The Slave Trade

[Margaret Pilkington]

I cannot see the point in apologising for something over which I had no influence....and if someone apologised to me for something that was not of their doing, I would be singularly unimpressed.

[LancYorkYankee]

When the weinies in The Virginia Statehouse decided to apologize, it annoyed me. However, as my relatives were over in England during "the slave years," I figured I remain inculbable. Now you guys have gone and dragged my ancestors into it.

The thing is, between being either poor mill workers or poor mine workers my Lank-York kin certainly had no slaves. As agood Englisman then I say ****-off on that one! (is ****off a banned saying?)

Brian

-ooh, I guess it is . . . got the "star" treatment! S o r r y

[aromalady]

just another lot money hungry idiots. the world as moved on, why should an apology make any difference, we can,t turn back the clock, get real people, it happened, and is still going on in different corners of the world, just as it happened to england, different atrocities, call it what you may, but we can not be held to ransom for what our/thier ancestors did all those years ago. besides the people in question will have had to answer to god!. not that i,m a holy joe, but every nation has it,s faith and brings about the same results, they,ll answer to thier maker......let off steam now i,ll have a brew, cheerio aromalady

[entwisi]

I'd point out that I am with everyone else here that I detest the idea of slavery(either african, child, sex or any other persecuted group throughout history or geography) but I'd like to put a thought forward.

The people who are taking the stand that we should pay live their lives in good conditions with a decent quality of life. Is it not the bounceback from the suffering that their ancestors underwent that they now live in a world far removed from that which their ancestors could ever have hoped for them. What are they doing about the poor Africans alive today who may be distantly related? There but for the grace of god(and some terrible ordeal of their ancestors) go they.

In these days of racial harmony(much removed from the sensationalistic media I believe the vast majority of people are not racist) how much of that is due to the proximity of different cultures and races irrespective of how they were brought together. We can't say that we would be as integrated in the Western World had it not been for whatever went on in the past. Just like the holocaust spread the Jews throughout the World during their persecution(Ask me about the blond, fair kiddies in Dom Republic sometime) sometimes these periods however regrettable have positive effects on society.

[SPUGGIE J]

So what about these blond kiddies in the Dom republic then? Its sad when a gross misuse of human beings is needed to get something done. The jews went through centuries of persecution and now have their own state yet we as a society don't do enough to help those who are suffering the same kind of fate. We have all the present kinds of slavery that still abound and yet though not turning a complete blind eye to it there isn't much being done to curb it. Maybe we need to again take a lesson from the past and say enough is enough before its too late.

[Acrylic-bob]

"We", I think, should put our own house in order before we start racing off around the world lecturing other folk on good housekeeping. I seem to recall that our Victorian forebears were siezed with that sort of missionary zeal and as a result destroyed quite a few indigenous cultures and have bequeathed us a legacy of hatred and resentment which is felt throughout the world.