Forget Sharpton, here's the real slavery

Jewish World Review ^ | March 2, 2007 | Mona Charen

[rhema]

Al Sharpton is apparently subdued by news that his ancestors were owned by ancestors of the late Sen. Strom Thurmond. New York Times columnist Bob Herbert described him as "quiet" and "reflective" — states of mind that Herbert acknowledges are "unusual" for the reverend. That qualifies as the understatement of the decade.

Sharpton indicates that the news of his ancestry brought the "complete dehumanization" of slavery home to him, and Herbert takes the opportunity to preach that "Slavery, like the past . . . is not dead. It's not even past. It's not something you can wish away."

No, you can't wish it away, but it is possible to dwell on it overmuch, as I believe we do in this country. To judge by what my children are learning in school, you'd think American history was 75 percent slavery and 25 percent everything else (and that 25 percent includes a large dollop of imperialism, racism, sexism and homophobia, leaving little time for Lincoln, Edison, Clay, Holmes, Alcott, Dickinson, Addams, Longfellow or Fulton).

If Sharpton has not really understood slavery until now, then he has a peculiarly feeble imagination. Is it possible to live in 2007 America and not have thought about what life must have been like for black slaves? Is he kidding? This from a self-described "civil rights leader"?

When Herbert wrote "slavery is not dead," I thought he was going in a different direction. I thought he was going to address the continuing practice of slavery worldwide. He has done so in the past. In fact, if Al Sharpton were a serious man, which he is not, he would be agitating and teaching and focusing on the slavery that continues to torment mostly women and children around the world and even here in the United States.

[mc6809e]

Controversial statements follow. Keep an open mind.

Al Sharpton is lucky to have had his ancestors brought here. In fact, his ancestors were luckier than even white Europeans.

The Demographic Cost of Sugar: Debates on Slave Societies and Natural Increase in the Americas

"So far as history reveals, no other slave society, whether of antiquity or modern times, has so much as sustained, much less greatly multiplied, its slave population by relying on natural increase."

"The North American slave experience is perhaps even more remarkable when compared with free white populations. From the later eighteenth century, and possibly before that even, and until the Civil War, the rate of natural growth of North American slaves was much greater than for the population of any nation in Europe, and was nearly twice as rapid as that of England. By the 1850s, the rate of natural increase was higher even than that of the white population of the United States. This was a remarkable outcome because, as Thomas Malthus suggested as early as 1798, white Americans expanded with a rapidity "probable without parallel in history."4

[rickdylan]

Facts regarding slavery include:

• You can read about slavery in the Christian world but you need to open a history book to do it. Reading about slavery in the muslim world is simpler, just open the classified ad section of most muslim newspapers under 's', or possibly under 'w' as well since women are basically slaves in muslim societies.
• Slavery in the Christian world meant peasantry up to around 1450 AD, which was a fact of life everywhere.
• Peasants paid no more than 15% of their incomes in taxes.
• The sort of evil slavery you read about involving Africans was a muslim invention and practice.
• European naval expansion was occasioned by Tamerlane breaking up the trade routes which Chengis Khan's descendants had reopened. Sailing around Africa to the spice islands, the Europeans would put in at west African ports for water and fruits and the natives, seeing this, figured them for more muslims come to buy slaves and rolled out the slave markets.
• African slaves sold to Europeans were captured enemy tribesmen, meaning they'd have all been killed had there not been white honkeys there to purchase them.
• The truly evil 85% of the European/African slave trade in which slaves were worked to death and replaced regularly in central and south America did not involve the United States. It was only in the United States that Africans ever lived well enough to reproduce and become self sustaining.
• The African slave trade was finally ended around 1812 by the British navy at the instigation of English Christians.

[sgtbono2002]

It kind of makes you wonder sometimes, If it wasnt for slavery what would blacks have to blame for their inability to adapt, to find jobs, to need affirmative action jobs and lowered standards of education to graduate.

Slavery makes a great crutch. What do blacks in Africa, England and France use for their excuse?

[RoadTest]

If he's "Reverend", why don't we hear him preaching Jesus Christ? That would be his job if he were a "Reverend".

[rhema]

If he's "Reverend", why don't we hear him preaching Jesus Christ? That would be his job if he were a "Reverend".

I think Jesus would just get in Al's way of pursuing his real calling, according to this Washington Post bio: Career: Civil rights activist

It is otherwise noted of Sharpton: Reverend Sharpton still preaches throughout the United States and abroad on most Sunday’s [sic], and averages eighty formal sermons a year. Reverend Sharpton says his religious convictions are the basis for his life.

I wonder how often the subjects of Jesus, sin, faith, repentance, salvation, et al. crop up in those sermons.

[cgk]

Mona Ping!

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[SoCalPol]

Have 3rd great grandfathers who were in the Union army in the Civil War to save the Union and free the slaves.

What is interesting doing genealogy over 30 yrs. and seeing principal documents while researching, you come across facts that arn't brought out or very little.

There were Africans brought to New Amsterdam (NYC) in 1600s
and many, not many yrs.later given their freedom.
When some of the Dutch women were widowed, some cleaned the homes of the freed Africans.

[killjoy]

The sort of evil slavery you read about involving Africans was a muslim invention and practice.

Oh please. This predates Islam by thousands of years.

[Enterprise]

Hey Sharpton - your great granddaddy was PW3NED!