I see US slaves like I see US Veterans

Albeit involuntary, US slaves suffered a great sacrifice that resulted in freedom and a better life for their descendants. Their contributions to the building of the US were key to the great nation we live in today.
I do not believe in reparations but I do think we need a day similar to Memorial Day to remember their great suffrage but also their great contribution to the building of America. They are defenders of Freedom of a different kind but defenders none the less. They deserve to be remembered and thanked just like our long gone veterans.

No one in the USA Today was ever a slave nor has any living US citizen owned a slave.

a reply to: Xeven

Isn't the whole month of February dedicated to Black history month? Or are you referring to all slaves overall? The unrecognized slavery of other ethnicities?

a reply to: Xeven

There is Juneteenth. It's not a federal holiday, but 46 of 50 states do recognize it as either a state holiday or day of observance.

Slavery never went away in the US. It just shifted form. Now it doesn't discriminate. It still is what it is.

a reply to: CynConcepts

Just slaves in the US. Not only blacks. Any slaves from that time.

originally posted by: BrianFlanders
Slavery never went away in the US. It just shifted form. Now it doesn't discriminate. It still is what it is.

That’s another thread...

a reply to: Xeven

Do we count the slaves before 1776?
Technically we were British before that so do we have the responsibility or maybe 3/5ths?

But seriously, it's been nearly 200 years since it ended. We've had a black president.
If someone of African descent cant succeeded today it's their own fault. Move on.

originally posted by: Xeven

originally posted by: BrianFlanders
Slavery never went away in the US. It just shifted form. Now it doesn't discriminate. It still is what it is.

That’s another thread...

Well, no. Actually, it's this one. The OP says no one in the US today was ever a slave when we all are right now.

I know it's a well-intended thread and you're speaking about it in terms of what we think of as slavery and freedom. I'm just saying that those are illusions.

a reply to: BrianFlanders

Just stop with the fortune cookie philosophy.
You sound like a vegan saying killing an animal is murder.
We are no different than our "free" caveman ancestors hunting for our food except that we have it a hell of a lot easier.

a reply to: Xeven

Do we have a single day in this country that isn't some form of day for something?? National this day, national that day, remember this day, remember that day. I get what you're saying but there were plenty of people throughout history that helped change things, even in our country and not all of them were slaves. We're not giving all of them days, or is that on the planner next??

Lewis and Clark day?? Wyatt Earp day?? Doc Holi-Day?? XD

I get what you're saying, but we have enough days celebrating enough stuff already. If everything is special and has a day, how long until nothing is special anymore. My comments are an example of that.

a reply to: Xeven

The ‘Modern Day Slavery’ Of Prison Labor Really Does Have A Link To Slavery

This reminds me of the Billy Madison speech, where at the end the professor says “everyone in this room is a little dumber from having to hear that”.

Our military is currently volunteers (even black ones! A lot of em!), and highly trained intelligent men and women especially in higher ranks and special ops. So no, they weren’t sold by the locals, shipped out, beaten, doing mindless labor work, waiting to be freed.

a reply to: Xeven

Instead of reperations, how about giving funding to areas that were affected by years of past institutional racism. Poor black communitys. I know the southside of chicago had schools, business', and hospitals close down or move.

Maybe something could be done there... A day of remembrance is great but it doesn't really help anyone.

Is this just about kissing black peoples rear ends because of what happened 200 years ago? Current black people today are not "Veterans" of that. No, all black people are not anything like veterans.

That thought is condescending to both blacks and veterans. I say blacks because I assume you are not thinking about all the other races brought here as slave labor, including whites.

Oh wow, this is so backwards I don't even know where to begin.

A) "Black" people did NOT build America in the way you are thinking. Building things requires knowledge of mathematics and engineering, and that was STRICTLY not allowed. "Black" people were responsible for doing everything that was unskilled. All the garbage work that no one wants to do. No glory or anything, They were/are a cornerstone of American economics, that I can give you.

The people that built America were not slaves... technically. Yellow people built the railroads, poor white's (foreigners in particular) ran the factories until Emancipation. The "middle class" would be responsible for the actual building of America that you speak of. Though this middle class used all the classes beneath them in Roman Dominus attitude, so I wouldn't go calling them super-heroes or anything.

B) Equating veterans of war with slaves/ economic serfs is... crazy. Veterans made a free choice to do what they did. The slaves and serfs were forced into place by European class-stratification. Rather than making a 'day" or "month" of remembrance for either, how about we treat them with the respect they EARNED. Both classes of people. I will never understand it. "Let's give ______ a day/month of remembrance/awareness instead of being aware of them every day." It's why I don't celebrate mother's/father's day. It gives the excuse to not care, when culture dictates you only have to kiss their a$$ once a year now. And idk if any of you are in the food service industry, but the family unit has taken such a hit in the past 5-10 years... these ideas further undermine the foundation of family/community

I am pretty sure the underbelly of society would prefer REAL help 365 days a week instead of a day or month where people with no worries (relative to underbelly) can sit and remember how others work hard and help out a bit (or more than a bit.) American culture is aimed at making the masses NOT MEAN ANYTHING. The underbelly would realize that the path to their better world will NOT come from those with the economic clout to change it at a whim. It would come from the class that's been forced into using them like slaves. They don't want you being aware of all this stuff ALL THE TIME. Real changes would happen, instead of the change controlled by the economic elite.

Actually slavery is still huge across the world including the USA - just do a search on current slavery.

Headlines suggest 40-400k in USA currently never mind the rest of the world.

a reply to: Xeven

Maybe there should be a day for the Irish slaves as well? I mean hell, every race has been a slave to some other race over the last say 4000 years, shouldn't there be a "slave" day for everybody? And what about endentured slaves, what we all are now, should we get a day too?

There is a huge difference between slaves and veterans. Your idea is kinda lame, because if all races are made equal because of past slavery, not just africans, then there is no point in having a slavery or acknowledgement day, because everyone is equal in past wrongs. Geez for all the crap in the past, we'd need more days than there are in a year.

Cheers - Dave

Reparations are dumb because no reparation will ever be enough. It will just grow and grow and grow and grow.

If 620,000 people sacrificed for the sin of slavery isn't enough, nothing ever will be.

a reply to: bobs_uruncle

Why do so many people have to bring up white slavery when black slavery and its effects on communities today?

Do you think that by bringing up indentured servitude it somehow cancels out all slavery and racism ?

originally posted by: blueman12
a reply to: bobs_uruncle

Why do so many people have to bring up white slavery when black slavery and its effects on communities today?

Do you think that by bringing up indentured servitude it somehow cancels out all slavery and racism ?

I guess you would have to ask some of the young white irish girls that were bred with the strongest slaves in the Americas to create mulatto's... which sold for much more money.

Irish were sold at auction for way less money than blacks.....they were considered expendable because they were so cheap...just work them to death and buy some more.