At what point do you think these people are going to look back at this period in their life and realize how racist they were?
Black people cannot be racist.
I was referring to the whites
Apparently, calling an African slave trader a slave trader and not a businessman is racist.
It would be unfair to judge a 19th Century man by 21st Century principles.
Assessing the people of Africa’s past by today’s standards would compel us to cast the majority of our heroes as villains, denying us the right to fully celebrate anyone who was not influenced by Western ideology.
My great-grandfather was renowned for his business prowess, outstanding boldness, strong leadership, vast influence, immense contributions to society, and advancement of Christianity.
The Igbo do not have a culture of erecting monuments to their heroes - otherwise one dedicated to him might have stood somewhere in the Umuahia region today.
“He was respected by everyone around,” my father said. “Even the white people respected him.”
They are just saying what black people tell them. People really don’t know the insidious nature of BLM/neo Marxist/intersectional/woke/whatever wave of feminism/critical race theory/ etc., when it comes to brainwashing people.
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Interesting…
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Well, when the message originally comes from their trusted college professor (appeal to authority) why would they question it?
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LOL. The cognitive dissonance is earth shattering.
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Did the author argue that white slave traders were not businessman?
She seems completely unapologetic, even proud about her grand-grandfather’s “business exploits”, even the episode how he got his “property” back from the evil whites.
If a white person had written something like this, it would have been international news.
Since we’re judging historical figures based on early 21st century standards, this paragraph stands out for covering slavery is such a breezy manner
Buying and selling of human beings among the Igbo had been going on long before the Europeans arrived. People became slaves as punishment for crime, payment for debts, or prisoners of war.
The successful sale of adults was considered an exploit for which a man was hailed by praise singers, akin to exploits in wrestling, war, or in hunting animals like the lion.
Igbo slaves served as domestic servants and labourers. They were sometimes also sacrificed in religious ceremonies and buried alive with their masters to attend to them in the next world.
Slavery was so ingrained in the culture that a number of popular Igbo proverbs make reference to it:
- Anyone who has no slave is his own slave
- A slave who looks on while a fellow slave is tied up and thrown into the grave with his master should realise that the same thing could be done to him someday
- It is when the son is being given advice that the slave learns
I understand you are pointing out the hypocrisy of society in general right now.
Do you personally have any issue with the article?
Have you read the article? Personally, I got a very “our peculiar institution” vibe from it.
I read it, and it honestly seemed pretty benign to me. Just an account of the most powerful/rich relative in that person’s family tree, and what that person did to gain the wealth and power, and why she was proud of him, taking into account historical context.
Only if viewed through the lense of far left cancel culture would i see the problem with it. But, YMMV.
That’s interesting, because I’m looking at it through my regular old “me” lense and thinking- “Slavery is bad. Owning slaves was/is bad, and being the guy who brokers slaves to be owned, worked, or even sacrificed ceremonialy is very fucking bad.”.
Not being critical of that presentation is like saying “Jeffrey Epstein was really just a shrewd business man who knew how to get more bang for your kid fucking buck!”.
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Slavery is bad. Her story provided insight into her family, as well as the culture of her distant relative. I think it is a great example of how prevalent and accepted slavery was hundreds of years ago, and how much a part of the world economy (across darn near all cultures) it was. I think the story is fine.
The most prolific executioner in Germany, during World War 2, beheaded thousands of people, including women and the members of the White Rose resistance. He even became an executioner for the us military after the war. His son couldn’t live knowing what his father had done so he committed suicide in 1950. Historical context didn’t mean much.
Right. The context wasn’t much different 10 years after the atrocities. 200+ years later makes a difference. Time makes a big difference. Just like a sunken Spanish treasure ship is really cool to explore, but no one thinks of it as the site where hundreds perished.
I’d agree with this, but the fact remains that there’s a blatant double standard at work right now for that. Imagine it was some white guy related to Washington or something. The substance could remain much the same but the reaction or “acceptability” would be radically changed.
No argument there. I, personally, try to keep my standards one sided though.
Slavery did not end 200 years ago in Africa. Not even 100 years. Not even 50 years. Not even 10 years. Not even ever.