass."

I remember hearing something about this on the news. That was an awful situation.


12dn94dst wrote:
"the majority of caucasian posters are saying, in essence, slavery happened a long time ago, i wasn't there so just forget about it."

I guess this all depends on how people interpret statements & what the authors intended to communicate. My interpretation is that the majority of white people are saying that slavery happened a long time ago, I wasn't there so... don't hold ME accountable for crimes committed by other people. Do not treat ME differently because certain white people committed those crimes long ago. I didn't do it, I wouldn't do it, I don't do it - so do not treat me like I did/would or do. Treat me for who I am, not for who you think I am because I am white.


12dn94dst wrote:
"who was it that said those who forget history are destined to repeat it? just a thought......"

I agree with that. We should never forget our history, we all need to learn from our past in order progress from it.


Really wrote:
"Ok say we do forget the civil rights movement where a non violent man like Martin Luthern King Jr. was shot to death because he wanted equality for all mankind."

I think Martin LKJ would have continued to make an incredible impact in this world if he were not killed. For anyone who does not know much history about him, he was NOT one sided. He was NOT all for black people and noone else. He had a great ability to see beyond the boundaries of color. He wanted a better world FOR EVERYONE. He deserves much respect.


Really wrote:
"a little test so you say you are not racist."
"If your parents think you should only date whites, they are racist."

I guess this also means that if your parents think you should only date blacks, they are racists as well? This does not only apply to whites, correct?


Really wrote:
"If you think you are better, or more valuable then a black person then you are racist."

Just to clarify, I take it that you mean "If you think you are better, or more valuable than another person because of their color, then you are a racist."