Quote Originally Posted by Hazell B
Turn that on it's head and ask who loses

The gain bit is easy - some people will feel better. I frankly don't know who they are, but as this is a hot topic I guess somebody somewhere suggested an apology and somebody else said it would be a good thing. Therefore, even if it only serves those two people it must be good. No apology serves no people at all, but is making the news in a rather bad way.

As I said earlier, it hurts nobody to say sorry. It costs nothing. Why not then?
Hazell, I admire your belief that someone might benefit from this, but if it is a White guy who feels less guilty for it, it is just pablum, rubbish and just nice thoughts. That and 25 cents wont buy a cup of coffee. There is not a politician in the western world where slavery was part of the past that would advocate that slavery WASNT wrong. Even in the deep south of the US, no one in their right mind would state that Slavery was right. Not now and maybe not in the last 50 years.

Martin Luther King Jr. changed a lot of people's opinions in the US and Canada, and the civil rights amendments of the 60's in the US did much to fix many of the wrongs against black America. In nations of the Commonwealth, black slavery was outlawed essentially by Wilberforce and Lord Simcoe's efforts; and no one in the UK or Canada or any other nation in the Commonwealth had anything to do but encourage the end of slavery. Did we end it everywhere? No, in the far dark corners of Africa and the Arab world, slavery is still around, but I wont apologize for their evil towards their fellow man, and I cant feel guilt for it either. I think we should do more, but worthless platitudes wont cut it.

What in GOD's name does apolgizing for what the slave traders in the 1700's did would be accomplished? Black American and to a lesser extent, blacks in the UK and Canada may appreciate the apology, but I don't see some groundswell of desire to hear the apology. Oh they would take it, but then some minority of this group would go right back to blaming white society for many of their ills. The point is, some black activists who use this guilt we may have for slavery to attone for often take today's issues and attach it to the ill's of the society of large to attone for slavery. They use our "guilt" to try to con society at large to fix perceived problems. Fine, fix the problem, but spare me the guilt trip. I have never felt any guilt but I do feel that what my ancestors 5 generations before me did has little to do with me either. Let's address what is going on with society and fix it, not waste everyone's mental energy arguing about whether someone should feel guilt for things we have no control over.

Slavery sucked, it was outlawed, over 200 years has gone by since it was practiced in the UK and/or its colonies. Canada was a haven for freed slaves at the end of the underground railroad, and I don't feel any guilt that needs to be assauged by some blanket lame ass apology to people who were never held in any way as slaves. Guilt by people in western nations for their high standard of living is useless and misguided. You want a better world, do something to help, not talk about it.