Should African Americans today be grateful for slave traders?

That is even greater speculation as the history of the US is less than 240 years old while the European slavery of Africans is almost 500 years old. By the time of the founding of the US slavery already was deeply ingrained into the colonies and a key part of the economy.

 

How is this thread still going on . . .7 pages? SMH

I should make a poll
SHOULD THE DESCENDENT OF SLAVES SLAUGHTER AND COMMIT GENOCIDE ON THE DESCENDENTS OF SLAVE OWNERS.
It is ridiculous as this poll is.

Rocket River

 

I can never be grateful for the actions of people who exploited my family and robbed me of my birth rights

 

But but but... you would never have had a chance to experience an iPad otherwise!

/sarcasm

 

Slavery and colonial imperialism go hand in hand.

No doubt the world would be different without Europe enslaving and extracting other countries of their wealth.

Sure one can rationalize that as weakness, but it's usually the people who did the colonizing or subsequently benefitted it from their ancestors that make the distinction

 

Who cares what those savages think? We'll just come in, backstab them, take their land and replace their religion with ours and apologize and simultaneously tell them to get over what we've done because there's nothing we can do about the past.

[I don't blame white people of today of course--well except for a select few].

 

the problem with blaming white people of today:

1) many (most?) never had ancestors that owned slaves

2) a good percentage (most?) American blacks today are probably at least 1/3rd to half white...ever compare an African's coloring to an African American's? big difference at least when comparing with Western Africans.

3) and oh yeah, there haven't been slaves in roughly 150 years in the US...meaning all slaves and owners have died many, MANY generations ago

 

It's not about blaming people. Look at it this way, if one agrees that somehow blacks of today benefitted from slavery of their ancestors indirectly, then the same applies even more to whites based off of the indirect fruits of the very same slaves.

Immigrant or not, many of this country's institutions were built off cheap and exploited labor.

I don't buy into the "my family didn't own slaves, so why should icare" argument. Money flowed from plantation owners/souths hands and into financial and industrial centers of the north. It's the very same house but different rooms. The country as a whole should collectively acknowledge their role in their history rough patches.

 

You really don't know anything do you?

 

I don't really blame anyone today, that "select few" comment was a snide remark that you have to read between the lines to understand.

And also, although slavery ended so long ago, the legacy of it continued for another 100 years (and really still exists) and there are people still alive who went through some harsh times.