True Colors: A Race Discussion With Isaiah Washington
by Michael McGrutherWhat is going on in America? How is that we have elected our first half black, half white president and race relations seem to be getting worse? Could it be that no matter what we do the color of one’s skin will always be a factor in the way someone judges us? I was recently judged on Facebook not only by the color of my skin but by the fact that my name has an “Mc” in it by none other than Isaiah Washington. (Yes the same Isaiah Washington that was let go from “Grey’s Anatomy” after making a gay slur on set and offending his cast members. Click the link in case you forgot about this. Isaiah Washington apologizes.
First of all, a little history. I’m a Facebook friend of Isaiah Washington’s and added him because we were in the film “Clockers” together. I had a very small part but seeing him work I knew how dedicated and talented he was and wanted to keep up with his career. I think he has quite a few fan/friends like myself. But I’m also deeply concerned about the direction race relations are going in our country and when he posted this article on on his page I clicked through and read it with great interest.
After reading Mr. Washington’s link I posted a reply link to Bill Whittle’s PJTV segment “The Great Liberal Narrative. The Truth about the Tyranny of Political Correctness,” and then added this note for Mr. Washington:
A must watch if you are serious about getting both sides of a story — especially the slavery part at the middle to end of this piece.
Now here’s the bizarre exchange that followed, and I still need one very important question answered from Mr. Washington: When will he forgive his fellow Americans like he has the Sierra Leoneans?
Note: He posted his response directly on my wall, so I feel entitled to share it with you for the sake of speaking truth to power [original unedited text]:
ISAIAH WASHINGTON: “Ok…Mr. McGruther. I just sat & watched 12:40 of a educated angry white man pontificate about how the media “narrative” should relinquish whites (in America) from “white guilt”…No Sir! You don’t get off that easy. Seeing that you have “Mc” in your last name you should already be aware of the historic rift between poor blacks and poor whites… Read More. True…African Kings enslaved their enemies for centuries as this piece sites. If YOU had really done YOUR research on ME before trying to illuminate me on my profile…”if you are serious about getting both sides of the story”–You would have found that the BBC recently did and article on my comment about “forgiving those Sierra Leoneans that sold my great-great-great-great-great grandmother for personal gain and self preservation. So please Sir…I have “lived both sides of the story” by the mere fact that I have been educated in America and abroad for 25 years. The article I posted by Dr. Rediker trumps your little PajamaTV piece”
MCGRUTHER: ”Thank you for watching it and responding. What Bill Whittle was saying was not saying that slavery in America wasn’t wrong but that is has existed all over the world and mostly by people enslaving their own people but we never ever hear of it in our “education”. It’s been eliminated from the history books for any American who gets a public education. It’s this constant story line of only the evil white men in America that most of us learn and nothing more. I take umbrage at your wrong assumption that just because I have an MC in my name I am somehow still reeling from the awful treatment the Irish had – I don’t. And I am not Irish. In fact I am a quarter Scottish, a quarter Italian, French Canadian and Prussian Jew (on my Mom’s side) My Wife’s Filipono and Chinese mix and that makes my daughter just about as close as one can get to a citizen of the world culturally. Can you please post a link to your BBC article. I don’t understand why you would forgive the Sierra Leoneans but not your own countrymen. How one can hold a grudge with only one group is bizarre — even racist. In America everything that has gone wrong in the world shows up to be put on the big stage and then sorted out by We The People. When will you be happy? When will you forgive people like me who had absolutely nothing do to with any of the American history you refer to? Everything you may be assuming about me is wrong. It’s not about trumping someone’s article it’s about making sure that when you are looking at history you have proper context. That is why I read your article with great interest and will read anything you post or send me. Because you are so well educated you do know that MLK was a Republican right? And that George Wallace, the Democratic candidate actually ran on the platform of pro segregation? You must know that. What blows my mind is how you had no problem with MSNBC portraying someone with a gun at an Obama rally out to be white when in fact he was black.”
There are 15 comments on his post that follow and all are by private citizens who are not wealthy celebrities like Mr. Washington. But the creepiest response came from someone named Candice:
CANDICE: “No need to argue, as if someone asked me. MM it’s not about you, so don’t take this personal. It’s about your forefathers. It’s really not even about us as being African-American, except for the fact that we are STILL paying for the color of our skin. Africans did play a part in the slave trade and shame on them, but let’s put things in perspective here. It’s not about how much Isaiah knows and if he knows who had a gun at President Obama’s rally. That’s small shit that really means nothing. The world abroad that took part in the slave trade should feel ashamed of themselves. So my question is this…when did black people become inhumane people? Was it after we started to act like the people that sailed us across the Atlantic? If there is any anger in this going back and forth it is that someone should take the blame for slavery. Where is our reparations? Where is our apology?”
MCGRUTHER: “Thanks Candice. But my forefathers DID NOT have slaves ok? You have to understand that not all people with white skin are the descendants of slave owners or slave traders. How do you know who comes from which family line when you make your assumptions? By the color of their skin? Why do you choose to lump them all together in the same way racists do to people in our country all the time? Slavery would not have ended if white people did not fight this nations bloodiest war to end it. Period. The victim mentality, espoused by wealthy free Americans who would never have this life in any other part of the world is very short sighted. The MSNBC clip is very important because it’s a straight up lie meant to keep you thinking about how bad ALL white people are and you wrong.”
To be fair to Candice, she left me a sincere and heartfelt apology and a blessing from God, which I accept with gratitude. But I’m still waiting for Mr. Washington to answer my question: When will you be happy? When will you forgive people like me who had absolutely nothing do to with any of the American history you refer to?
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[...] Spendapaloozza: The Obamas Vacation at Martha’s Vineyard Michael McGruther, Big Hollywood: True Colors: A Race Discussion With Isaiah Washington Tarheeltalker: I Want to Have It Both Ways, Please Patterico’s Pontifications: Is This a [...]
Thank you standing your ground…I wonder was Mr. washington would say about me whose last namw is
McIntosh, that is only because of my Scottish/Italian husband. You know what they say about assuming it makes an ass out of you. kudos again…I'll have to look up up on Facebook!
Sorry for the typos, I have my one year banging the keys..lol
I don't dislike Obama because he's black; I dislike him because he's red.
How many white men died to end slavery in America? Or better yet: how many white Republicans died to end slavery? Quite a lot. Very few blacks had sacrificed anything to end slavery. Instead it was white folks being blown up and shot for opposing slavery. If anything white Republicans are owed reparations. Perhaps Americans ought to force the Democrats to make reparations both to blacks and white Republicans. Democrats, after all, were the slave owners and Klansmen. REPARATIONS! REPARATIONS! REPARATIONS!
The Candice response makes me think of one thing, I read her response and could almost see her side, though not agree with it, but see it. Then I read "That’s small shit that really means nothing." and at that moment I just lose any respect for the writers idea or belief, just the simple act of using a curse word when trying to make a point lowers the person's intelligence to me. With our language there are so many nouns,verbs,adjectives to describe anything that when I see someone use a curse word crutch it loses merit to me…..and no I am not a prude in anyway shape or form, just a lover of good use of our vocabulary.
There is not any reason to have a discussion about race with racist victims, gay victims, victims in general, save your breath, it’s a liberal trap. If an adversarial relationship is what they want lets see how that works out for them, boring man, boring.
Oh, and BTW, I will not accept the title of racist any longer, I know better.
Michael, excellent job. My maiden surname is McClure, but Grandpa on mom's side rode the boat from one of the UK's poorer regions (Cornwall) in the early 1930s to America. Other relatives came over at different times from Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. Anyone assuming that the "Mc" prefacing a surname must have been a rich American slave owner, crikey… where in the world does that kind of knuckleheaded, biased thinking come from? I'm bloody weary of being told I must apologize over and over and over again for slavery and injustices that my relatives had nothing whatsoever to do with. Guilty by association because of my skin color, enough already.
Again, well done. However, I'm afraid it will be akin to taking an eyedropper of water to a blazing fire as far as changing racist preconceptions from both sides of the fence. There are those who are quite content in their anger, choosing to be consumed by slavery or racial issues from long ago rather than read, digest, learn, and grow. "Hope and change" would be a good mantra for this ongoing issue…
Michael, excellent job. My maiden surname is McClure, but Grandpa on mom's side rode the boat from one of the UK's poorer regions (Cornwall) in the early 1930s to America. Other relatives came over at different times from Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. Anyone assuming that the "Mc" prefacing a surname must have been a rich American slave owner, crikey… where in the world does that kind of knuckleheaded, biased thinking come from? I'm bloody weary of being told I must apologize over and over and over again for slavery and injustices that my relatives had nothing whatsoever to do with. Guilty by association because of my skin color, enough already.
Again, well done. However, I'm afraid it will be akin to taking an eyedropper of water to a blazing fire as far as changing racist preconceptions from both sides of the fence. There are those who are quite content in their anger, choosing to be consumed by slavery or racial issues from long ago rather than read, digest, learn, and grow. "Hope and change" would be a good mantra for this ongoing issue… thumbs up to you for trying to make a difference.
Washington proves, yet again, why talking off script is a bad idea. I wouldn't expect him to have any moral center though. If he managed to pi** all of his co-workers off in Hollywood, he must be above average in his obnoxious quotient. And really, why should I listen to some bigot (witness his anti-gay slur) who calls me racist?
I was under the impression that Mr. Washington went to "rehab" for his hate and anger issues after slinging the F-word at his cast mate. Evidently he has relapsed.
My descendants were Belgian child 'slaves' in the textile mills of Lowell and Lawrence Massachusetts. They were denied health care, school and the freedom to own property. They had white skin. Fortunately, they were not being denied their lives by the fascist government occupation sweeping over Europe at the time. They decided, through conscience and faith, not to poison their children with bitter regret, but to teach them of the opportunity in this land.
Great point. Candace and Isiah Washington are both victims of the racialist mindset that liberals instill in them. Liberals understand that they need to balkanize America into agrieved groups in order to control it.
Suppose we take the average income and wealth of African-Americans descended from slaves and then we took the average income and wealth of West Africans and said African-Americans were owed the difference. That would be quite a foreign aid transfer to West Africans. The concept of reparations this many generations later between descendants of slaves and slave-owners is nonsensical, even without considering the blood and treasure expended in the Civil War. The concept that the situation of current African-Americans has only been made worse as a result of the slave experience of their ancestors is equally nonsensical.
As it happens, my ancestors were also transferred to a British colony in chains: they were convicts. That bondage was temporary and the result of criminal conviction, so not to be equated with the experience of slavery. (I have a longstanding interest in the economics and other aspects of human bondage, which I have blogged about, particularly here.) Yet it is quite clear that the original couple became much better off as a result of being convicts than their likely personal history back in Britain.
The effects of slavery do persist: the depressed level of social capital in the American South is very plausibly the result of slavery. But reparations for slavery is about self-righteous rhetoric, it is not about anything morally serious.
Furthermore it was the Republican Party who had voted overwhelmingly for the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Few Democrats cared much for it. Anyhow the Democrats provide for us a wealth of ammunition for our success and yet our elected leaders fail to utilize this information. I hate to sound opportunistic but the Democrats engage in racial politics so we must fight back with racial politics to some extent. And Republicans are unaware of their tremendous advantage in this department. Conservative ideals are a great help as well and of utmost importance. But how many Republicans nowadays are willing to play hardball?
How about another question – Will anyone Honor the descendants of white people who died while freeing, giving safe haven to, drafting legislation, or marching in defense of slaves? What about that? And how will you separate those white folks from the other white folks – or the ones that eventually married into each other and so on and so on.
What bothers me about this particular area of disagreement is that those who complain the loudest seem to be those who have reached the pinnacles of their chosen profession. I find it ironic that someone of Mr. Washingtons' ability and talent, that has been recognised with critical acclaim for his film and television work, (to say nothing of the financial rewards for said ability, talent, etc.) should be demanding reparations from those of us who realistically are using our talents just to survive, period. Please, methinks thou doth protest too, too much….
I haven't accepted it, ever. It is BS propagated by racists and people of evil intent. Racial equality was legally achieved by 1970, and the percentage of whites who are truly racist is small. I'm not sure about blacks, but I think most of them aren't racist either. It's the industry, people like Jackson and Sharpton, that keep picking at an old scab; of course the Democrat plantation owners for whom those creeps are useful house slaves; and the media moguls who make money from stupid news, that have been trying to stop the healing ever since. Jesse Jackson could hardly keep from dancing on MLK's grave, when he figured out he could call himself the leader of the civil rights movement.
I'm a taxicab driver in the ghettos of Philadelphia and I'm sick and tired of all of this "racists" talk.
I see how these people live. I see how these people act. Enough already. They have lost all credibility in my opinion due to their behavior.
MIke Pence has asked for Van Jones' resignation. Please call Pence's office and tell him "Thank You!!"
ROFL – a brilliant "steal-worthy" phrase. Thanks for the laugh, SQT.
ROFL – a brilliant "steal-worthy" phrase. Thanks for the laugh, SQT.
Is it activism that is destructive? Or self-victimization?
There are going to be some people that never want to take self-responsibility for their lives. They will blame others whenever possible, even when it is patently ridiculous and fraudulent to do so. There are those looking for excuses for their failures beyond themselves, because BETTERING YOURSELF IS HARD. TAKING RESPONSIBILITY IS HARD. ACKNOWLEDGING YOUR SHORTCOMINNGS AND FAILURES CAN BE PAINFUL.
And I hate to say it to you, AtheistCon, but having God in one's life can make that hard road easier. If more people went to church, they might be better equipped to face their demons and heal their lives, and stop blaming others.
The black nationalist movements arose when cowardly academe allowed them to do so in the 1960s; in other words it was liberals who allowed it. Even today most of these racial opportunists reside in predominantly liberal regions. This tells me one of two things: either liberals are responsible for allowing opportunism, or liberals are genuine racists yet pass the buck to conservatives in order to evade condemnation, which thing is consistent with option one by means of cowardice. Put simply, a good many black folks' experience of liberal racism and liberal cowardice is coloring their perceptions of conservatives. And conservatives are paying for liberals' racism and cowardice. But liberal cowardice is the root problem.
I have several compelling arguements to share on this topic, but at the risk of being called a racist I will simply defer and agree with Mr. Washington. I know this makes me a coward to US Attorney General Holder, but I would rather be labeled a coward than a racist.
And yes it is my full intention to completely marginalize the views and opinions of black people by simply agreeing with them on any and all issues. But, the race card has been played one time too many with our new President, so this is how it is going to have to be. I invite all of you to try this with your black friends and then ask them how it feels to know that the only reason you agree with them is because you would be a racist if you didn't.
I get what you're saying.
For non-political blacks, I think some of the old anti-white stuff is going away. For the Van Joneses of the world, white guilt for every-freaking-thing is not only convenient, it's absolutely necessary. If honkies aren't the devil, then the entire racialist left-wing worldview falls to rubble.
That's why the game will never be over for some African-Americans. They and the rest of the Left have to keep whites running the bases, long after most people will have forgotten what the point of the 'contest' was in the first place.
"Very few blacks had sacrificed anything to end slavery."
Have to disagree. They endured slavery until public opinion and war finally ended it. That's sacrifice to me. And their endurance, and the lives of many white Americans during the war, is what allows their descendants to be free people today.
Forget it. You can never, ever reach an 'understanding' or 'compromise' with the grievancemongers: they are blackmailers, and the worst thing you can do with a blackmailer is pay him, because his demands will never, ever cease.
Emulate Wellington: "Publish and be damned." So your ancestors were slaves? Get over it. Grow up and stop whining. My give-a-damn is broken.
And while we're at it let's see some gratitude for all the Jews who put everything on the line to help the civil rights movement — in fact whose pro bono support was crucial — but whose thanks have been a lot of slander and hate and now the most anti-Israel administration in memory.
Yeah me to brother, I'm so over the entire subject of any misery merchant, blow it out your arse.
But Raven, sacrifices have to be made, Barry knows best …yuk!
Divide and conquer.
I think that every single day!
Yeah…blacks only had to actually BE slaves…how bad could it have been?? Ingrates!!
No apology will ever be sufficient for racist blacks. This eternal excuse for remaining noncompetitive in nearly every aspect of contemporary life will never die. Washington and his ilk could be lobbying for ending slavery in Sudan, Mali, Chad and Darfur, instead of scapegoating white Americans who bear no blame for past history. Refuse to accept this extortion. Stay away from racist black people. And Washington and Candice BTW, have never been "enslaved". They live in LA. They're probably both entitled, spoiled, tiresome actors.
Why should anyone be judged by what their ancestors did 200 years ago, 100 years ago, or yesterday? People do not need to be forgiven for what someone assumes their ancestors may have done, nor is anyone responsible for what someone else did in the past. Name calling and hyperbole are no substitute for an intelligent discussion of issues.
I agree with AtheistCon that it is insane to look for logic here. It is equally absurd to think that those who feel this way care at all about the ideas of anyone who disagrees. Argument is pointless. We all have better ways to use our lives.
I have no apologies, and no one is going to force one out of me by any means. Seems to me there's a sense of entitlement to being a victim if one is not white. I really don't care if any apology is sufficient or not, because I don't think any apology is warranted. It's as clear as the sun on the horizon why racism is still an issue. Kind of like an annoying friend, or a nagging spouse….you really want to be with them, but they just won't move past it. Sooner or later you just turn off the switch.
Mr. Washington seems to have missed the elephant in the room that Bill's commentary relates directly to his own employment demise on Grey's Anatomy. I'd think a guy who got fired supposedly for using "hate" speech toward another actor would connect the dots. If the stories were true he turned himself inside out to prove how PC he was… and they still fired him. As with all kool-aid addicts you can't confuse them with the facts.
Mr. Washington seems to have missed the elephant in the room that Bill's commentary relates directly to his own employment demise on Grey's Anatomy. I'd think a guy who got fired supposedly for using "hate" speech toward another actor would connect the dots. If the stories were true he turned himself inside out to prove how PC he was… and they still fired him. As with all kool-aid addicts you can't confuse them with the facts.
Excellent piece btw!
I'm really feeling the love in the idyllic post-racial America ushered in by the community organizer who doesn't "look like those guys on the dollar bill."
Just let me know when the next two minute hate begins. I don't want to be late.
Depressed level of social capital? What does that mean?
You're forgetting completely about the Underground Railroad. Before the Civil War, it was the only chance blacks had at freedom.
I believe a larger percentage of blacks than whites are racist. I believe the continuous promotion of victim-hood and enslavement of blacks by Democrats is evil. I believe Isaiah Washington is an idiot. His response to you was nonsensical and he clearly is an angry person. I don't feel any white-guilt nor do I need any forgiveness..
Oh, Mike Pence is obviously just saying that because he's a racist. What other explanation could there be, right?
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American descendant of mostly English/Irish Catholics here….My English ancestors fled English religious persecution during the reformation to Ireland and after settling proceeded to experience continued oppression that most catholics suffered only to eventually flee the Famine AFTER the Civil War to enjoy continued prejudice and suspicion that was finally finally relieved when an american son of Irish Catholics was elected president. I could easily decide to fester an ancient resentment and frankly my historical family has much in common with other oppressed ethnic groups and those persecuted for their religion. It took many dedicated people on both sides of the Atlantic to finally achieve the fragile peace in the old country. Would I consider returning and demanding the ancestral potato patch or money compensation for crimes of oppression from the
protestant english lasting 300 years? Yeah….that would fly really well. Why should I pay compensation because my skin color erroneously convicts me of crimes my ancestors were innocent of because we were too busy starving in Ireland? Why not go further…to the ancient empires of Rome, Persia, rampaging vikings, Khan….Lets just take this all the way…..Lunacy….Good article…..
Thanks!
My Great-Great Grandfather and my Great-Grandfather came to the U.S. from Poland in 1920. If I figure correctly, that's about 60 or so odd years after the Civil War. So, my family obviously didn't own any slaves (they were DIRT POOR when they came here, I guarantee you they didn't own slaves in Poland). So, does that exempt me from paying reparations or do I just have to do that because I'm white?
Seriously, slavery was an awful, horrible, despicable part of our history. I wish it had never happened. No one deserves to be put into slavery. However, it is in the PAST. Why am I responsible for things that happened 150 years ago? Nobody alive today was a slave in the 1800's. Reparations do not extend to generations born 150 years after the crime was committed!
I don't think we should forget that slavery happened in this country–we need to learn from our mistakes, but it IS time to stop pointing fingers at "victims" and "perpetrators" after all these years–none of US was personally involved after all.
Truth be told, racial/homophobic incidents aside, Washington has a rep for just being a d**k. He's laying in the professional bed he's made over many years of being a right proper @$$h***e at his job. To look for more profound explanations is a waste of time. Peace to all.
Southern States of the US tend to show higher levels of social distrust, and lower levels of various forms community networking and social participation, than other areas of the US. Robert Putnam analysed the relevant data in his Bowling Alone. He constructed a social capital index and ranked US States, the data and results of which are available online.
Well, you'll certainly swiftly eliminate your black friend issues with an insulting, patronizing attitude like that!
Wow, product of the modern education system much?
One of the more common occurrences in the south was freeing of slaves as part of the will of the slaveowner. Some of the Founding Fathers did this, and it was a practice continued up until the Constitution was amended to outlaw slavery, and was even practiced in the Confederacy. One of the better known who did this was a man named George Custis, who's slaves were freed by his son-in-law on December 29, 1862, in the middle of the War Between the States, as outlined in his will. Pretty good for the son-in-law to do, considering he had considerable responsibilities at the time, what with leading the Army of Northern Virginia and all.
While I don't disagree with the entirety of your post, I do have to point out there's a lot of different reasons for the relative poorness of the South compared to the Northeast and West Coast. Some of it has to do with the agrarian society that was dominate even up to modern times, but you have to remember why modern manufacturing began in the Northeast rather than the south, and it had nothing to do with slavery or population demographics, and everything to do with geography.
Modern industry started with the watermill. In the south, most major sources of water a wide, relatively slow moving rivers with a gradual decent. In the northeast, swift moving streams with sharp decent are more common. In other words, the northeast is better suited to watermills than the south was (yes, there are places in the south with swift moving, rapid falling streams, the mostly inaccessible at the time Appalachian mountains). This caused early industrialization to focus on the northeast over the south. When newer forms of industrialization came along, the built in areas where the expertise to work in manufacturing already existed: the north. That said, with modern industrialization, factories started to spread. But compared to the north, even the biggest industrial town at the time, Richmond, was small fry.
The "Reconstruction" period after the War Between the States certainly did not help, as the Radical Republicans took extensive efforts to punish the south for the war, effectively stunting their growth. Further, during this period, the main source of possible new wealth in the south, the rich natural mineral resources of the Appalachian Mountains, were practically stolen from poor southerns by northern companies and carpetbaggers due to their ignorance of the laws involving mineral rights and the true value of such materials. The collapse of the old economic system of the south, as grounded in slavery as it was, did not help matters, but it was only one part of a much bigger set of problems that took generations to recover from.
Never.
Read the sentence before you comment on it.
Roughly 360, 222 of the Union's best men died to end slavery. A little gratitude from Mr. Isaiah Washington (and some others apparently) is desired but not expected. These soldiers–a majority being Caucasian–were slaughtered so Mr. Washington could enjoy his apparent success. A comparably small number of black men were killed in battle for this same cause–in other words, a slave is does not become automatically a soldier in Lincoln's army. And Isaiah Washington, Whoopi Goldberg, Harry Belafonte, Danny Glover, et cetera ought to be confronted with this fact which apparently is unknown to them. So far nobody confronts them about these sacrifices. As for the sentence in question, the key word is "end"–"Very few blacks had sacrificed anything to END slavery." My ancestors sacrificed their lives, not to be slaves, but to free slaves. A freedom fighter is one who fights for freedom; not just one who lacks freedom altogether. But the point here is Mr. Washington's shallow grasp of any history prior to 2007. My response is my response.
Regarding Van Jones and his horribly honest utterings:
Regarding the horrifyingly objectionable utterings of one Van Jones:
1) Name a Republican who's not an a$$hole.
2) Tell me it's out of this world to think that GW could have had an incentive to knock down the WTC given the huge oil and defense profits that have resulted.
3) White polluters do steer poison into communities of color. If this weren't true it wouldn't be the case that the blackest neighborhoods are also the dirtiest while the whitist neighborhoods are the most pristine. If you think I'm lying, check out the lit review in this paper: http://www.independent.org/pdf/tir/tir_08_2_couch.pdf. There is plenty of empirical data to back me up.
I know conservatives don't believe in "data" or "evidence" but some people might.
Maybe we should investigate the claims Van Jones is making instead of just freaking out because he made them.
Kindly spare me the statistics, and don't assume I'm ignorant of history. But it's childish at best, insulting at worst, to place those who fought slavery above those who actually suffered its evils for centuries, and that's the overwhelming impression given by your original post.
<<in other words, a slave is does not become automatically a soldier in Lincoln's army>>
I have no idea what this means.
Since I am a "Skittles-American", some of my ancestors were here when the others got off "The" boat making me a mix of a lot of blood lines, can I just pay myself with my own money. "Your skin does not give you the right to think you can bully me or belittle me, only I can give you that right, an I ain't gonna"!
Wow aren't you quite the tolerant enlightened one. Off your meds, or did you just get back from the bar?
Again it was 360,222 of Lincoln's men who sacrificed their lives to free other men from slavery–remember that number, as you might say, "completely". It's nothing to laugh about. Your friend Isaiah Washington ought to be confronted with this number. Perhaps (or perhaps not) he might recant of his racism towards Caucasians. It does happen. And yes, I remember the Underground Railroad. But sacrificing your life for another man's freedom is honorable also. All 360,222 cases of it.
We should stop trying to convince ourselves that it doesn't matter how much or how little material wealth was had by our grandparents and great grandparents. It matters. Wealth is passed down and so is poverty. The reason white people are so dismissive of the economic suffering of black people is because they're so afraid that somebody else might get more than they "deserve" that they bend over backwards to get there first. I'm a white person from a conservative family and I tell you it never ceases to amaze me the way they just assume that other people's lives are so easy. I can't tell you how many times my grandmother has made the claim that white people have had it just as bad as black people, that white people lived through the Depression, etc. Well, if you didn't live through the Depression as a black person, I don't see how you can sit around saying you had it just as bad. You have no basis for comparison. The reality is that judges, politicians, CEOs, high-ranking military officers and high-ranking police officials are, by and large, white. It's not fair. But the conservatives in my family will be the first to tell you that fairness doesn't matter and neither does equality. But then they'd turn around and, in the interest of fairness, support eliminating food assistance programs for people in need just to deprive the undeserving. They'd also be first in line to use the government programs they don't even think should exist, for example Social Security or Cash for Clunkers. They are such selfish hypocrites, it's infuriating. They are completely ignorant of history and uneducated and committed to not changing one iota no matter how
wrong they are. And there are millions just like them. This is what we're dealing with. Good luck to all rational and just Americans.
It just so happens that my great-grandfather owned slaves. Confederate soldier, too. He died in 1917. Wanna make something of it?
You sure have a lot of hate going on. Are you always this entertaining at the dinner table as well?
Do you have enough money in your bank account to contribute to this reparations nonsense?? Only kidding! I had a couple of ancestors and the keyword here is ancestors who fought for the north, and as far as I'm concerned that is all for the history books. As much I love to read about the "War of Northern Aggression" it is over and done with. And no one on either side has nothing to be ashamed of or apologize for.
Here is the one and most important question I want answered: What will it take and under what time frame will it take for white Americans to be forgiven? I feel like I am playing a baseball game, ahead by 10 runs, but the umpire will not tell me what inning the game ends. So, just tell me, please! I will do my best.
I care not about someones skin color but I do care about American liberty and personal responsibility. I do not nor should I be held responsible for every racist that came before and that would include even my relatives. I am responsible for my actions and it is my duty or perogative to stand against racism NOW for racism is practiced by every creed and color. MSNBC like most left wingers has a selective memory toward racism that forgets that it was the Repubican Party that was founded by abolishionists and that southern Democrats supported segregation.
Mr. Michael you will never get an answer to when Mr. Washington will be happy or forgive people like you or me for that matter. He's having to great a love affair with his self- righteous anger. Because without it I suspect there's not a whole lot really going on. I do hope he comes around and sees the truth and common sense you put before him for his own sake.Then he can join the human race. Who knows he might even like it. After all we're all in it Together. Fine article. Thank You.
The basic problem here is that you're assuming their position is based on logic. It's not. It's based on emotion. All 'activist' behavior is.
Any person who has done even the most cursory study of American history knows that a very, very small number of white Americans owned slaves. Conflate that with the length of time since slave-owning was abolished (over 150 years), massive influx of new citizens, and you have even fewer 'bloodlines' that can be linked to slave-owning. Combine that with the fact that a large percentage of black-skinned Americans are either recent immigrants, the children of immigrants from after slavery, or from parts of the world where there was no slavery, and you'll have an incredibly small number of people who can even relate to the subject.
Which is frankly irrelevant because the whole point is moot. What was done over 150 years ago means nothing today. All this proves is that activists are never satisfied, and giving them anything only makes them madder. Again, any student of history would know this: after the Civil Rights Bill passed largely due to Martin Luther King Jr, Rosa Parks, and other non-violent protesters (and of course Republican backing), after schools were desegregated, THAT's when Stokely Carmichael came on the scene, THAT's when the Black Panthers started, THAT's when Malcolm X and others got all militant and started the 'black nation' nonsense.
Activism is destructive. It is the biggest impediment to progress in any civilized society.
The issues is not the relative poorness of the South, but its lack of social capital. While these things may be causally connected, it is the lack of social capital that has retarded economic growth, not vice versa. None of the factor you mention would much explain the results Robert Putnam found. Turchin suggests a similar long term "mass slavery" effect for Sicily.
(Second go at replying). The concept of social capital is about levels of social trust and connectedness. Robert Putnam, in his Bowling Alone, found that Southern US States had low levels of social trust and low levels of social participation and low levels of networking. The data is online.
It means a good many Union soldiers had suffered slow and agonizing deaths–minus anesthesia–towards the end of liberating countrymen of whom they had never met. Limbs were sawed off, families pulled apart, and entire armies ravaged by disease amidst the poverty of military life in those days. Of course slavery is rough. So is sacrificing your life and comforts for another man's benefit. Now enough of this condescending nonsense by which a soldier's blood means nothing. A soldier's blood means everything. Perhaps my anger would subside if more of my fellows had understood as much. And I will never apologize to you or anybody for my words or for these heroic and dead white men and their sacrifice. My words offend you? Indeed, the slaves had nothing they could sacrifice to begin with–only chains and humiliation. The troops, on the other hand, had everything some of us consider most important–wives, children, jobs, freedom, et cetera–and they willingly sacrificed all of it for freedom and unity. Thus the troops had sacrificed more than anybody.
Or in a sentence, sacrifices are made willingly. Enslavement is suffered unwillingly.
Watch Blazing Saddles two times and call me in the morning.
Slavery is suffered unwillingly. Sacrifices are made willingly. The slaves in those days had nothing left to sacrifice–it was all taken from them beforehand; they were enslaved contrary to their wills. And the Union troops had freedom and everything that comes with it–domestic comfort, wives, children, food, diverse entertainments–and yet they sacrificed all of it for freedom and unity. The slaves had sacrificed less because they could claim less. What did they have that was not already taken from them? There is a great difference in defining one word over another: sacrifice and endurance. Check out a dictionary and see for yourself. My words will make perfect sense.
My ancestors emigrated to America in the 1850s and settled in Maryland. They not only never owned any slaves, but they enlisted in the Union Army. So screw Isaiah Washington. I have nothing to apologize for. But even if my great-great-great-great-grandfather was "Ames", the evil overseer from "Roots", I'd feel no need to apologize. I've done nothing to apologize for.
On the subject of history, does it matter to any of these knuckleheads that Barack Obama has absolutely no genetic connection to American slavery? As the descendant of an East African Muslim tribe, he has no more connection to the West African Animist black tribesmen who were brought over here as slaves, than I have to the Norwegians because my ancestors came from Italy.
If it's just about the color of our skin, Vijay Singh is "blacker" than Obama, and he's from Fiji.
I think your great grandfather might owe somebody some reparations. Lucky for you, you aren't responsible for his debts.
Where do you get this MLK was a Republican crap? Do 5 minutes of research and maybe next time you won't make fool of yourself. King endorsed Kennedy and Johnson and denounced Goldwater. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/arti...
Slow down, man! I'm on your side. I'm no friend of Isaiah Washington, and I'm not downplaying the heroism of the Union Army. I'm just trying to add what was left out — hell, Harriet Tubman was a spy for the Union during the Civil War.
Work hard get an education in this country and anyone can succeed. Sit around bitching moaning and complaining and you will be a certain failure, or prisoner of the state, under the boot heel or your local Democrat politician.
Equality of result.
Race-baiting blacks will not feel satisfied until blacks are in all things in equal numbers to whites. Additionally, it is about vengeance, about "whose ox is gored," not about any principle of justice.
Sadly, I went to the same high school as Mr. Washington and he's on a Wall of Honor at my school. Meanwhile, I can't find a military veteran anywhere on the wall.
Screw him. Stop whining. No one cares.
"I Pledge" to ignore I. Washington.
Can I add – "kiss my ass"?
I have ancestors on my father's side who fought for the Confederacy. I have ancestors on my father's side who fought with Lincoln. I have apologized to myself and paid myself a huge sum of "guilt money." I have no dog in this fight any more and declare myself done with it.
(I am selling "guilt credits" if anyone who doesn't have the pedigree I have. I figure if algore can make money off of carbon credits, I can too. My idea makes as much sense as his.)
I have ancestors on my father's side who fought for the Confederacy. I have ancestors on my father's side who fought with Lincoln. I have apologized to myself and paid myself a huge sum of "guilt money." I have no dog in this fight any more and declare myself done with it.
(I am selling "guilt credits" if anyone who doesn't have the pedigree I have. I got the idea from algore and his sale of carbon credits. My idea makes as much sense as his.)
This slave crap is just that — crap. There has never been a group or a race who hasn't been enslaved at one time or the other in their history. The Romans enslaved much of the world. Are Africans howling about Italian reparations? Hell no! Why? Because the Italians would laugh at them if they tried. My Viking ancestors terrorized England and Scotland for a couple hundred years. Are the Danes supposed to give back the Danegeld? What about the Spanish Inquisition? Jews and Muslims might want to hit up Spain for a few million whatevers as payback. And how about Germany in the thirties and forties? They ought to fund Israel for the next hundred years for THAT!
Sooner or later someone who doesn't mind being called a Racist is going to point out that blacks in America have it a whole lot better than their counterparts in Africa but if they disagree and are willing to return, maybe then reparations would be in order — to pay their way back first class and support them for five years on the African economy until they can learn the language of the country of their choice and set up a business or enter a profession. Paying them reparations to live in the greatest country in the world is beyond nonsensical. It's flat out stupid.
My grandparents came here from Russia, Germany, Wales, and Ireland. All were poor. All arrived with the little more than the clothes on their backs. They came to escape the tyrannies in their own lands and find the opportunities of freedom.
Why should I pay reparations for slavery when my great-great-grandparents were little more then slaves under feudalist systems? Where is MY reparation?
I believe white guilt got Obama elected. Apparently that feeds the con.
By and large, the population is only 13% 'black' so why would you expect more of the bureaucrats to be 'black'? And just because a bureaucrat is not 'black' does not instantly make them 'white'. (Here in Oklahoma there are easily as many Native American Indians and Latinos as whites.) Nevertheless all those 'white' people elected a 'black' President. So why do you pretend that 'white' people are all 'out to get' 'black' people? That is the major assumption you have there. That is paranoia.
What makes you think all white people have money? I lived under bridges for years in my twenties. I have a sneaky feeling you never slept in a ditch. I know what hunger is like.
Social Security ahould be used for retirees, exclusively. It should not be used to pay youngsters to go to school. Those retirees have paid to have a retirement income. Some other mechanism should deal with the youngsters because Social Security is bankrupt.
"3) White polluters do steer poison into communities of color. If this weren't true it wouldn't be the case that the blackest neighborhoods are also the dirtiest while the whitist neighborhoods are the most pristine."
There is actually a tiny fraction of truth to this but you have the label all WRONG – all of those neighborhoods that you reference are generally always DEMOCRATIC districts, where the citizens always vote for the Democrat because he promises to "help" when in fact he's legislating in such a way that the neighborhood never improves and neither do the chances of the people to lift themselves up. It can be very hard to find healthy food in some urban neighborhoods and that is directly tied to the way the citizens VOTE, not the color of someone's skin.
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=16500
It will never end. It can never end. Much like a parent that uses guilt to manipulate a child (including adult children), the manipulaters can't give up their power over the manipulated. And let's finally get this right: It's all about power. Forgiveness is not an option. It can not be.
Funny thing is, my ancestors were poor white share croppers and Scots-Irish that came in the last great wave of immigration from Northern Ireland, after the end of the War Between the States. The reason that it's funny is I'm considered guilty because of my skin color…. And I am always the one who is considered a racist.
Hey! Apparently California's budget collapse has forced them to release inmates from the state asylums!
By the way, Miss Moonbat, what part of "Van Jones is a Communist" don't you understand?
The very people who decry racism the most are the ones most responsible for perpetuating it.
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=16500
i have said it before: we must hit back on every slur, every fight, every bit of nonsense the libbies throw at us. we have let the little stuff slide for so long that they think they get a pass on something like this.
note to isaiah and his libbie defenders: NO SIR. not happening anymore. you have been served notice. we ARE mad as hell and, if you haven't noticed, we aren't going to take it anymore.
victimhood as an institution, and rewarding said victimhood, is what leads to the never-ending screech for "more" from the "trodden upon". The welfare state has given us 3 generations of government-dependent people of all races.
personally, i have always applied the "asshole test" to my dealings with everyone, regardless of race, gender, or sexual orientation. if you act like an asshole, you get treated like one.
besides, when beloved leader was elected by the sheeple, race and racism was taken off the table permanently, to my way of thinking.
maybe someone should have told van jones about that.
"Why should I pay reparations for slavery when my great-great-grandparents were little more then slaves under feudalist systems?"
I'm not in favor of reparations for what happened to black families in this country, but the answer to your question is that your ancestors were "little more than slaves" in another society. When they came to this country, they were given freedom and the opportunity to work hard and better their circumstances.
What happened to black families in this country–both slavery and Jim Crow–was done by this nation. Much of that harm is still being suffered, whatever else is going on, and our nation still enjoys the benefits.
Was'nt I.Washington in the movie GLORY in the 90's? A clasic and powerful civil war movie with Matthew Broderick, Denzil Washington, Cary Ewles, Morgan Freeman to name a few of the distinguished cast….Great movie….retold the true story of a Northern Jewish Calvary Officer who formed the first infantry unit composed entirely of blacks, both freedmen and runaway slaves who against overwhelming odds due to lack of proper outfitting and prejudice from Union Army distinguished themselves for outstanding bravery? Film focuses equally on the difficulties the two white officers had trying to properly arm and outfit their soldiers and fight the prejudice of the Union Command structure as well as how the Black soldiers had to learn how to trust that these two white officers actually believed in the cause and in their men….Bottom Line….Honor & Bravery is never about Skin Color or Cultural Ethnicity ( The Jewish Officer rose above the antisemitic prejudice he suffered in an overwhelmingly " Protestant Christian Nation" and this is why he identified & sympathized with his soldiers )…..I. Washington should watch his own film even though he had a minor role….OY! The Irony…….
Rigorous thinking on an intersesting issue.
Thanks
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