Blair 'sorrow' over slave trade

[Ardesco]

The point where history becomes history is when all people have put it in the past.

And I think some things will never be "put into the past" and forgotton about.
Women will never forget the past.
Blacks will never forget the past.
Jews will never forget the past.

Well women never forget anything if they can remember it and throw it back in your face in five years time for absolutly no other reason than they can...

I don't hear all the Jews demanding compensation from the German government because of what the Nazi's did.....

I guess the morale of the sotyr is never go out with a black jewish woman....

I understand why you, as a middle classed white man, would feel pissed off about this and feel like people are having a dig at you personally. You've never done anything to anyone, so why should you apologise?

A lot of assumptions considering you have never met me...

But the fact that you feel that way is a sign that you personally havn't got over the scars of the past either! Everyone's born into a legacy, and your happens to be the privilaged legacy - the people who actually bought, sold and kept slaves.

There is no evidence of any of my family having anything to do with slavery so far (and I have traced back quite a bit. In fact if you look at my fathers side you could argue that they were slaves for a few generations...

(FYI I have traced back to the 1500's on my fathers side and the 1700's on my mothers side so far)

You'd say sorry and shrug it off immediately if you really didn't feel any shame you know.

Again you obviously don't know me. I will not start apologising for something I have not done. I may well show regret that it happened (and it is regrettable that slavery happened) but I will never apologise for it. If anything an apology from me would be more insulting than anything. If it is not meant an apology is meaningless, and how could I possibly mean it when it was nothing to do with me personally?

[John Galt]

Stop saying "people like me" - it's discrimination

Its not collective guilt - its about being able to be a bit fecking humble and admit the mistakes of the past. You dont have to flog yourself every day for it, just admit that it happened and say sorry for it!
What is the big deal?!

I have never heard such a load of old rubbish in all my life SallyAnn - everyone concerned in this debate is dead - slaves, slave masters etc etc - if you apologise for something the intimation is that you feel guilt - why should we as a country apologise to people we don't know for something that we didn't do that was done to people they they dont' know. I could understand it if the haulocaust survivors had raised this but this all happened hundreds of years ago so how can people say they are affected by it still and, more to the point, demand financial recompense for it

[xoggoth]

Never hear the Chinese going on about the opium wars or the Indians going on about the Raj, and they are beginning to be great successes. Are there connections between a forward looking approach and success on the one hand and a backward looking obession with past greivances and, well, backwardness, on the other?

Still, at least black Africans don't bang on about the crusades. I fully expect black Africa to start overtaking the Arab north in less than 5 decades. If I was still going to be around I would bet money on it.

[DimPrawn]

demand financial recompense for it

Kerrrrching, that's what it's all about.

Once you have admitted guilt, it compensation time!!! No win no fee!!

Are you black? Did a whitey look at you like you were some kind of slave? Then call Slave Line Direct.

We pursue all cases and can make you thousands. So don't delay, call today!

After all, where there's blame, there's a claim!

[xoggoth]

Totally agree mailman. Thinking like that indicates a whole bagfull of screws loose. Or the wrong company.

[SallyAnne]

I have never heard such a load of old rubbish in all my life SallyAnn - everyone concerned in this debate is dead - slaves, slave masters etc etc - if you apologise for something the intimation is that you feel guilt - why should we as a country apologise to people we don't know for something that we didn't do that was done to people they they dont' know. I could understand it if the haulocaust survivors had raised this but this all happened hundreds of years ago so how can people say they are affected by it still and, more to the point, demand financial recompense for it

Oh I knew you'd pipe up!

Ok then, saying as everyone's here...

The reason the pain of slavery is still very much alive is because racism is still so alive.

There you go, rip me to shreds. But its the truth.

[Mailman]

When are those peace loving aye-rabs gonna apologise for starting the slave trade?

Mailman

[Mailman]

Oh I knew you'd pipe up!
The reason the pain of slavery is still very much alive is because racism is still so alive.

There you go, rip me to shreds. But its the truth.

Absolute rubbish. The reason the pain of slavery is still very much felt is because there are people out there who refuse to let things go. They will hang on to this for as long as possible UNTIL they feel justice has been done.

That black chick was calling on the banks to pay reparations...naturally she couldnt say which banks!

And when people are done with slavery they will find something else to feel oppressed about! Its the natural order of things

Mailman

[John Galt]

Oh I knew you'd pipe up!

Ok then, saying as everyone's here...

The reason the pain of slavery is still very much alive is because racism is still so alive.

There you go, rip me to shreds. But its the truth.

Two totally seperate issues. Please explain how someone in 2006 can be affected by something that happened to people they didn't know in 1806? Racism is not very much alive at all it is just that it is a very media friendly issue and I think that you will find that reverse discrimination is just as prevalent.

[Ardesco]

How much is racisim and how much is people categorising events as racist events because the people involved have different coloured skin.

If a white man mugs a white man it is a mugging

If a white man mugs a black man it is a racist attack....

Is it not just possible that the white man is mugging scum and should be locked up for being a mugger ??

I remember when I was little we had a a shop run by a muslim family in our village. Everybody in the village reffered to his shop as the pakki shop. He never suffered any racist abuse, he sold some wonderful pickles and chutneys and everybody got on very well wth him. It wasn't until I was about 15 that I realised that the word pakki could be used as a racial slur, however if you had got a PC idiot into our village they would have had a field da painting us all as racist white supremists.

I'm not saying that there isn't racism about because there clearly is, however is racism as big a problem as it is made out to be? Or is a lot of it a convenient label for a lot of bad/unforgivable behaviour that would happen anyway.