Life as Slaves (till the early 60's)

abc ^ | 12/20/03

[Diva Betsy Ross]

Hey, I was quicker than your ping by a split second....

[SwankyC]

They are prolly liberal politians. <sarcasm> We dont need to go there. Nothing to see there. No need to open old wounds.... </sarcasm>

[cyborg]

Forty acres and a mule was so not like welfare. That just goes to show you how much this person knows about American history.

Continuining to be shocked and amazed in FR.

[lavrenti]

The 40 acres was a just reward for centuries of unpaid toil. Biggest mistake ever made was not implementing and enforcing that promise.

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

That was just a touch stereotypical and bigoted. Yeah, just a touch.

Ya think? lol

My take on this story is, if true, attack the criminals who did this to the family - you didn't do it, I didn't do it -but if someone did, they deserve whatever can be thrown at them.......

[woofie]

Who were the "slave" owners? That should clear it up

[lepton]

"$40 acres and a mule" was the government program then.

No it wasn't. That was a proposal for how to deal with the issue of freed slaves - which was voted down in Congress.

[cyborg]

Absolutely because as former slaves, they could have more than used that to be prosperous. They already KNEW how to till the soil,etc.

[rdb3]

Continuining to be shocked and amazed in FR.

Do yourself a favor. Don't be. Please.

[liberallyconservative]

I would like to have seen ABC do their homework on this one before they ran with it, but there is the distinct possibility this could be true. There are deep rural areas of the South that haven't seen an "outsider" in decades.

Agree that, if true, the "slaveholders" should be brought to justice. This would be a true case for "reparations" to be made, because it would be a case of "this happened to ME", not my ancestors 5 generations back.

[cyborg]

You're right. I suppose a few people expect their retarded statements to go unanswered thinking everyone is of like mindedness. If one person doesn't immediately catch it, then some eventually will. That's not though police as some claim, it's about not making idiot statements.

[liberallyconservative]

Excellent point. My, my... how the South would have changed if this had been implemented. Desegregation MIGHT have begun 100 years sooner.

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

I respectfully disagree with your comment about reparations....... this would be a case of suing the people responsible..... a civil case which held the guilty party responsible...... and I have no doubt that there are probably people who were treated inexcuseably.....but both black and white..... people who are poor and too ignorant to know any better are used in many instances.

[mhking]

This would be a true case for "reparations" to be made, because it would be a case of "this happened to ME", not my ancestors 5 generations back.

True, but don't be surprised if the Jesse Jackson Traveling Roadshow uses this to his betterment; true or not.

[liberallyconservative]

Glad you caught that. I kinda scratched my head in amazement, and decided not to respond. Glad you did.

[lavrenti]

Desegregation would have been immediate. Small white and black farmers were already attempting cooperative farming in parts of the deep South then.

[liberallyconservative]

Excellent point. I used "reparations" loosely and incorrectly. I had in mind that if true, and if caught, prosecuted and found guilty, then "damages" could be rightly sought.

[cyborg]

I have to give credit where credit is due. R caught it first. I had the same reaction as you,and to be honest I was more confused than anything.

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

I thought that probably was what you meant......

[herkbird]

I live in Atlanta, Georgia, and read a newspaper story up in Flat Rock, North Carolina, while visiting my father. There was an article about poor peach pickers in the Southeastern States. Among them were whites, blacks, Latinos, you name it. Who were kept deeply in debt to the company store for CRACK, Alcohol, prostitutes, and many other illegal items. The article claimed that this was a very wide spread abuse of mostly the downtrodden, who had criminal records that made it hard for these people to get decent jobs. If they left, the local law would pick them up and return them, probably some kind of kick back involved. They also found it very hard to find people that would actually believe their stories of hell.

Although the Peach Picking stories entailed actual arrests for selling drugs and listed various Peach Grove violators. This original slavery story is highly possible, it does contain many holes in it that makes you wonder though. The whole deal about repatriation would end up as the biggest spending spree on drugs, booze, cars, and very few things that would benefit the receivers in the long term, otherwise known as just a waste of money.