[yorkietalkjilly]

Originally Posted by Britster

Oh and wanna talk about racism? Try being a Muslim in this country, or someone Arab-looking. You could've been raised in America, and your parents and grandparents, and you ARE an American, but you are still going to be viewed differently, or as a 'terrorist'. Especially after 9/11. Talk about not having fair judgment placed upon you.

As far as the 'not owing anything' -- I do agree. I will never understand the mindset of some African Americans who believe they are owed something simply because people they never knew or ancestors were slaves. Sorry but I have to say it. No, I don't feel guilty about anything, because I was not alive, nor were my parents, nor were my grandparents. I have absolutely nothing to do with what happened to your ancestors. That's not to say I am demeaning or ignorant to what often went on. I am not turning a blind eye, or saying it didn't happen. It did, and it sucks, and it's a sad part of our history.

Unfortunately, slavery, of ALL types of people, has existed for a long time. African tribes at war used to sell their own people for goods with the Europeans (and look at what still goes on in Africa!!) I am not pushing blame aside from what some white Americans did to slaves, it's horrible no matter what. I'm always extremely saddened by what goes in this world, what human beings are capable of doing to other human beings, even children. It makes me ill so I try to avoid watching or thinking about it, but I do keep myself aware because I think it's important to know.

I've read that the Europeans made it clear that it was sell them slaves for goods or they would just invade and take over, enslave them in their own country and take part of them away as slaves anyway. I read the tribal heads who had little to fight back with felt it was sacrifice some for the many until such time as they could find a way out. Well, ultimately the morality of some in the home countries did prevail and stopped the practice of buying slaves in Africa. It's over simplifying it and not a good comparison but the French kind of bowed to Hitler and allowed German troops to march into France rather than fight them further and lose much of their population and their country's infrastructure to bombing and ruin. They felt they saw the handwriting on the wall that Germans would march in anyway but the latter march would be into a country with a destroyed Eiffel Tower, art museums, historical sites and buildings and homes and thousands injured and dead and they felt they wanted to make the sacrifice they did rather than what they felt was a greater sacrifice, practically speaking. I myself would rather die fighting "honorably", if you will, but I'm a hothead and often bite off my nose to spite my face.