4 years ago

@wswilliams "treated poorly" is a gross understatement. & more like for centuries... not mere decades.

4 years ago

@shhhh <br /> 1. You're 21. You literally never lived through ANYTHING that happened in the 20th century LOL.<br /> 2. You're from England. The history of your country is hardly a soapbox you want to stand on. Even today, your country is a mess. Clean your own house first.<br /> 3. I'm speaking of the 20th century (WWII) to present. That's decades.<br /> 4. The brutality of slavery is understood. FYI not all slaves were/are black. Since slavery in the U.S. ended on December 18, 1865 I didn't feel the need to digress on it for a show that takes place in 2021. FYI England abolished slavery on August 28, 1833. Only 32 years before the U.S., so your country isn't saintly. Also, your country lobotomized homosexuals as recently as the 1950's. LOBOTOMIZED!<br /> 5. FYI slavery still exists in places in the world. Feel free to take your outrage to the Middle East if treatment of slaves triggers you so much.<br /> 6. Don't bring your white guilt and political rhetoric to my comment. If you want to argue sh!tty treatment of ethnicities then let's talk about the genocide of the Native Americans.<br /> <br /> If you actually studied history you'd know that it wasn't just white people that sold slaves. Who do you think captured the Africans in the first place? FYI, It wasn't whites. African tribes fought each other all the time and any captured people were made slaves. Then they discovered it was profitable to sell their slaves to Europeans. And there you go.<br /> <br /> Look, history is filled with sh!tty people doing sh!tty things. It is what it is. Can't change the past. But we can ALL learn from it and evolve into better humans. That's why erasing or editing history is stupid and dangerous. Are there still racists? Sure. There probably always will be. It's human nature to not accept cultures different from our own. If we can overcome THAT then we have a chance to be better. Sadly the majority of people around the world are still culturally racist. It's a known fact that most do not want to talk about. White people aren't the only racists in the world. Using the word "racist" as a giant paintbrush to generalize a particular ethnicity is as moronic as racism itself. All that is accomplished is to lessen the impact of the word "racist". At this point, free-thinking white people in the U.S. just shrug off being called a racist because its meaning has been diminished to the point of being called a "jerk". Just because a white person doesn't support BLM doesn't mean they are a racist. There are many other nations that have true systemic racism, but the U.S. isn't one of them. Is the U.S. perfect? LOL no, but we're better than many others when it comes to opportunities for ALL.

3 years ago

@wswilliams I'm just seeing this now since getting a notif people liked my comment. I guess I may as well respond to your triggered outburst. I'll use your little numbered format to make things easier for you, okay?<br /> <br /> 1. I'm now 22 years of age, but I have a better grip on history and reality than you. You should feel embarrassed. <br /> 2. Nowhere in my comment did I specify any country. It's funny you assume I'm patriotic. I'm about as anti-Britain as I am anti-America. So, yes, I know all about Britain's history of atrocities. <br /> 3. Your intent to speak only of post-WW2 is nowhere in your original comment.<br /> 4. i. It is interesting that when discussing the historical oppression of Black people you jump to slavery. The oppression of Black people began long before the slave trade was established, with the colonization of Africa, although arguably there were earlier instances of systemic discrimination and racial hatred towards Africans occuring during the days of the Roman Empire. This oppression did not end with the abolition of slavery in either country, it continued well into Jim Crow in America and into the present day. You should educate yourself on Black history and modern day anti-Black discrimination.<br /> 4. ii. All slaves in the transatlantic slave trade were Black. They were African. If you are referring to earlier periods in history, then yes, at some point virtually every race has been enslaved. The distinction is that the transatlantic slave trade is considered unique in its brutality, and also for its establishment of a European racial classification system &amp; hierarchy we still operate on today. We are still living it's legacy. In America, prisons are the new Jim Crow.<br /> <br /> 4. iii. On the subject of the UK's criminalisation of homosexuality refer to point two. <br /> 5. I'm very much aware of modern-day slavery. Many of the victims of present-day slavery continue to be Black people, across Asia, South America and Africa, by corporations with no regard for human rights or labour laws. This is the legacy of the colonization of the Americas and Africa and their indigenous peoples, that we continue to exploit those in the Global South for their labour. So, your mention of modern-day slavery to me really just supports my original point. Also, if I am "triggered by the treatment of slaves", when our original discussion referred only to Black people, are you not admitting you yourself view them as one and the same? It's rather bigoted to take "Black people" to mean slaves.<br /> 6. I'm not white, therefore I've no white guilt to possess, but unfortunately for you I will bring my political rhetoric here as this is a political matter. I've no problem discussing the genocide of the Native Americans, though preferably not with you. The harm done to the Native American people does not negate nor reduce the harm done to Black people.<br /> 7. As I mentioned earlier, the transatlantic slave trade was uniquely brutal. Africans who traded in slaves had no knowledge of the sheer brutality awaiting those captured. Most forms of slavery preceding the transatlantic slave trade were more akin to indentured servitude or serfdom. <br /> 8. It is extremely ignorant, and honestly quite fascist, to reduce historical human rights atrocities and systems of oppression to merely "shitty people doing shitty things". For all that you like to paint yourself as some progressive, you are an extremely small-minded and overly-defensive white man (my assumption), with your typical garnish of American arrogance and false sense of superiority. The U.S. is the most racist and fascist country in the world right now. In that you have overtaken Britain. I sincerely hope you gain some perspective and shed yourself of your insular and self-righteous thinking.