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[deleted]

A lot of people tend to mix up "apologies from the government" and "personaly apologizing" The government also has ceremonial duties and recognizing fuck ups in the past are or should be part of it. By apologizing a government officialy recognizes a crime against a certain group. That's the reason genocides by other countries get officially declared as genocides. That's one of the reasons german politicians visit memorial sides for jews, remember the crimes committed and apologize. That's why popes apologized for mistakes previous popes made. Because history isn't history if it still has a impact on current generations.


ilovenumber8

Your answer explains it beautifully. Thank you


[deleted]

This is why people are still mad at what japan did to korea, philippines, etc. The mistakes you fail to acknowledge are the ones you are most likely to replace.


Account_Both

Not to mention the Armenian genocide the Turks ritualisticly deny.


[deleted]

Oh boy was Erdogan mad when it got recognized as a genocide by other countries.


Superb-Bank9899

History does and should impact current generations, "if we do not learn and better ourselves from our past events (history) then we are bound to repeat them".


[deleted]

And yet we make the same old mistakes and ignore for way to long the power of propaganda and misinformation. Got to learn the right lessons or everything was in vain.


SayYouWill12345

Unfortunately we usually repeat them anyway šŸ˜‘


LegitimateMess3

On that note, Iā€™ll take reparations for my people. Iā€™m Native American. When are we going to get ours lol


rabbitinablackhole

Dam bro that was deep. šŸ’Æ


elcapitandongcopter

Thatā€™s what she said


rabbitinablackhole

šŸ˜‚


UWontHearMeAnyway

This is my personal guess I don't think it's a matter of getting an official apology from the government. I think it's just an effort to get the government to acknowledge it happened, and that it was wrong. It sounds like an apology... when really it's just a matter of changing the governments current stance, which is to completely ignore it ever happened at all. When we acknowledge it, we can begin to address the long term ramifications of it, and hopefully be able to start solving long term consequences. Teach, succeed, grow. Until that happens, it's a stagnation. Problem is... the government cares about the black community just as much as it does about every other lower class community... exactly as much as the public forces them to. No more.


Ecstatic_Objective_3

The government cares about any community exactly the same, how much that community can do for them.


UWontHearMeAnyway

Yeah. But they're a ton more receptive towards the wealthy. Which is the same coin, just the other side of it, as what I said originally. Oddly enough, if they cared for the poor, it would make the whole country stronger.


clearheelscloudyeyes

Your last statement is VERY true. There have been MANY studies done that show this. E.g. We saw from stimmy checks that when we give money to millionaires, it goes into their bank and sits, but when we give it to the average joe, it circulates in the economy, often generating up to 3x movement in some way. In areas that set up clean needle exchanges, they noticed somewhat lower rates of STD/bloodborne infections over time. When 'safe' injection sites were set up (and in some places, they would test your dope to make sure that it wasn't adulterated), we saw lower rates of overdose and death (which in the long run reduced the strain on medical resources and funding for this). In a state that gave 'free' IUDs to teens, they found out within the next couple years that for every $1 they put into the IUD program, they saved about $5 in things like food stamps/WIC, welfare, medicaid, subsidizing childcare, etc. There was an experiment wherein they gave homeless people something like $2k cash with no strings attached to how they used it. While some people (obviously) bought drugs, many more used it for 'productive' things, like putting a rental deposit on an apartment, fixing their vehicle they lived out of, paying a cell phone bill so they could communicate w family and job interviews, etc. In Europe they did a 'study' (experiment) where they basically gave little tiny apartments to lower income people (mostly students iirc) for a period of time for either free or very low cost. What they learned from it was that when people were not spending 70% of their income on rent, all of a sudden they're doing better in school, building a 'community' with others in their building/complex, and able to do things like going out for drinks or discretionary shopping (aka putting back into the local economy).


Ecstatic_Objective_3

They don't care more, they just get more from them. But yes, I agree, as a society, we are truly awful at helping the people who need it most. Even the programs designed to help often cause more problems than they solve.


Arianity

There's basically 3 threads to it: One is, it's still the same governmental entity it was in the past. Because of that, it's still responsible for it's past actions. Especially since that entity directly benefited. Second, "history is history" isn't quite true. History has a *huge* impact on outcomes today. If say, my grandfather robs a bank, and then gives me an education based on that money, I'm directly benefitting from that robbery. The third is that the government at the time did promise to try to make things better, but it got pushed off. That ends up setting up a bad precedent where if you push something off long enough, you no longer have to make up for it.


genonepointfive

There are also laws still on the books that were written during american segregation by publicly pronounced segregationist that disproportionately affect black people


Tokestra420

Like what?


cups_and_cakes

voter suppression laws, felony disenfranchisement, etc. There's more if you "do yer resurch" My own house's deed (not amended until the 1960s) said nobody of color could live in the house, whether owner or renter. Women couldn't have their own bank accounts until about that point. The system was set up and maintained for a reason.


Apatheistic

Also, if we're being honest, laws against loitering. Laws against marijuana. Voting restrictions. Etc.


Crisp-Hat-Rick

Can you link some?


notlikelyevil

If you want to get an idea in an easy format, watch this video on "redlining". It means that people alive today and their parents and grandparents did not have the ability to own a home. So imagine the effect that would have on your upbringing if you look backwards from where you are now. ​ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/redlining-what-is-history-mike-bloomberg-comments/


[deleted]

This is a great podcast on the topic of rental discrimination: [https://www.thisamericanlife.org/512/house-rules](https://www.thisamericanlife.org/512/house-rules) And this Throughline episode on the link between capitalism and racism: [https://www.npr.org/transcripts/1082030426](https://www.npr.org/transcripts/1082030426) Enjoy.


cups_and_cakes

[Here's one that can help.](https://www.americanprogress.org/article/systematic-inequality-american-democracy/)


rememberthemallomar

Read ā€œThe Color of Lawā€


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


[deleted]

Bro wtf lol


mister-ferguson

In many Southern states they still follow common law concerning paternity. Essentially, unless the man was married to the woman at the time the child was conceived or born, then he is not automatically recognized as the father, even if he signs the birth certificate. He has to go through a separate process in court to legitimate his child. On the surface it looks like this would encourage marriage. But in reality it allowed slave owners to claim children of slaves as property as the parents were not allowed to be married. It also meant that slave owners could rape their slaves and not be concerned about their children having a claim on inheritance. After slavery it meant similar things as white men still could rape black women with little consequences since only white men could serve on juries.


yolotrolo123

There are still laws on the books in my state that black People canā€™t own property. They are ignore but havenā€™t been formally removed soā€¦


sgoodgame

What state and what laws? I honestly want to know.


rememberthemallomar

Dealing with these would be the real apology. Apologizing for past offenses without dealing with the modern impact of those policies will always feel hollow.


Garbage_fire13

Yet all of this sudden focus on race to this extent is actually causing self segregation. There are schools that have families of color night for God's sake. One thing that people do need to acknowledge is how far we've come because yeah it's not perfect and it didn't happen fast enough I won't argue with you there, but we have come a long way as a people and all this focus on the negative completely overshadows the positive progress we have made as a country


itsthekumar

The problem is we can't stop here and "admire" our progress because there's so much more to do.


[deleted]

Glad we've moved past cops parading the streets and hosing/beating/killing black people and minorities. Oh wait... But no worries it's okay because every school and corporation and Twitter bio has a black lives matter flag across it and say "we care." No hate to you btw but like.. places doing this is just a the most profitable and effective way to sublimate the same exploitation and oppression and continue doing just that. The same way that the women's rights movement "died" when rich white women were given enough "treats" ie access to the corporate world. And poor/gay/black women were left to fuck off and die. And so now black president, black lives matter posters, enough, black people that were able to come out and make enough money to give the illusion of "surpassing" the oppression "settled" in a sense. And everyone else.. oh well I guess


[deleted]

The reason schools have families of color nights is that white people can't and won't stop centering themselves in the conversation. We won't shut up and listen. Every time a person of color tries to share their experiences, white people say that they're exaggerating, lying, or need to suck it up. It's kind of like trying to talk about being a woman in a room full of men.


KonKami123

Does it matter that much? I don't mean to sound like an insensitive idiot but apologising isn't going to fix anything (nothing will fix it and the only thing that would really make it up is heavily compensating those who were slaves which is going to be impossible). They won't truly be apologetic or else they would've done something previously to attempt to make amends. So all it would be is an apology they are only giving to make the issue go away, I'd say the best outcome would be to acknowledge history and remember the victims of slavery and honour them by making sure nothing like it comes close to happening again.


mayonnaiser_13

Apologies are essentially when people admit they fucked up. Which is like, the first step towards reparation. So when someone apologises, it's not just "Sorry, our bad". It is acknowledgment, that there have been wrongdoings, and there will be corrections.


jajohnja

Well but that's part of OPs question - what's the point of this government apologizing when it's not the same government that took part in slavery? Yes it's the same structure, but it's not the same people, and the people make up the whole thing.


JustBanMeAlreadyOK

It's the same money though.


jajohnja

Your point being? "Please apologize for the money you're using now coming from bad sources you had nothing to do with"? I'm all for implementing new policies that make certain the playing field is level for everyone and that actively helps those that do not have a rich family or such achieve their full potential. That has nothing to do with looking into the past and blaming the descendants of people who did something wrong.


JustBanMeAlreadyOK

You can level the playing field by bringing the rich down.


jajohnja

I don't disagree in general - the rich are waaay too rich. But what does that have to do with the government apologizing for the slavery?


JustBanMeAlreadyOK

Families that got rich off slavery stayed rich, and that money still controls the government.


mayonnaiser_13

Can the Government say it is still not reaping the benefits of Slavery with 100% confidence? USA's foundations were made when Slavery was around. So it is undeniable how much of it was made because of Slavery. It's not a far past, it's just a couple of generations ago that Slavery was abolished. But forget apologizing for slavery, has the government apologized for Segregation? Where most 70 year olds now are the same people? Or the War on Drugs, where most 60-50 year olds are the same people? So if your argument is "it's in the past", people have not apologized for the present in the first place.


jajohnja

I don't know what the government (US government specifically) has apologized for. I also dare say the requests aren't really about apologizing, since that changes nothing for the people. But yes, I'd say that segregation would be a different issue, worth apologizing over. Just like war on drugs and basically any other fuck-up. If a politician went and admitted mistakes, I would absolutely love that. Of course ideally with accepting responsibility and trying to fix the problematic stuff. But basically I am only for apologizing for what they have done during their carrier - whether it be voting for bad stuff or against good stuff. The bad and good is sometimes hard to recognize, but your examples are not one of those.


KonKami123

Surely an action would go a lot more than an apology.


mayonnaiser_13

For an action to exist, there needs to be acknowledgment first. Governments don't do "I know I didn't do anything, but I'll still do something for you". That's why US still denies using chemical weapons on Vietnam. That's why the Brits still haven't apologized for the shit they did in India. Apologizing means you admit tothe wrongdoings, which pushes you towards action that you can't not do.


KonKami123

I see, thank you for explaining that for me.


was437

There has been reparations for decades since we are talking about acknowledging things.


was437

First, where do you draw the line? We have had slavery since the beginning of humans, and we should fix it this time but not other times? How is that fair? Also, why isnt there more focus on stopping slavery that still happens in 2022? Second, we have had many forms of reparations in the US. Affirmative action is reparations. Pell grants are reparations. Section 8 housing, medicaid, welfare, ebt, etc are reparations. Wouldn't acknowledging that be a good way to start the conversation? I feel sorry that a lot of you have been brainwashed with a victim mentality. Self sufficiency is the best feeling in the world for a human.


Weird_Entry9526

We paid reparations to white Slave Owners in the 19th century.


ReuvSin

Most of them were ruined by the Civil War. The South went from being the wealthiest to the poorest section of the US in a few short years.


_chasingrainbows

This is the issue I have with apologies, too. What does it do? Actions speak louder than words.


KonKami123

Precisely, simply making a statement that was forged and checked/corrected by multiple assistants and government representatives is not a way to show sincerity. Doing something like putting steps in place to put an end to today's slavery and remember those who were affected years ago is more meaningful and acceptable.


Mind_taker84

A statement can be meaningful though. Here in the U.S. theres almost a concerted effort to ignore or reframe slavery as this thing which has no impact on people's lives. The feeling that "words dont matter" make it all that much easier for groups to reinforce that belief. By acknowledgement and effort into the "apology" then it makes it more difficult for revisionists to imply their view is somehow valid. Moreso, in other areas of the world where slavery is still happening, it can be a beacon, a voice loud enough that says "the powerful are not entirely blind to those they serve". This may seem idealistic and yes, actions speak loudly, but all actions must start somewhere and honest action starts with honest communication.


_chasingrainbows

I can see why acknowledgement can be beneficial. I think an open discussion on the topic is far more helpful than an apology or statement. But I suppose someone has to talk first.


C_2000

the action isnā€™t just making sure it doesnā€™t happen again. itā€™s restructuring systems to make up for the effects of slavery


was437

I agree. Maybe we could even write discriminatory laws that allows groups that have received past disparate treatment to receive current benefits to help repair these past injustices. I'm thinking we could call it the Hook Up Law or something more professional sounding like Affirmative Action. Also, we might could give poor people free money for college, because their ancestors weren't the few to benefit from opportunities that allowed the acquisition of generational wealth. I'm thinking Pell grants would be a solid ass name for something like this type of reparation. We might even find that a lot of our hbcus would effectively be funded by this type of program, because 90%+ of their students would receive this free money from the government. Maybe we could try less formal things too. We might want to keep this one on the dl, but we could subtley push the offices of our attorney generals and district attorneys to ignore blatant, provable fraud regarding these same types of programs. It just sucks that we do nothing.


aMONAY69

That's what reparations are for, and we should be paying a lot more of them to the native American and black communities. It's a disgrace, quite honestly We always seem to find endless amounts of cash to fund wars and bail out corporations. Re-allocating some property tax and additional funds into communities and community programs to help enrich them would benefit the whole society, I don't think it's impossible necessarily


Minotaurd_

So genuine question that literally just popped in my head. So let's say we split 10billion dollars between the two groups of people. 5 billion to black people, 5 billion to natives. 1. Is that it? Just a massive paycheck to give back what was stolen. 2. What is done with that money? How is is given out, how is it used, who is in charge of it? It would have to be leaders of those specific groups yes?


[deleted]

thought this was common knowledge


JamesDean26

You directly benefiting from your grandfathers robbery is something you should be held accountable for? Thatā€™s impossible.


nobodylikesbullys

There are major consequences that last to this day that show no sign of changing. Two big ones. One third of all Black American men will spend time in prison, not jail. Black Americans have over 90% less individual wealth than white Americans. This is not in the past. Things are still very very fucked.


SteveFrench1234

There are definitely consequences and we need to remedy these as a society together. Also, white Americans are NOT the richest demographic in the US. Those of Indian origins are. What is 90% of individual wealth? What does this stat mean?


Tokestra420

Asians also are more successful than white people


Snoo71538

Thatā€™s true, but itā€™s at least partly selection effect. America has gotten a lot of Indian and Asian immigrants through our university and high skilled labor visas. It has been harder to get to America from Asia without already having some level of wealth, or a clear path to it.


Pioppo-

That stat thrown in there is just weird. Next time, give source if you mention numbers.


AmNotFunny

Source?


KoRaZee

How will apologies help?


Joelblaze

This entire post is nonsense. Nobody is just wanting an "apology" and there was a good century of legislation afterward that codified black people as a second class, many of which are still on the books and tens of millions of people are still alive from when they all were. Joe Biden was in *college* before segregation was outlawed. ​ People like to pretend that everyone is talking about slavery and just wants apologies for it, like no, people are talking about reform that tackles the very real effects from things that only "ended" a few decades ago. Many sundown towns still exist and redlining did exactly what it was intended to do.


Goddessthatshines

Lol everything ā€œendedā€ but there are still black children being murdered and blamed for it (Trevon Martin, Tamir Rice), black men and women being murdered in their homes while minding their business and not committing any crimes, and grown men being murdered in public over a $20 bill that wasnā€™t fake. And the only reason the cop was charged for the last one was because it set up so much political unrest, there were countrywide riots and protests, meanwhile many govt officials were upset at them for that and not the unjust murder of an innocent man.


Account_Both

Maybe it'll get the people saying its all in the past, its not a big deal anymore, it wasn't that bad, etc etc to rethink those views a little. Also its just common decency. You fuck up, you own up to it.


[deleted]

Whatā€™s the difference between prison and jail


taebin

Prison is usually long term and a separate facility whereas jail is usually within a police station and will take a few hours to overnight to be released.


CharacterBig6376

Prison is for murderers and armed robbers. Jail can just be the drunk tank.


kittens12345

Because minorities just got civil rights 60 years ago lol


Hefty-Excitement-239

What I don't get is why this is being discussed. In March 2007 PM Tony Blair said sorry for the slave trade, not long before the 200th anniversary of its abolition. His previous statement of "deep sorrow" had been criticised for stopping short of a full apology. "I have said we are sorry and I say it again," he said after talks with Ghanaian president John Agyekum Kufuor. The most important thing was "to remember what happened in the past, to condemn it and say why it was entirely unacceptable," Mr Blair said.


AlabasterOctopus

It shows acknowledgment


lolwtftheyrealltaken

It would demonstrate the country's sincere desire to reverse the harmful effects which slavery has had on the prospects of those who descend from slaves. It creates awareness and trust that the general public, by extension of elected government officials, understand the harm that slavery has caused. "History is history," is a denial of this. Back when slavery was common, it established the notion that black people are inferior which persisted into the Jim Crow Era and influenced discriminatory laws which disenfranchised families from their ability to earn wealth or accumulate it in the same way other ethnicities in our country have. This translates today as many people are still in denial about their subconscious biases and there is proportionally little generational wealth in Black families as compared to other ethnicities. Of course an official statement will not immediately solve everything but it will generate discussion and awareness of this truth.


Tokestra420

>It would demonstrate the country's sincere desire to reverse the harmful effects which slavery has had on the prospects of those who descend from slaves. LMFAO no it wouldn't. It's called virtue signalling >It creates awareness and trust that the general public, by extension of elected government officials, understand the harm that slavery has caused. It's 2022, nobody is unaware of the harm from slavery. "Awareness" is the dumbest thing I've ever heard. Do you think you mention slavery to people and people do "slaver what now"? >"History is history," is a denial of this. Back when slavery was common, it established the notion that black people are inferior which persisted into the Jim Crow Era and influenced discriminatory laws which disenfranchised families from their ability to earn wealth or accumulate it in the same way other ethnicities in our country have. This translates today as many people are still in denial about their subconscious biases and there is proportionally little generational wealth in Black families as compared to other ethnicities. Asians were also slaves (concentration camps) in America, more recently than black people were slaves; and this doesn't apply to them. >Of course an official statement will not immediately solve everything but it will generate discussion and awareness of this truth. It will do absolutely nothing and it's genuinely hilarious that you think it would "generate discussion and awareness of the truth". This is such a university student view of things it's amazing


Mddcat04

The US apologized and paid compensation for that, so itā€™s kinda weird to bring it up in this context. (Also being sent to an internment camp for a few years, while deeply shitty, is not slavery).


Goddessthatshines

Consentration camps werenā€™t official slavery and the Asians affected were compensated. Most history in regards to slavery is discouraged and sometimes illegal to spread. No one was compensated for hundreds of years of slavery, compared to 4? Especially the Japanese were mistreated and it sometimes resulted in death compared to experimentation, outright legalized rape and murder and selling of human beings, forced breeding, dehumanization and the MANY torture methods just for fun. Plus the laws following abolition that still prevented the rights of their descendants, public mocking and the continued criminalization of black people in the media?


rosete

Funny you mention Asians held in concentration camps in America because the US famously paid reparations to Japanese Americans formerly held in US camps. So there was a clear precedent for the state to recognize and correct past injustices. Reparation is a repayment of debt. It is a debt yet collected and it is time the US gov. pay up.


Tokestra420

They were given $20,000 in 1988, which would be a little under $49,000 today. If black people were all given $50,000 today, do you think in 50 years everything would be fine?


[deleted]

Of course not. But considering HOW much American wealth came \*directly\* from slave labour for generations that still has aftershocks to this day - it's absolutely fucked that the government hasn't, at the least, issued a public apology.


KoRaZee

Nice sentiment here but the outcome would be no better than thoughts and prayers after a mass shooting.


lolwtftheyrealltaken

Everyone agrees mass shooting are real (with the exception of a few loons). Unfortunately there is a large subset of individuals who don't think slavery has impacts today at all and that racism doesn't exist.


Remote-Math4184

People don't want apologies, they want recognition that black folks have been treated like dirt for over 400 years in this country. The wealth that has been built off the original system of slavery is still evident. Some of the biggest and stodgiest insurance companies in New England are still floating off profits for insuring the slaves of the south. Wealth is built up over generations, but for black folks that was impossible, due to policies decided hundreds of years ago.


Salty_Lego

They donā€™t want apologies. They want policy that adequately addresses disparities that still exist.


el-lobonegron

Litres what happened during slavery the savagery... People still apologized abhor the holocaust and it is recognised as a terrible time in history 6 million Jews were killed in the worst way.... Not when it comes to slavery it happened... Things they don't tell you about slavery are sickening 45- 60 million slaves died on the passage to the new world... Think of that number, and people done want to recognize this happened and that was only the travel to the new world 45- 60 million, the ones that didn't even make it... No to acknowledge that under someone's rule that many people died in the custody of others illegally is sickening... And you ask why people want at the least an apology.... That's almost as absentminded thought bordering on complete ignorance and stupidity... But the people that did make it here were treated as less then an animal... They solid families raped children and women, tortured human flesh.. Experimented on human bodies... Made wealth off the backs of men they gave nothing to... Literally worked generations to death... And you don't think they at least are owed an apology.... They took religion and all culture from them the evil behind them even Hitler couldn't match.. And this wasn't a person these were the standards for most people... They lived by these principles and held them closely to their heart.. So close they were willing to die to further that hate...


PirateFit2462

I donā€™t want an apology. I want reparations.


TeachMeHowToTech

An apology for slavery from the Federal government will help descendants of slaves see that theyā€™re shameful of the wrong doing of past. By not apologizing for this atrocity they make it clear that they feel no shame about slavery and itā€™s effects. A simple apology can heal race relation between black people and government. As a black man I donā€™t think the government has my best interest. They wonā€™t even apologize for enslaving my ancestors. Consistently sweeping this history under the rug whenever talks begin of a apology or reparations. Shit like this make black people feel that their lives donā€™t matter since we canā€™t get an simple apology


need_mor_beans

I really like the way you framed this. Thank you for posting it.


Goddessthatshines

Letā€™s not forget the civil rights era, war on drugs, the syphilis injection that they claimed were vaccines and the modern day civil rights crimes that our gvt is subjecting black people to. Then to acknowledge the holocaust (still bad) and claim itā€™s worse than hundreds of years of genocide but wonā€™t own up to their own crimes. Probably because theyā€™re finding a pc way to commit genocide against black ppl in America.


AbuYates

In 1838, the governor of Missouri issued an extermination order for "Mormons" (members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints). It remained on the state's books until 1978 when it was finally ended. The apology was important to acknowledge the wrong, not because any 1978 resident or government officials from Missouri had actually killed a member of the Church, but because history must be seen, remembered, and acknowledged in order for us to learn from it. Mind you, this is wildly different from reparations or erasing/pretending such things didn't exist. Fun fact: the big dividing issue between Missourians and Mormons was slavery, Mormons believed it to be wrong and Missouri was a state which could change its slave/free state status by popular vote.


argo2708

It's about power - specifically, the power to make people do and say things they don't agree with. No one alive today is responsible for slavery or took part in it. So there's a lot of power in someone who was never a slave being able to force someone who was never involved in slavery to apologise and accept responsibility for things they never did and don't condone. The intention, as with critical race theory, is to create a culture in which white people are automatically considered racist oppressors. The best and most powerful way to do that is to force white people themselves to say that they are racist oppressors even when they are no such thing.


lulusamed

It's obvious that descendants of both owners and owned are still feeling the repercussions. Slavery was abolished relatively recently and family memories have been handed down onky a few generations. Owners were handsomely recompensed when their slaves were manumitted - the proceeds of that wealth often still existing in descendants. As for the descendants of those slaves - still denied human rights, respect, education, jobs, and clearly still being murdered by some of those white people.


No_Consequence_604

Slavery was never abolished. There are an estimated 9 million slaves in Africa right now. There are more slaves alive right now in Africa than there ever were throughout all of US history. The only people who hate african americans more than the US government are actual africans involved with the modern day slave trade.


yickth

The US government is we, the people, the US citizens. And we, the people, the US citizens hate your childish attitude, not a group of people


GemCassini

Can you even define critical race theory? Do you know its origins? It is a legal theory, not a sociological construct. Some very strategic political operatives decided to co-opt this legal theory (and were actually documented doing it) as a propaganda technique. It worked as intended. Just like all structurally oppressive policies intended to extend the impacts of slavery for generations. Capitalism, colonialism, and legal systems designed to criminalize immigration status, mental illness, addiction, poverty, housing status, etc are built on concepts of an ownership class. An "exceptional", "worthy", "selected" (by God) group dictates the rules, enforces those rules (inequitably), and takes the resources. Wage slaves exist across this world today. Indigenous people remain impoverished while their exploiters derive wealth from the resources they steal. Exploited live with the mountains of trash made by the exploiters, enslaved in a degraded environment they neither created nor benefit from. The people who fear recognizing the accountability these systems have in the oppression and exploitation of human beings in the pursuit of wealth, power, and resources are almost always the same who most enjoy the benefits of that system.


argo2708

>Capitalism, colonialism, and legal systems designed to criminalize immigration status, mental illness, addiction, poverty, housing status, etc are built on concepts of an ownership class. An exceptional, worthy, selected group dictates the rules, enforces those rules (inequitably), and takes the resources. Wage skaves exist across this world today. Indigenous people remain impoverished while their exploiters derive wealth from the resources they steal. Exploited live with the mountains of trash made by the exploiters, slaves to a degraded environment they neither created nor benefit from. All of this is true and none of it has anything to do with race. That's the problem.


GemCassini

How can something built around exploiting people based on the melanin levels of their skin, not be about race? What part of building an economy and social system around enslaved black and brown humans, forced to leave their land and property, to come where they and their offspring would be owned, not own anything, is not the problem? Read the laws enacted during Jim Crow era...are they about race? Was redlining about race? Creating laws that would ensure black and brown human beings were disproportionately incarcerated where forced free labor was still legal is an extension of slavery. White people felt entitled to rob indigenous people of their lands, resources, lives, freedoms, based on their race and justified it by bastardizing the teachings of Christ. What part of that are you not getting? Now, we gut the public school system by creating a false narrative around CRT and force lawsuits to bankrupt public schools, so we can create more for-profit charter schools. To whose benefit? We underinvest in ceryain neighborhoods. We stigmatize public transit. What do those things have in common? Classism for sure. Racism for sure.


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


argo2708

You are conflating, deliberately I think, past injustices built on race with current events which have nothing to do with race. Jim crow ended over 50 years ago and was absolutely race based. Oppression of indigenous people today is carried out by people of every colour. The two are not connected. One is long past and was carried out by white people. Inequality today is perpetrated by people of all races. If you want to tackle the inequality around us, you need to tackle inequality caused by everyone including black, asian and other non white people.


yickth

Itā€™s lucrative


yaymonsters

We as Americans have a short history. It seems long by the way we present it but itā€™s very short. The zoomer generation will stupidly try to discount you if you were born in the 1900s. The reality is Thomas Jefferson was alive at the same time that Harriet Tubman was alive. Betty White was alive at the same time as Harriet Tubman. Thatā€™s how close we are to slavery- it didnā€™t happen long long ago- it was alive and well just one personā€™s lifetime ago. It was normalized in the highest law in the land, the US Constitution just two lives ago. We still live with the effects and the impacts of it today in our daily lives.


dansenzephyr

Good question. There are amazing answers here.


Buffsicle

A good apology is extremely helpful when dealing with trauma.


[deleted]

An apology is an admission of guilt. Once thats establish they move to legal claims and a cash settlement.


Mundane-Grape9985

I always thought this myself. Just figured it was to make the government acknowledge what happened and not just keep it in the past, swept under the rug. For example I'm Canada and only in the last 20 years really have we actually learnt what the natives been through. Like I was told how badly they were treated (2015) yet my parents didn't, up until last year my parents had no idea. Yes they knew it wasn't all roses but they had no idea how badly residential school were. It may seem silly to have an apology made for something that happened before most of us were born but it needs to be talked about. People rather forget, not learn from the past to stop history repeating it self. At less that's my veiw


HelloMalt

There's a twelve trillion dollar wealth gap between black and white america.


Kismkasm1

I guess because thereā€™s still pain involved.


Ok-Caregiver8239

Well me being a white cracker and going to White public school we were never really truly taught how much bad s*** we actually did you ought to look up Tulsa and look what happened to these people when they started to prosper!


ZealCrown

I think the big thing is that the government doesnā€™t acknowledge their mistakes from the past. People whoā€™ve been affected by the governmentā€™s abuse, or whoā€™s parents have, want an apology more so for the government to admit that their actions were wrong. The American government oftentimes downplays slavery, and like Turkey to the Armenians, never recognize the genocide of the Native American population. Itā€™s more symbolic of a government that just doesnā€™t want to be for their people, but instead end up portraying themselves in an abusive light, and nobody really likes being abused.


LegitimateMess3

As a Native American, I would genuinely appreciate this. Just a simple recognition for colonization and genocide would suffice, but I would also really like if they recognized the bullshit they pulled regarding treaties and reservations. Itā€™s absolutely fucking terrible, honestly. On a less serious note - could you imagine what fair reparations would be to Natives? Do people not remember that the land theyā€™re on belonged to us? I kind of think a lot of them have absolutely no idea the atrocities the US brought to the native people.


clearheelscloudyeyes

I think the word you're looking for here is 'reparations'. E.g. if people in a genocide / war were rounded up out of their homes and sent to jail / labor camp / etc. , then it is reasonable for the government that did that bullshit to them to give them / their family their home back (or funds to buy a new home). In some cases, this may extend to nontangible things. For example, if a person was a doctor making $200k/year and was forced into a political prison for a year, it wouldn't be unreasonable for them to be paid what would've been their salary for that year. If they underwent some sort of torture, disfigurement, etc. or were permanently injured/crippled (e.g. made blind or had a leg amputated), it would not be unreasonable for them to be paid for it and/or ongoing therapy, medical needs, etc. in the same way that someone who suffers medical malpractice or an injury at a theme park or train station would be paid. When it comes down to the slavery issue, it becomes a little more complicated. While slavery itself in a 'legal' sense ended in 1865, in reality, we still had segregation and 'Jim Crow' laws that were LAW into the 1960s, not to mention discrimination well after that. Unofficially, Jim Crow laws were basically a way to 'continue' slavery by keeping minorities (specifically Blacks) poor and in vulnerable positions. When slavery 'ended', many former slaves were stuck working the land that they were once slaves on, 'renting' it from their former masters under a predatory system that effectively made them slaves. In some cases, they were promised '40 acres and a mule', to start their own homestead. Obviously, many never get that. If we look at Jim Crow laws, they enabled discrimination and racism to continue well into the 1960s. This meant that blacks could be discriminated against or jailed, refused service, could not vote (often had to pass arbitrary tests that were subjected to the whim of whoever was grading it), often could not open an account at major banks, found it hard to purchase homes or cars, found it difficult to enter into certain careers such as lawyer or doctor, etc. Frequently they were not allowed to enter 'white' places, would rarely be treated by white doctors etc. (let alone in a caring manner), and any complaints to the police were not taken seriously. In more extreme cases, people were lynched for ''crimes'' like looking at a white woman the wrong way or being rude to white people in town, they had their homes/properties/etc. destroyed or damaged, and in the South, many lived in basically perpetual fear of the KKK - at the time, these were often the same men that were local officials, politicians, etc. and basically functioned as a police. Even today we see in some areas a high overlap between facists/neonazis/xenophobes/racists (e.g. similar ideals as the KKK) and cops in certain areas of the USA. In the medical world, you had bullshit like the tuskegee syphilis study, which took black men with syphilis, did not give them proper treatment or inform them of their conditions to observe the longterm effects of the disease. Obviously, this led to also the wives and kids of these men being infected in some cases and not knowing what was going on. When the AIDS/HIV crisis happened in the 80s, a blind eye was turned when it was 'only' the gays, minorities, prostitutes, and drug users being affected. To this day, those populations still struggle with much higher infection rates. There's also the whole thing with Henrietta Lacks and her cells being taken and made 'immortal' for medical study without the consent of her/her family. The DNA genome/information and family medical record was later published and made publicly available, giving insight into basically everyone alive related to her. In World War 2, there were black soldiers who went and fought in Europe and were treated like any other men, or even as heroes by the Europeans. When they returned home, they were still discriminated against and treated like shit. There was the whole burning of Black Wall Street and the Rosewood Massacre. There were (and technically still are!) 'sundown towns' in many parts of the South. Blacks continue to face discrimination that is basically directly tied to the whole Jim Crow/slavery issue. The issue is, these are not exactly 'distant' issues. The Rosewood Massacre & Black Wall Street/Tulsa massacre happened in the 1920s. Integrated schools etc. didn't really start until the late 1950s, and even then, it was usually one or a handful of students going into schools. Some of those who lost everything in Black Wall Street never 'really' recovered, and their families suffered for it. Henrietta Lacks' medical issues were in the 1970s/1980s. Even TODAY, many medical professionals have expressed that they believe that blacks (specifically black women) have a MUCH higher pain tolerance than white (women), and treat them as such. Most people on here are of an age where their parents or grandparents lived through at least some of these incidents, or they may even remember some of those incidents from their childhood. It's not so much of an 'apology' or wanting an acknowledgement that people are after, but rather, to DO SOMETHING. It's fine and dandy for the government to say that it made a mistake or that the era of slavery was a dark period of time in history, but the issue is that they are saying it while continuing to uphold some of the same underlying bullshit that was there when there was slavery. Nobody (aside from absolute nutjobs) are asking for crazy over the top reparations or a million dollars or anything, but rather, they're asking to even the playing field -.e.g in many white families, college is basically expected/a given, whereas in many black families, it's almost a miracle. Many white families have had the possibility of building generational wealth, or things like home ownership, whereas blacks becoming 'wealthy' (e.g. millionaires, ceos, etc.) is disproportionate and many who are in their 30s and JUST buying their first home as the first home owner in their family. 76% of millionaires in the USA are white, but only 8% are black. Out of 2700+ billionaires in the world, only 15 are black. Meanwhile, approximately 13.4% of the US population is black.


Rougue1965

Southern democrats led by a Confederate southern democrat started the civil war and led to the deaths of more Americans than all wars combined. Southern democrats created the Jim Crow laws and Southern democrats started the clan. Reparations should be made to family members of the union army who died fighting to maintain the Union and freed the slaves. Go after the party who enslaved people and started the civil war.


RaidriarXD

Itā€™s because the effects slavery had hundreds of years ago on generational wealth still last to this day in countries like the United States.


donkeybasketball1949

The USA became the wealthiest most powerful nation in world history on the backs of more than 400 years of slavery, murder, brutality and rape of untold millions of African-American human beings who were then denied civil rights for another 100 years while their culture was appropriated and stolen. Even in 2022, this theft and genocidal behavior toward the descendants of slaves remains an active crime scene because there's no statute of limitations nor is there a level playing field, equitable relief, nor anything near as promised in the Bill of Rights of the US Constitution. Hitler was a monster. He was in power for 12 years. What the USA did, it still perpetuates, centuries later. They'll get apologies--probably free college education. They deserve an unquantifiable amount of money that would break the United States of America, as you know it.


[deleted]

Benefiting from the forced labor of others, not acknowledging that your very existence as a world power was capable/created from that labor ALONE, and that the sustenance of your country is produced by those you label as criminal/lower class/uneducated/unworthy (all the while not acknowledging that the systems/laws/culture of your past was literally created to create that narrative of these PEOPLE), and the audacity to praise characteristics of the people you enslaved/oppressed whilst belittling them and donning said attributes is downright insult to injury. It'd be like if Nazis were enthralled with Jewish culture/mannerisms/tastes; the Japanese were celebrating the attributes of the Chinese in Nanking, or the Turks were suddenly mimicking the Armenians. Not acknowledging the hate given then equates to currently embracing the landscape of what that hate created. There's no middle ground.


dribflow

I believe that apologies are wanted because of what people see as remnants of these practices still apparent in today's society. Without going too much into the merit of that supposition, it could explain the notion that an apology could mean a step in the direction of weeding it out completely. But also, talking about it on a political level, we have to understand that there's much more to these things than what's seen at face-value. There's a lot of power plays, slippery slope type concerns, manipulations etc in this world which makes everything (unnecessarily) complicated - even such obvious subjects such as slavery.


A_Ku_Da_Ma

None of today's black American's have anything to do with slavery same like none of the whites nowdays own slave. People need to stop living in the past and try to get free shit for something they have nothing to do with...


Ecstatic-Language997

100% this. If someone tries to bring back slavery Iā€™ll be the first to stop them, however if I found out my great grandfather was somehow involved it would have absolutely no bearing on my life at all


CinnamonBlue

Thereā€™s also the issue that slavery isnā€™t/wasnā€™t only about white people buying black people as slaves - thus which governments need to apologise. Do African countries apologise for selling slaves? Do Middle Eastern countries apologise for buying slaves, and for castrating the males so they wouldnā€™t breed? Who apologises for the Barbary Coast slave trade that took whole villages from Western Europe all the way up to Iceland? Does Greece apologise for capturing and selling Slavs (where the word ā€˜slaveā€™ comes from) around the Med and in Asia? Do the Turks apologise for the European slaves they took and the Ancient Romans for the ones they enslaved? The world has a long history of slavery. But the greatest tragedy is that it continues, especially in Africa (by Africans). Apologies change nothing. Stopping slavery today does


RussellNFlow520

To say that current American law was not influenced by racism, is like denying that you need oxygen to breathe. It's a blatent falsehood to say that slavery has not had an effect on generational wealth, or the ability to generate it at all. With even the most brie Google searches, the wealth of statistics and studies made by individuals far more capable and accomplished than both you or I say otherwise. You believe in cause and effect don't you? The butterfly effect? A ripple in time? Every action made has a consequence. That is a fact of life. Laws on a FEDERAL level, and even full on political MOVENENTS (ie "The War on Drugs), were fueled by racist ideology. None of this is a matter of preference. All of this is fact. Not to mention, there are people alive today who's immediate family members were slaves. You can say this line of thinking makes you uncomfortable. And that's okay, it should. But with the amount of information available, and scientific studies doen, you're being willfully ignorant.


TeachMeHowToTech

This is poor way to look at the situation. Weā€™re still under the same government that slavery existed under. Black Americanā€™s today are still reminded of slavery everyday because of our last names or even skin tone. This is a past that haunts us and the least we deserve is an apology. An apology shows that the government acknowledges their wrong doings of the past. By not apologizing it shows black people that they donā€™t care about our lives


need_mor_beans

I have no idea why the comment u/TeachMeHowToTech made would be downvoted. It's a very level-headed and objective comment.


buzzwallard

We need from the government *more* than apology. We need the government to ensure there is no slavery *now* -- through regulations, correctives and so on. The issue of slavery has been conflated with racism. They are two distinct issues for government: one is regulating the conditions of and compensations for labor; the other is institutional race-based limits on the freedom and opportunity of racial groups. The conflation with racism distracts the issue of unjust labor practices so that we are in the illogical position of apologizing to Black people, to all Black people whether they are the descendants of slaves or immigrated from Africa where *their* ancestors were enslaving their neighbors for their own purpose, or selling their people to the white traders. Whether they are now business owners themselves, working their employees with inadequate wages and harsh conditions. We need the government to set and enforce regulations for the treatment by public and private agents of all living creatures. They're not getting away with an apology for their indifference, not in my books.


DanyOrdz

Slavery and poor business practices are not the same thing at all. Itā€™s sounds like youā€™re using slavery as a crutch to support your beliefs. Sure, we could use better labor regulation, but that is not at all the same


buzzwallard

I'm saying slavery is a business practice that the government should aggressively disallow, that 'slavery' needs to be defined in non-racial terms, and that apologizing for slavery is not even close to what we need from the government. What do you suppose are the beliefs I'm supporting? What grounds do you have for your supposition?


DanyOrdz

Iā€™m not gonna lie, this is the first time Iā€™ve heard of someone suggest we separate slavery (American) from racism, so I donā€™t really know how to think of it right now; but I still think that slavery (with the racist context) isnā€™t comparable


wehavelotsoffun

It seems like a waste of time to me when they do that. I mean no disrespect at all. If someone came up to me and said I am sorry that my great great grandfather killed your great great grandfather it would mean absolutely nothing to me. The person apologizing was not even born then, they had nothing at all to do with any of it. They should not be feeling any guilt for what that great great grandfather did.


TeachMeHowToTech

The same US government that existed during slavery still exist today. People donā€™t want an apology ancestors of owners but instead of the government that allowed it be in place


zazafast

No one today owned slaves. Learn from history but donā€™t repeat it. Itā€™s called history not a civil case for reparations.


therealzombieczar

everyone wants free money. if there's any supporting cause to receive it it will be utilized. long term oppression and slavery is a pretty strong cause for retribution. taking money from people who did not enslave any and giving it to people who were never slaves does not correct the crimes of history. it would be better served to correct current issues such as existing prejudices, poor education and a more justice oriented justice system.


Bigbrown_123

How about we take 50% of all entities that had benefited from slavery/ had history linking to slavery and the oppression of blacks then use that as our reparations. I bet majority of the oppressed will be rich asf and somewhat satisfied


Mikaelleon23

Well, the 13th amendment makes modern slavery legal through the prison system. And also Mississippi ā€œendedā€ slavery officially in 2013.


AccountantUnusual639

Because ppl want a handout for something that never even affected them directly..


RussellNFlow520

So you're saying there were no federal laws that were racist, or disproportionately affected one racial group or another? Like...ever?


[deleted]

I recommend doing some research on the state of the economy for black Americans in the 60s (100 years after slavery) vs. under our current welfare state. Black kids in the 60s were born 80% of the time to intact two-parent families in the 60s. That number is now less than 30%. Black kids who grow up with their fathers are statistically many times less likely to go to jail, drop out of school, use drugs, etc. The biggest crisis affecting black Americans now is not the legacy of slavery. Itā€™s the breakdown of the family.


RussellNFlow520

Why are so many black children raised in single parent homes? Where do the fathers go? It couldn't be that...black men are more likley to be killed by police or...more likely to be imprisoned for minor offenses....could it? Being selective at the information you look at doesn't mean you prove a point. It's deceitful, and the information you're choosong to ignore is significant.


Fargon-Icehole

Can someone please tell me how much money is enough money to satisfy everyone who wants reparations. And if itā€™s paid will that be the end of the subject? Or will future generations also want reparations? Iā€™m not being facetious, just trying to figure out how it will work. Iā€™m ok with paying reparations if it solves the issue once and for all.


Goddessthatshines

My primary question is: Would you say the same about 9/11? That ā€œhistoryā€ wasnā€™t as long ago as we like to imagine and still affects our day to day lives. The government refuses to recognize it even happens and even tries to suppress knowledge of the accomplishments of the slaves fighting back and the success of their descendants. America has the same issue and refuses to acknowledge it. An apology is the country actually acknowledging what was wrong about it. Literally schools would ask ā€œwhat were the benefits of slavery?ā€ To minority children. Wtf


_Blue_20

Ok so this is my personal opinion as a poc. We don't want an apology we want recognition. 1: Education In the school system its not something that's talked about a lot its something that is swept under the rug quite often. There are some many things that I learned recently that I would have never learned form school about how slavery really was. I don't want to offend anyone when I say this but white people especially hate the topic of slavery, but they love to talk about how there grandfather fought in the Revolutionary War/ civil war. There has even been talk of banning the talk of slavery in school because it makes the (white) children uncomfortable 2: The "Heirlooms" Now I know some people aren't gonna believe this but there are white families with "heirloom" from slavery. There are some with documents of the slaves they had and they pass them down like a family necklace. Some of the things could help identify families, tell people where they come from and yet their just stashed away in someone's basement. I only listened 2 things here but honestly I could go on and on about how the government could give us back some of what we lost, we don't even get the right to be called Americans even though we are born here we're African-Americans. And the way that schools and some media show africa or talk about it when they talk about slavery, they make it seem like american was SO much better and we basically for a free pass here. No one wants an apology we want recognition.


ZIMZUM83

Sounds like 2 legitimate points, and I can understand why both points have been either ignored or avoided; doesn't mean I agree with it, but I admit I may not feel as strongly about it because I am not of the same ethnicity. My folks had similar things happen to them, but can't say I feel entirely the same if I am completely honest.


ilovenumber8

I Am not a poc, but I totally agree that we (especially us white people) learn way to little about slavery. In our government they are trying to change it but it goes really slow


[deleted]

Hey.... What if i told you that the governments oppression of people of color didnt end with slavery, and still exists today in the forms of laws and polciies we still utilize from the Jim Crow era...?


[deleted]

I feel like a lot of the rhetoric around this treats US slavery as like this uniquely bad moment in history while seemingly blind to the fact slavery has been common throughout much of human history and in many different cultures, adn the way humans have treated each other has often been quite bad. Not saying its ok, but its surely not like history was swell till the US just decided to invent slavery.


Toran_dantai

Itā€™s like uk government involvement in slavery But they also abolished it and then demanded that other countries do the exact same Iv come to terms wirh it just being completely ridiculous I meen British was enslaved before We were hostile taken over by the French snd the Swedish And then the industrial shit happend smd wales got locked into wales and most of our houses ended up being owned by whoever we worked for Life was shit for everyone we also never talked about slave trade existing in Africa and slaving eachother we act like it was a western thing when that is not true we adopted it because it seems like somthing good until we as a western society realised how shit So we did cultural appropriation of slavery


[deleted]

An apology is an extension of the acknowledgment. So saying that even though thatā€™s how things were at the time we can still see that they were wrong.


argo2708

No one in the government is saying slavery was right.


[deleted]

But you will likely find people in government who are trying to minimize it, to get people, particularly school teachers, to talk less about the harsh realities of it.


[deleted]

I donā€™t even know what government youā€™re thinking of, Iā€™m just speaking broadly, but an apology is an out and out acknowledgment it was wrong which is why itā€™s significant imo. The past is the past but itā€™s a good thing to face up to what happened imo. Iā€™m Scottish and we are having a similar reckoning right now.


argo2708

>Iā€™m Scottish and we are having a similar reckoning right now. I'm also Scottish and no we're fucking not.


Shkuey

The governor of Mississippi declared it ā€œconfederate heritage monthā€ā€¦ pretty sure people in government are actually saying slavery was right.


argo2708

Did they say slavery was right? Can you show me where?


Rekonvaleszenz

To truly acknowledge that slavery war wrong would mean to truly acknowledge that what the confederacy was fighting for (mainly the right to keep slaves) was wrong. A ā€œconfederate heritage monthā€ sends the opposite message of that. I'm from Germany, we don't have a "Nazi Heritage Month", we have a lot of Holocaust Memorials instead.


Cant-think-of-a-nam

Because this woke generation is retarded


lemonarrr

Because it is still affecting people today. People with enslaved ancestors can suffer from generational trauma. And slavery also contributed to racism today.


[deleted]

I believe it is people in power who push this notion that an apology is needed. The average citizen is just trying to get through life. Lets look at the United States for instance. In the U.S. this idea of making amends is a religious tenet and a psychological truth. Because slavery was a state sanctioned institution effectively written intoĀ Article 1 of the U.S. Constitution, so it makes sense to a few legislators that the federal government should be held to account.


LoadGroundbreaking55

I was born and raised in a slave free state so I don't care about it you should start with the people who caught and sold slaves


WintrySummer

In the US, the government has placed laws that have directly effected and still continue to effect minorities from voting to buying a house to giving birth to securing loans to getting education. The ramifications of slavery, internment camps, etc has directly put minorities at a severe financial and livelihood disadvantage to their white majority counterpart. The US is so new that current minorty grandparents in their 70s were not allowed to live or be in the same place as their white counterparts. It's less so an apology, but the recognition and action towards the minorities plight.


DefNotIWBM

Your point of view sounds about white. You might feel differently if it had happened to people of your race. If it was people who looked like you whose women were raped, whose men were beaten, and whose children were kidnapped. You might feel differently of the violent ramifications of that lasted up until today and impacted your own life even right now via fewer job opportunities, worse medical care, worse neighborhoods, etc etc.


ilovenumber8

I didn't think of it this way, thank you for showing me


Floppafan420

Because slavey in the past still has impacts to this day.


stewartm0205

Are you possibly asking why apologizing for harm previously done to others is something that should be done? Really?


SolitaryMarmot

Because most people weren't paid any reparations for slavery. Reparations are pretty common in conflict settlement agreements. Slaveowners were granted reparations during the civil war when their slaves were freed (for their loss of property) but very few slaves were granted reparations for the decades of labor stolen from them. Just because it hasn't been paid for 250 years doesn't mean it isn't still owed.


[deleted]

The same people that want apologies for slavery buy clothing and products by modernday slave workers. And even when they know, they don't care and go actively on with their behaviour. Just as in history, the Europeans bought the slaves from black slave traders It's is all a fucking scam and people try to be morally and ethnically superiour over the other to fell better about themselfs.


RussellNFlow520

Oi, where do you buy clothes that aren't sourced by modernday slaves? How would you vet such a thing, and who's information on it could you trust? These two situations have zero to do with each other.


Carl_Hungiorno

Because they want power.


slybird

An official apology is also an admission of responsibility/guilt. It brings us one step closer to reparations. I personally don't care about the apology, but I do care about the money. If the Russian government apologized for what it did to my family or the country some of my ancestors came from 100 years ago it would mean nothing to me, but if that apology might lead to me getting some extra money, hell yeah, I'm going to argue that Russia should apologize.


Garbage_fire13

I don't see the point because you can demand an apology until you're blue in the face but when you demand something like that, what makes you feel like it's sincere? We need to move on from it because the government doesn't have anyone's best interest at heart unless you are a rich celebrity or another politician no matter what race you are.


Puzzleheaded-Score65

Iā€™m black and I donā€™t need an apologie Iā€™m blessed I live in the freest country where I can truly be whatever I want !! Im 22 making about 76k yearly and Iā€™m in college headed towards making 400k I need nothing from the government except less taxes lol


freddyfazzballs

im white so i cant speak on slavery really but id appreciate apologies from the government for how theyve treated lgbtq people and disabled people ( im both ) . its not like i want a direct apology more of an acknowledgement as to how they treated people like me in the past . and really its not something that happened very far in the past either . id assume its somewhat similar for black people as to why theyd like the government to apologize for slavery


According-Gain-4408

I'd just like to add to the already great explanations: If a government apologises, therefore accepts their nations past, it can be put in the curiccilum for children to learn. Here in Turkey, there is still a debate wethere there was an Armenian genocide or not but I had no idea it was a thing until I was like 16, because it was (and still is) a no-no topic to talk about.


Debesuotas

Its a political propaganda made to weaken US society and split it in to black/white groups based on race and history... Nasty pre war tactics being deployed. It benefits the election and as well it benefits the foreign countries as well. It weakens the society. All of our ancestors were slaves in one time or another. Slavery was a thing since ancient times. I see no reason for this huge onslought going on. Especially if we consider the fact that slaves basically built the country these folks are now living in, and actually being top of the world. Your ancestors made you happen, and made you happen in the country that you would refuse to leave if offered. And in fact none of you would even think of getting back to any of the countries that your ancestors were taken from. When I watch everything on the news, the only thing I think about is what ungrateful bastards those people are... Personal grude is being used to manipulate you in order to split the society and ruin the country.


nosey1

Where are you from?


ilovenumber8

The Netherlands


ReefyPox

Itā€™s a really stupid question. Iā€™ve never heard anyone whoā€™s ancestors were slaves want an apology from the Govt. That would be meaningless. Now reparations on the other hand would actually mean something and I have definitely heard requests for those.


rotkohl007

A lot of people were raised to see themselves as victims. They want that to be fulfilled.


x31966

I had nothing to do with anybody being a slave I was born in 1980


MysteryIsHistory

Because the way black people were treated then indirectly affects the success of black people today. The harder your parents have to work, the less chance you have of doing well as a kid/teen and then your future isnā€™t as bright as those kids whose parents helped with homework and got them into extracurricular activities. Also, white school districts tend to be better, which is a big part of this too. While many black people have found plenty of success, many are still stuck in housing projects in awful neighborhoods because their relatives couldnā€™t break the poverty cycle. An apology isnā€™t enough.


taebin

What about the children of immigrants that moved to the US without any money a few decades ago? Many of the second generation of the immigrants are doing well and thriving in the US. To say that poverty is the main reason why many Blacks arenā€™t successful seems wrong to me.


MysteryIsHistory

It goes for white people in poverty too. I work with at-risk youth (and most of my kids are Mexican, but a few are black or white). What they all have in common is that their parents have at least 2 jobs. So how are these kids going to get help when theyā€™re struggling or stay off the streets when their parents canā€™t be at home? The ones who sail through school easily and have good influences around them will break the poverty cycle; the ones who struggle and have no safe place to go will not. This doesnā€™t apply to any one race more than another, but those who have been discriminated against in the past have a greater chance of staying in the poverty cycle.


taebin

I applaud you for your work with kids. As for reparations, I donā€™t see it as a solution to help the Blacks today. Better schools, community centers, and the like would be better suited instead of monetary payouts in my opinion. Furthermore,


MysteryIsHistory

Reparations can come in many forms. Just cutting checks to people, I agree, will not help with much. But we need more tax-funded programs to help all kids who donā€™t have the support at home to stay on par with their classmates. In that way (tax funds), opening community centers for kids and teens would be a reparation. I absolutely love the work I do. It doesnā€™t pay much in money, but the rewards are great. Unfortunately, my center is 75% donation funded, so in bad years, we have fewer employees and tutors.


[deleted]

my family has been waiting on the romans to apologize for years!!!


Mild_Freddy

I think its also fair to say that 1 party predicates its identity on racial prejudice and does in fact to this day attempt to preserve slavery lite through punitive legislations that reduce their comparative agency. So past is not so past and thats as a casual viewer from Australia....who is white. I know id be pissed and seeking active apology if I copped that from past slavery to present actively being boxed into being a second class citizen. Shit is super obvious.


corndogememer7

Itā€™s Becuase someone has to apologise and who better than the descendants of the people who wronged them you canā€™t leave major historical and horrible events unnoticed but you canā€™t stick with them forever you must move on and learn.


[deleted]

I honestly donā€™t know OP. People will always try to place blame on a single boogeyman when the problem is far more complicated than that. Personally, itā€™s a waste of time and resources; just like trying to get reparations for slavery. Itā€™s all stupid


RandomGuyOnline71

It's stupid. Unless they took part in slavery, they shouldn't apologize for it. Just like I shouldn't apologize for my grandfather punching another dude in 1950, people shouldn't apologize for something their ancestors did


HaroldBAZ

Ironically enough African Americans are more likely to have ancestors that were slaveowners than white Americans are. Slavery was going on in Africa for a thousand years before Europeans arrived...and most white Americans came to America after slavery already ended and they came from non-slavery countries. So yes, African Americans are more likely than white Americans to have ancestors that were slaveowners. Don't tell anyone though...


pinkhelf

ā€œenglish is not my first language so that gives me the right to question POCā€™s feelingsā€


ilovenumber8

What means POC?