Sunday, March 2, 2008
Slavery Discussion
W.E.B. DuBois once said, "The slave stood in the sun for a brief moment but then went directly back into slavery". I think that regardless of what reparations or governmental action is taken to address the matter of slavery; nothing will change until the attitude of racism in America changes. As a nation-- at the brink of electing an African-American president-- we are progressing in this notion. However, there are still some areas in the country that are inherently racist. I was fortunate enough to study abroad in Cape Town, South Africa for five months in 2006. I was interested in truly seeing the way that the post-apartheid country functioned. I was extremely disheartened during my time there. Even though there is not "apartheid" anymore there may as well be. There was an enormous schism between the black people and the white people. Black people and white people did not live in the same areas, they did not go to the same establishments, and most troubling, there was a tremendous economic difference between the whites and blacks. Most of the white people lived very comfortably in large houses surrounded by ammenities. The black people lived in overcrowded townships with poor sanitation and resources. The part that upset me the most about this was the isolation between the two races. Many of the black people were suffering but the white people were very wrapped up in their own lives. It was almost as if they turned a blind eye to the suffering that surrounded them. Cape Town was interesting because while there are no more apartheid laws in place-- there may as well be-- because of the separation and disparity between the whites and blacks. Apartheid was abolished in 1992 so it has been a little over 15 years since it ended. The blacks in South Africa were not given the help that they needed to thrive in the country and now they are still in poverty and surrounded by crime. If there were better reparations enacted by the TRC (truth and reconcilation committee) then perhaps this schism would not still be there. I think the same goes for the United States, if there were better laws put into place after abolition then perhaps the attitudes of racism that are present in this country would not be as prevalent. If there was equality from the get-go then the disparity would not have continued to grow the way that it has.
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So far the postings I have read on slavery and its aftermath of “racial inequality” – otherwise racism – are very interesting. But I wish to note that slavery has a deep psychological origin – the desire of one race to dominate the other and develop at its expense – and that no genuine discussion of that aftermath and how it could be redressed may take place unless we take this into cognizance. Racial inequality as perpetuated by those who find it favourable as a means of dominating their environment – sometimes undeservingly, I dare say – is itself a product of the metamorphosis of slavery and the desire to keep a firm grip on its key spoils: the feeling (some would prefer that I said “illusion”) of racial superiority, economic domination, and political control. For me, to contemplate a redress is to ponder if such people would be inclined, as individuals or a group, to make concessions that might result in their losing some of the privileges they currently enjoy. If, for instance, Mr X. (who is of a “blue” race) finds himself in a situation where racial inequality accords him certain material privileges at the expense of Mr. Y (who is of a “red” race and would deserve the privileges more by merit), would we ordinarily expect Mr. X to surrender them to Mr. Y strictly on the prompting of conscience? To answer “yes,” I think, is to show lack of understanding that both conscience and the moral fibre needed to make such restitution were alien to the institution of slavery and are equally so to that of racial inequality as an offshoot of slavery. But the most depressing thing about racism might well be its tendency to perpetuate obliviously the reign of mediocrity and irrationality. For what, by and large, is racism but the refuge of mediocrity and irrationality as reflected, for instance, in certain people believing that the colour of their skin entitles them to lay claims to achievements they did not personally contribute to and cannot possibly replicate, and to feel superior to people of a different skin colour who may have replicated such achievements?
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