In today’s “Have Your Say”: Is Blair’s slave trade ‘sorrow’ enough?
Will Prime Minister Tony Blair’s article in the New Nation newspaper suffice as an apology for the slavery?
In anticipation of the bicentenary of the abolition of slavery Mr Blair expressed “deep sorrow” in his article while Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott is drafting a “statement of regret” for Britain’s involvement.
The Church of England General Synod has voted to issue a formal apology, something Mr Blair has not given and Mr Prescott has ruled out.
Should nations that were involved in the slave trade apologise? How has your family been affected by the slave trade and its abolition in the UK? What should we do in this country to mark the bicentenary of the abolition of slavery?
What about nations that ARE involved in the slave trade? Or is that a matter of cultural difference?
Maybe the Brits should apologize to the Saudis for leading the charge to eliminate slavery.
The reactionary liberal mind baffles me.
[tw: white27.
Jeff, CUT IT OUT!!!!]
The only gesture of remorse the far Left would recognize would be if all White Europeans put a bullet in their heads. I refuse to. I’m sorry about slavery, but I’m not cutting pounds out of my own flesh for it. It’s time to move on and start living in the present. The White Man is not the source of all evil.
The assholes at the Beeb should go after those African and Middle Eastern assholes who still indulge in slavery instead of relentlessly punishing and villifying those who have long since repudiated it. Now fuck it. And fuck them.
I believe Walter Williams has already absolved me of any guilt.
And what about the Black Death?
I have never owned a slave. don’t know anyone that has owed a slave and don’t know anyone that has been a slave, and other than Islam there is no society that approves of slavery.
The slaves in the U.K. and the U.S. were sold to slave traders by their own leaders. Want to blame someone, blame the former leaders of the Africian tribes.
Today it all about trying to con someone out of ‘MONEY’, nothing else. Something for nothing.
Interesting thought. Who is more culpable? The dealer or the user?
Or the press or their readers? In this case, it’s encouraging to see the majority basically telling the Beeb to shove it.
Amazing state of affairs: France is nearly on fire, Britain is being infiltrated, Netherlands is at loggerheads about its own survival as a nation, Spain has been hit, The Danes are on their knees about cartoons, The Vatican makes all the fictional terrorist hit lists these days, and all the miserable Beeb can do is piss around with what appear to be these pathetic, bleating, hamfisted plactions of anyone who hates whites. That oughta do the trick.
The Islamic slave trade has been estimated to be ten times larger than the Atlantic slave trade. During the overland route from central and east Africa untold millions of Africans died. In the Americas there are today large populations of the descendants of African slaves. Why are there such populations in the Islamic world? Genocide anyone?
What a bunch of hose patootie.
My ancestors didn’t even live in this country when slavery was acceptable, and yet, somehow I am responsible?
I am not a racist, but I am certainly a Jerkist.
If you are a jerk, you are a jerk. Your complexion has nothing to do with your idiocy.
I could use someone to clean my oven for free.
After that, I’d be happy to issue a heartfelt apology.
Takers?
Beulah, peel me a grape.
I do likes me some bondage!!! Wait, you’re talking about something else. My bad.
Fuck em. Let THEIR misplaced moronic guilt tear em apart. But the lunacy of worrying about a more than 140 year old outlawed system and ignoring a modern day one is ridiculous. All because the “enslavers” are swarthy men? WTF is this world coming to?
I believe the BBC has mentioned them, once or twice.
Compared to, say, the Dutch, England was a bit player in African slavery, trafficking mostly in random poor people kidnapped off its own streets, the “convict” ancestors of our beloved red state peckerwood Smiths and Davises.
So to commemorate the bicentennial, they should go about their normal daily business, throwing bananas at black soccer players and beating Ethiopian Jews in the street, but they should replace their usual monkey hoots and Nazi salutes with chants of “Git-R-Done!”
An imperfect tribute, to be sure, but the best we can expect.
Sure. Now if only they could connect the dots and fashion all that knowledge into some kind of perspective.
Which I take it is what Dan was getting at.
If I sign my comment “actus” can I claim I never heard of the word?
What’s with the guilt? Why isn’t Blair proud to be a member of the first civilization in history to not only outlaw the practice of slavery, but who then took it upon themselves to stamp out the practice throughout most of the world – at their own expense?
I know I am.
I think they have done that, in a fairly thorough fashion:
– They featured this “in depth†collection of modern slavery stories on their site.
– In addition to the BBC stories, the feature included a link to this very detailed ILO report [PDF] on forced labor across the globe.
– Regional differences were highlighted.
– A central theme of this story is how slavery is considered an acceptable practice in Nigeria, in contrast with the perspective in the West (it’s condemning this state of affairs, no cultural relativism in sight).
Or in my case, a footsoldier on the losing side of one of the battles of a run-on civil war that merely began with what the Brits now call the English Civil War. In the case of my ancestor, the battle was fought to restore the monarchy while Cromwell still lived. You can imagine the Lord Protector’s reaction to such a radical notion.
One criticism I have of their coverage (I just noticed this): This chart compresses the Y axis in between 1,000,000 and 13,000,000, thereby visually suggesting much less of a regional disparity than what actually exists.
Hubris–
I applaud the BBC’s coverage, which I’ve followed most closely with reference to the Sudan, but the question, whether Blair’s expression of sorrow was enough, is frankly absurd. This “Have Your Say” forum is notorious for tendentiously framing issues. Recently they asked people about the Pope’s Regensburg lecture, as though it would be something other than an invitation to Catholic-bashing. They followed that up with a question regarding whether people thought that the Church ought to ban Limbo, as though a) the Beeb gives a rat’s ass about theology, or b) their article gave any relevant account of the concept in regards to Catholic doctrine.
The question is absurd because it is an invitation to empty gestures superimposed on an empty gesture. If they cared, they might have asked what there is to be done about slavery.
Dan, I would agree that the “Have Your Say” presentation is generally lame–it is eerily reminiscent of The Onion’s American Voices feature.
You miss my point, Hubris. The Beeb should have taken this opportunity not to soul search but to draw distinctions that provide perspective. Because English society is being subsumed by what have become multicultural proprieties.
But hey, it’s their paper. We shouldn’t criticize, particularly if, in their history, they’ve mentioned slavery elsewhere, and have had the bravery to come out against it. APPLAUSE ALL AROUND!
Now tell me, BBC readers: How do you feel about this past bravery?
Ummm…oookaaay.
Scott Free – indeed, the Royal Navy ended up having to protect Africans from the depredations of slavers headed for Brazil, quite often. Ironic, eh?
Hubris – does the BBC have the same few commenters, like the Onion feature, and also gives them new names every forum? Heh. Indeed.
Good to see your ancestor was faster on his feet than he was upstairs, McGehee. I mean, really! Taking up arms against Cromwell? Did he have a death wish or something?
Tw: Dead25. No, I’m certain that Oliver killed many more people than 25.
And well-deserved, too. Britain’s anti-slavery stance is, in my opinion as a non-British person, one of the proudest moments in its history, and I envy it.
Heh. Good times.
As an Admiral in His Majesty’s Royal Navy, I can categorically state that the British were instrumental in ending the Atlantic slave trade, through blockade of the African slave ports in the 1800s. I categorically state that the British stand second to none in strongly condemning the African slave trade. Having personally taken, burned, sunk and/or destroyed several slaving vessels, releasing several hundreds of imprisoned Africans from their futures as slaves, I can think of few nations whose contributions were more directly to the point of condemning the slave trade. Now if you will pardon me, I think I will strip down for my morning swim, and then have my second breakfast. It’s an Admiral’s life for me!