The African-American population here are treated like royalty compared to the black population in other countries such as France. Yes, we may have enslaved their race almost a hundred years ago. However by doing so they now have a better quality of life then they would living in Africa today. This in no way justifies what we did, however the African Americans alive today were not directly effected by slavery. I have no idea how many black students i have heard say "I was a Slave!" or something to that effect. no, no you weren't, your like 15. That would be like me saying "The Germans put me into a death camp! (1/16 Jewish) or "The repercussions after WW1 caused me to starve" (1/4 German) or even "the plague purring the middle ages caused me great trauma" (1/2 English).
The Germans still to this day are too afraid to celebrate their heritage because of the Holocaust. They will not even sing their own national anthem. This is what society is teaching us to do with our history of slavery. that it is something to be ashamed of, something we all have to repent for. no, i personally did not enslave anyone. there have been dark parts throughout our history, everyone history. But that is what shaped us to be what we are today. Without slavery this country would not be as strong as it is now.
We may have enslaved a race, but we are one of the only countries without a history of genocide. Even African Americans have a history to be ashamed of, genocide has been going on in Africa for hundreds of years. It was other Africans who caught and sold us the slaves.
Once again, im not justifying slavery. However im not ashamed of it either. its a part of my history. we wouldnt be who we are today if it werent for what happened. i say unless you personally are responsible for something, then dont worfry about it so much, history teaches us. We all have history to learn from, none of us have a clean history. Although all i do have to say about the Canadians is that they supplied the united States with an a*s load of alcohol during the prohibition and illegally transported it over the border, thats the only bad thing i can really find in their history.
just something else to think about.
I would also like to add that i believe laughing at a racist joke does not make you racist. if a joke is funny, it's funny. Laughing at a naughty joke doesn't make you a creep or a pervert, it just means the joke is funny.