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U.S. House of Representatives formally apologizes for slavery

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Slavery in the USA continues. How many homeless vets? How many repossessed houses? How many living in poverty which the rich cats get richer by the sweat of their slaves' brows? How much more slavery is the US generating worldwide? How many US slave camps set up using US tax money? Gaza? http://mparent7777-1.livejournal.com/1091391.html The sugar plantations in the Dominican Republic? Dole plantations worldwide? The House “apologizes to African-Americans on behalf of the people of the United States, for the wrongs committed against them and their ancestors who suffered under slavery and Jim Crow.” Cheap talk.

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LIBERTAS- Heck!!! What is wrong with your thought process?

Can you imagine an adminstration led by an honourable man like BUsh would continue any form of slavery. I am speechless, that you can imagine such things occur in our great country and on Bush`s watch.

We look after our people, best welfare, public services etc...

I think you may be confusing the US with another country.

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So...are they going to send out checks or what?

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Why is there no mention of African-Caribbean? I would also like to see a push to African governments, such as Mali, Sudan, and even Liberia which also exported slaves once the country was setup for them to apologize, as well as Arabs.

I would like to see Mexico, Brazil, and Cuban governments also shout an apology.

interest in joining the Congressional Black Caucus until learning that was against caucus rules." Why, is the CBC not open to diversity? Cohen is a Jewish name, not an Anglo.

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So...are they going to send out checks or what?

The price has already been payed in full by the blood of young Americans. If you want reparations I'd say just hand it over to the relatives of the soldiers who bled out their lives on the battlefield and died miserably of disease in POW camps. The debt, apology, atonement has been paid in full.

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Rep Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick of Michigan, chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus.

Amusing. Her son is the mayor of Detroit, Michigan. He's wrapped up in a scandal regarding corruption, theft and lying about no less than 3 adulterous affairs. In addition, he is now accused of assaulting a police officer. The FBI is after him. Meanwhile, Ms. Kilpatrick faces the very real chance of losing her congressional seat to another African woman. The whole black (and white) community wants these jerks out of office and out of our lives. So? What to do? Time to play the race card to secure reelection!

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sdmsec "The price has already been payed in full by the blood of young Americans. If you want reparations I'd say just hand it over to the relatives of the soldiers who bled out their lives on the battlefield and died miserably of disease in POW camps. The debt, apology, atonement has been paid in full."

Says, no doubt, a white middle-class male.

Sorry, bud, but the debt can NEVER be repaid, much like the debt can never be repaid to victims of war (including your dear soldiers, but especially civilians), victims of human traffiking, etc. An apology, even by people who have no wrong doing of their own, is a step in the healing process. Current German Chancellors, for example, will go to Poland and place memorial wreaths etc., at the bases of Nazi death camps, even though they themselves may have had ZERO to do with it. And yet, they pray for the souls of those murdered, and even prostrate themselves and beg for forgiveness for the sins of their fathers/mothers, etc.

Your government was involved in slavery, your government has sent men/women out to war; the latter does nothing to repay the former... not a wit. An apology, even if only symbolic, however, DOES help ease some of the pain already suffered through mere recognition of that pain, even though it can never fully cure it.

I hate to go slightly off-topic here, but I think it is directly related to my point. This is one area that the Japanese could learn from; acknowledging the mass-murder of peoples of surrounding nations, sexual slavery, and other heinous crimes committed by their grandfathers (very literally in many cases of government officials), and issue an apology. The kids, and the Japanese themselves are not to blame, of course, but it would do SO much towards healing the rift that Japan faces today with its Asian neighbours regarding history.

Likewise, again, while it can NEVER repay the debt, this apology is indeed historic, and is a very welcome thing for those who have ached for such a thing. Good job, I say, to the House of Representives... let it be a model for others.

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So...are they going to send out checks or what?

I think the apology was a good thing, but I don't think compensation is. First of all a few generations have passed. Second, the Africans/Arabs who first captured the blacks as well as the primarily European traders who shipped the slaves over to be sold in the new world are also guilty. It's impossible to keep track of, not to mention the blacks who have immigrated/emigrated to and from America since.

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I hate to go slightly off-topic here, but I think it is directly related to my point. This is one area that the Japanese could learn from;

You mean an apology from the House of Representatives? Done that 13 years before U.S. has.

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smithinjapan,

Are you talking about an apology or reparations? Perhaps you could read my post more closely in context - notice the quote to which I responded.

And your assumptions about me are inaccurate - I'm a pinkish-tan upper-class male.

I guess since I'm pinkish-tan and not black my opinions on the subject are automatically invalid - despite the fact that I'm an American and this House of Representatives is supposed to represent me.

Please, from here on only African-American posters allowed.

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Any group or person or governmental agency can apologize all the want. But it's over, been over for years, reparations in the form of affirmative action have been paid.

You expect to pay reparations again? < :-)

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ThiS is a POLITICALLY MOTIVATED apology tendered by the Democrats in the House of Representatives in an effort to win votes from people such as me who had absolutely nothing to do with something that happened long before I was even thought of. I refuse to apologize to anyone and I will no doubt vote for other than a Democrat. I WILL VOTE FOR RON PAUL !!!

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Farrakhan says it best "We can't hold this generation to the crimes of slavery - or else they would have to give us the whole country" Not word for word, but the point is the same.

I can't see you apologizing for something a distant relative did. Not accepted by me.

An apology is warranted but why do we force ourselves to accept only from the US government? Why is one group of people having to apologize and the other is basically hugged, even if they played a much larger role - or did you really believe in that theory some short fat white guy who just came off a several month voyage and went running through the jungle and captured some 6 foot Zulu? And why doesn't the whole world apologize to one another?

I also question the timing of this. You have a white candidate basically kissing butt, and the people know that. You also have had Jessie be a hypocrite, thus something like this forces people to look the other way. And we got a half black guy running for the top most post the nation has to offer.

I noticed the usualy smitty comes up with accusations. If you not on page with him, you are demonized. Unlike smitty, (a blancito from an upper liberal family no doubt. Notice it is usually the upper blancitos who feel that only they have not only the ONLY right frame of mind, but the authority to boot.), we should look at all things from all angles. Sorry smitty, but the world works on its own, not the way you want it to, and you are hardly in any position to put up any force. Yeah, you will go for this apology, you will rant and rave how racist America is, but I bet I won't see you walking down places where I could! Go ahead, put a sign over your shoulders with both sides saying "I apologize to African Americans for slavery"!

Anyways, thanks to a friend, I can look at things much unlike smitty. If it weren't for the institution of slavery, people like me would never have been born. Out of the dirty filthy mud comes the beautiful lotus flower!!!

Oh, smitty, I think you owe sdmsec a bit of an apology, since we are on the topics of apologies.

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As for apologies, is there going to be thanks to abolitionists, Yankee soldiers who were sold on the idea that they were freeing the slaves, Abe, white college students who marched and got their asses kicked for it, Branch Ricky who bought Jacky into the big leagues, even though there were dark skinned Cubans playing in the big leagues before him.

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So, the House of Representatives has apologized for what other people did a hundred and fifty years ago. Great.

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Yes sarge, and if someone has their way with you like our founding fathers did with them, you might get an apology to.

Smithinjapan

Some of these very same people are still alive living like it didn't happen.

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Sadly, slavery is still going on in many parts of the world.

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slavery is still going on in many parts of the world." To most people, it seems that is not important because the ones mostly putting people into slavery, with the exception to sex slavery, are the usual recipients of the left leaning's sympathy.

Watch my post get deleted for yelling out such taboo words!

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Cohen became the first white to represent the 60% black district in Memphis in more than three decades when he captured a 2006 primary where a dozen black candidates split the vote. He has sought to reach out to his black constituents, and early in his term showed interest in joining the Congressional Black Caucus until learning that was against caucus rules.

I think Representative Cohen could use also use a little apology action from the black caucus myself on this one.... he is excluded from the caucus because of his race after all.

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sdmsec: I realize you were referring IN PART to reparations (ie., they ought to be handed the bones of people who have died in wars, as if they died simply for the sake of former slaves), but it was undermined by your opening statement that, "The price has been paid in full..." without referring specifically to reparations or apologies.

"pinkish-tan"... clever. My apologies if I came of sounding like because you are not black your opinion doesn't matter; that's not what I intended. Everyone's opinion is equally valid, regardless of where you are from (even your ancestors) and your ethnic background. My reaction was a premature and somewhat biased one based on what I perceived to be the message of your post; that no further reparation or apology (a form of reparation) are necessary. I realize the latter was not entirely what you intended.

Nigelboy: "ou mean an apology from the House of Representatives? Done that 13 years before U.S. has."

Hahahaha! You think it was a serious apology? Then why not acknowledge the fact in the House of Reps. again? Why did Abe actually try to change history by saying the apology made by a former PM was not actually made, and there was no such thing as sexual slavery (until world opinion forced him to admit that, in reality, some military 'may' have been involved with 'comfort women'). If it's no big deal, I'd like to see said apology in print, please. Can you point out to me where the printed word on this apology is? How about in the government archives? Hahaha.... right... and meanwhile they say in some texts that the 'colonization of Korea was necessary for the stability of the region', and that, 'Japanese colonization gave Taiwanese an education', etc.

Anyway, apologies are a huge thing, and I think many would not even seek reparations if they got heartfelt apologies. Some would, and I honestly agree that it's an extremely tricky thing and maybe even an impossibility to compensate in the form of cash, etc., but an apology, as I said, is a good step towards a different kind of reparation.

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smithinjapan, Thanks for taking the time to re-examine my post. I know I never post prematurely or overreact to anything. ;-)

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