Senate Backs Apology for Slavery

Washington Post ^ | 6/20/2009 | Krissah Thompson

[mikelets456]

The Senate unanimously passed a resolution yesterday apologizing for slavery, making way for a joint congressional resolution and the latest attempt by the federal government to take responsibility for 2 1/2 centuries of slavery.

"You wonder why we didn't do it 100 years ago," Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), lead sponsor of the resolution, said after the unanimous-consent vote. "It is important to have a collective response to a collective injustice."

The Senate's apology follows a similar apology passed last year by the House. One key difference is that the Senate version explicitly deals with the long-simmering issue of whether slavery descendants are entitled to reparations, saying that the resolution cannot be used in support of claims for restitution. The House is expected to revisit the issue next week to conform its resolution to the Senate version.

[Sig Sauer P220]

Do you expect to issue Zimbabwe dollars for this payment?

Speaking of that, my daughter just returned from Zimbabwe and brought a bunch of trillion and billion dollar bills back. So, we're set for life. I quit my job and am going to buy my own private island.

[mikelets456]

“....My ancestors fought to free the slaves. I’m holding out for a ‘thank you’ from the slaves descendants...”

Exactly!!! Hundreds of thousands of White males gave their lives for these “slaves”.....your welcome!

The apology tour continues and it ain’t about principal it’s only about MONEY!

[Sig Sauer P220]

Apparently an apology to them is worth more than the enslavement of fellow black people.

Most of them couldn't care less about an apology. They just want the Benjamins.

[TLI]

I did a bit of searching and found some interesting info that you probably will not see on the Communist News Network.



In order to win over the majority of the public, Lincoln, at his inaugural address in 1861, vowed not to interfere with the institution of slavery. Contrary to present belief, the general public in the North approved of this attitude. However, at the same time, Lincoln set forth an idea to purchase all 4 million slaves (at a cost of between one-half billion to 2 billion dollars) and also to colonize them abroad. Such an economically unreasonable suggestion was unnecessary as events paved the way for true emancipation without financial compensation.
http://www.rain.org/~karpeles/EmancipationPr.html

Some more, (there was a LOT of info out there)

Surprisingly, to many history impaired individuals, most Union Generals and staff had slaves to serve them! William T. Sherman had many slaves that served him until well after the war was over and did not free them until late in 1865.

U.S. Grant also had several slaves, who were only freed after the 13th amendment in December of 1865. When asked why he didn't free his slaves earlier, Grant stated "Good help is so hard to come by these days."

Contrarily, Confederate General Robert E. Lee freed his slaves (which he never purchased - they were inherited) in 1862!!! Lee freed his slaves several years before the war was over, and considerably earlier than his Northern counterparts. And during the fierce early days of the war when the South was obliterating the Yankee armies!

Lastly, and most importantly, why did NORTHERN States outlaw slavery only AFTER the war was over? The so-called "Emancipation Proclamation" of Lincoln only gave freedom to slaves in the SOUTH! NOT in the North! This pecksniffery even went so far as to find the state of Delaware rejecting the 13th Amendment in December of 1865 and did not ratify it (13th Amendment / free the slaves) until 1901!
http://www.rulen.com/myths/



And there is a concise explanation of the true nature of the war here.

[stratman1969]

Did Senator Byrd apologize for being a Kleagle in the KKK and opposing the Civil Rights Act of 1964? Seems to me the Democrat Party should be the one’s apologizing, since they not only fought to keep slavery but fought to keep segregation as well.

[TheClintons-STILLAnti-American]

"Now when does Rome apologize for the gladitorial games and all that lion-feeding they did with Christians?"

The Roman Empire was built and maintained on the backs of slaves.

Not only was it largely Muslims capturing and selling the Africans to white slave traders back in the day, some Islamic countries condone slavery today.

Where's the righteous indignation over that fact?

It was as British colonies that slavery was established on the U.S. continent. It was widely recognized as a blight in need of addressing at the time the colonies struck out as an independent nation, but was seen by many who were far wiser than any liberal in government today as a problem that needed to wait until the nation was at least on it's feet as an actual entity before addressing completely overhauling it's economic infrastructure.

And as an aside, as slavery goes in history, those in the American colonies and the first decades of the United States did not have it so bad in terms of treatment. I know that's an affront to argue this to someone stuck subject to the whims of another human being who "owns" you, but since "relative" morality is in vogue today, it's worth keeping in mind.

And no black born in this nation alive today has ever personally experienced being owned by another human being, any more than I have.

Should Egyptian Muslims be allowed to sue for reparations for having their lives, culture and freedom stolen from them when Islam invaded, along with every other nation Muslims like to pretend were always dominated by that oppressive cult? Their claim would be at least as legitimate as African Americans'. Maybe more legitimate since they're still subject to a system that, through censorship, oppression and lies, keeps them virtual slaves to this day.

Maybe "moveon.org" will apply the same logic it used when it was founded to help get the nation to move on past the fact that we had a scum bag doing scummy things in the oval office, and say "come on, don't we have enough to deal with on today's problem?"

Or maybe Congress' time would be more nobly spent addressing the fact that the human flesh industry (slavery of all sorts, from labor to sex) is the single largest industry in our pseudo-enlightened, "Progressive" world today?

Nah, that makes too much sense.

[Liberty Valance]

http://www.juneteenth.us/
Cheer up folks. It’s time to celebrate!
God Bless Texas!

[Free_SJersey]

It will come to reparations no matter what the final bill says and when it does, I hope someone insists that in order to qualify, their lineage must be documented back to a slave. Also, once the amount to be awarded is determined, from that they subtract the cost of welfare, affirmative action, the Watts(, Detroit, Newark, et al) riots, gang violence, etc. When the final figure is tabulated, it should be adjusted for the economic conditions in Africa today that they would be living (possibly) under today had their ancesters been allowed to remain in Africa.

[bamahead]

Carol M. Swain, a professor of political science and law at Vanderbilt University who had pushed for the Bush administration to issue an apology, called the Democratic-controlled Senate's resolution "meaningless" since the party and federal government are led by a black president and black voters are closely aligned with the Democratic party.

"The Republican Party needed to do it," Swain said. "It would have shed that racist scab on the party."

A little Bing-ing reveals Carol M. Swain homepage and this little factoid:

Carol Swain is now a contributing political blogger for The Huffington Post.

So, before you go dropping a quarter million dollars on an education at Vanderbilt University, you might want to consider that they employ partisan dishonest politcal hacks as "PhD's". The Democrat party is the party with richest history of slavery, racism, and segregation in the USA.

Obviously a knowledge of true history is not a qualification for idiots like Carol M. Swain, "PhD", or Vanderbilt University.

[Oldpuppymax]

I guess the trillions stolen by Big Brother and redistributed as welfare don’t count.

[oblomov]

I will gladly give $10B to every slave I have ever owned.

[oblomov]

ping for later

[ctdonath2]

latest attempt by the federal government to take responsibility for 2 1/2 centuries of slavery.

Impossible.

The federal government can only take responsibility for 89 years of slavery - the time between formation of the government and when it legally ended slavery. Heck, the government has only existed for 233 years, so it cannot take responsibility for 250 years of anything; it has spent more time apologizing for slavery than allowing it.

[oblomov]

Yes, we already had reparations...how’d that work out?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cd7VOz_Wstg

[ctdonath2]

"You wonder why we didn't do it 100 years ago,"

We did. Sacrificing 600,000 people to stop it is one he11 of an apology. We've been apologizing for it for 144 years.

[TChris]

I wholeheartedly agree with an apology for slavery!

Every living slave owner should absolutely issue an apology to each and every living slave he ever owned.

The descendants of slave owners who have never, themselves, OWNED slaves and the descendants of slaves who have never BEEN slaves owe and deserve, respectively, nothing from it all.

If black Americans have experienced disadvantages due to the history of slavery in America, they have also most certainly benefited from the efforts of others which were not their doing.

It's a wash in the long run.

Take charge of and responsibility for your own life and make it what you would like it to be.

[matginzac]

I’m sure quick to follow will be the apologies for: 1) the welfare state that has enslaved more than any plantation owners and African nations did, 2) the present union-run school system that keeps students of all colors ignorant and submissive, 3) affirmative action where anyone of color who does well is marginalized because they are suspect of benefitting from special help...let’s get on with all the apologizin’.

[chesley]

Racist scab" on the Republican Party??!! What is this woman smoking. Was Abe Lincoln a Democrat? What are they teaching people these days? No doubt George Wallace was a Republican. I never owned a slave; I owe nobody for anything. I don't care if blacks get over it or not. It's their problem, not mine. I won't apologize for something for which I bear no responsibility.

[Condor51]

the latest attempt by the federal government to take responsibility for 2 1/2 centuries of slavery.

#$@& ... %$#*@ ... #$@& STOO-PID sons of beeches!

Slavery existed in America, aka The United States of America, aka The USA for, at the MOST ... 89 lousy years! Sheesh, doesn't anyone remember what Abe Lincoln said in The Gettysburg Address, given in 1863 ...

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, etc, etc...

A 'score' is 20. Four 'score' = 80. Add 7, and you have 87 YEARS!. And that "new nation" was the USA, and he was referring to the Declaration of Independence written in 1776. So from 1776 to the end of the Civil War in 1865, we have 89 years. Not 250 years. Not 400 years. Dammit to hell!

Annnnnnd if we want to get really technical, and right now I DO, the USA didn't really exist until the Constitution was ratified in ... 1787! That is when slaves were put down in writing by the 'Federal Government' as property, as less than human. So that brings slavery down to existing 78 years in "America".

I'm sick of hearing about 2½ Century's of slavery "in America", or that absurd 400 years that's thrown around. That's BULLSHEET, "America" didn't exist then. And another thing. "250" years before the end of the Civil War is 1615. But the Mayflower and its Pilgrims didn't land at Plymouth until 1620! And I DON'T recall the Pilgrims owning slaves either.

[BP2]

Three words come to mind:

Pandering

Race Pimps