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I have to wonder if these people think that the descendants of the North African Berbers (the Corsairs of the Barbary Coast) should apologize for the 300 years of the Mediterranean Slave Trade which enslaved white Europeans. Considering the attrition rate of their slaves was just as high, if not higher, than the Atlantic Slave Trade, bet they wouldn't.

"... particularly where Christians were involved..."

In other words, when Muslims do it, it's not such a bad thing.

They certainly are willing to shoulder guilt. Their feeling sorry and apologies have absolutely no meaning. It's as if I went up to the victim of a robbery and apologized because someone else had robbed them. No meaning. If these people were able to travel back in time and apologize to actual slaves those slaves would shrug their shoulders and ask, "so - what do you have to apologize for? What are you, some kind of fool?"

It was the African tribal leaders themselves who kept the slave trade going - using captured POW's in tribal conflicts to raise money by selling them to the white slave trader to take to the Americas. People still believe the myth of white slave hunters chasing blacks around the jungle, slapping chains on them and dragging them to slave ships. It did happen in some cases, but rarely. Reality is most Africans were sold into slavery by their own ancestors. That doesnt mean slavery wasnt wrong and the people involved in it were nice people but all of the people who were are DEAD. Case closed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_slave_trade

Of course slavery still exists in Africa today. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.

What's on display is not guilt but self-righteous arrogance and attention-whoring. "Look at ME! Look how enlightened I AM! I care about slavery! I care! Even though it ended 150 years ago! Look how much more aware and compassionate I AM! Look at ME!"

I'm sorry dipshits are mental slaves to flawed ideology. Truly I am.

If they apologize, and teach their children to apologize, at what point in history will they feel they don't have to apologize anymore? In another one hundred years, five hundred? Will they still be teaching all their descendants to apologize to all black people for slavery?

Since they were never slave holders and the apologees were never slaves, then it stands to reason that there will never be an end to this. However, this seems to be the only historical issue that they DO apologize for. Certainly people of all races have been guilty of horrible things throughout the history of mankind. Many of these could be attributed to the ancestors of these people, it just depends on how far back you want to go.

At what point do you say "it's history, and I had nothing to do with it"?

In New Yorkistan: Infidel sentenced for thoughtcrime against Islam. Kid should have just burned an American flag or rubbed elephant dung on a Bible... that's protected speech.

There is never such a thing as enough when it comes to crap like this. For liberals, it's how they endear themselves to whining constituents and the MSM who respond to this nonsense.

One of our main reasons for seeking independence from the Royal Monarchy in Britan was to end "dirty blood" rulings that tainted a family's surname for the actions of a single member.

I am outraged that this continues to gain traction when it was a major concern of our country's grievances with Great Britian! And reason to break away from the King.

Not to mention that I, being of Irish blood, know that the Irish were invaded more often, sold into slavery centuries before Calcasians went to Africa, and treated worse than any black slave due to Irish being of less worth than expensive slaves.

Sickens me to no end!

They're going to Africa to apologize for slavery? Um, the people still in Africa are the ones who DIDN'T get thrown onto a ship, right? If they want to wallow in guilt, can't they just stay home and apologize to African descendants here? Better yet, go overseas and help dig a well for some poor folks who don't have clean drinking water, instead of making hollow, self-aggrandizing gestures.

Is the Lienau family directly descended from slave holders? This is a critical point, because if not, then they are implying that simply by being white, they must apologize.

What about whites whose ancestors came here after the Civil War? What about whites whose ancestors fought for the Union? What about whites who can prove genealogically that their ancestors never owned slaves, or what if they were actually abolitionists active in the underground railroad? Are they exempt from the guilt?

Is it guilt by association? Is it guilt simply because you are white? If so, that represents the most base form of racism, to be categorized at birth for something you had no control over, for the absolute reason of your race.

If these do-gooders care so much about slavery, they ought to spend their time trying to get the practice shut down where it exists today.

Here's a clue as to where to find it: It starts with an "I" and it ends with a "slam".

But hey, at least Mauritania got around to sort of abolishing slavery last year, so why worry? Let's fret about things that happened 200 years ago instead.

I would like to formally apologize to the Visigoths on behalf of Rome for enslaving your people. As a descendant of the ancient peoples of Europe, I realize my own kindred guilt in this matter, and do hereby and forthwith offer my apologies and condolences to any offspring of the Visigoths who feel any resentment over the matter.

I'm sorry.

I remember when my teachers tried to teach me about feeling bad becuase of the color of my skin. I went home and talked with my father and he pointed out that I am only 3rd generation American by way of Ireland. Our family never owned any black slaves or killed any red indians.

He also taught me how to study history, what do you know! Irish catholics were discriminated against! Where is MY apology!?!

The same people who tell us that most Muslims are hard working people and that we should not categorize them all as terrorists, they also tell us that all white people are guilty of crimes committed by other, long dead, white people.

NudeGayWhales...

Apology accepted. Where's the money?

Close to million men (an even some women masquarading as men and whom the majority were NOT black) died between 1861-1864) in the war that ended slavery. I think we (or our ancestors), as a people have more than attoned for the sin of slavery. As Mick said, if one looks at history, they can figure out what we have control over and what we do not. Moonbats must love misery.

NGWFJ: On behalf of my Visigoth ancestors, I accept your apology and offer my own apology for the payback we got when we sacked Rome.

I will lobby for Visigoth reparations. Wish me luck!

Anonymous 9:51 is absolutely right. White slave traders bought slaves - from African tribal leaders - they didn't yomp through the bush capturing them.

In fact, tribal leaders were one of the greatest obstacles to abolishing the slave trade, because they made so much money from it (racial consciousness not having been invented yet). Hugh Thomas's book The Slave Trade (which I highly recommend) makes this clear. (He cites one chieftain who made 250,000 pounds p.a. at a time when the best off nobles in Britain made 12,000 pound p.a.)

So the irony is that the mental giants of this story are apologizing to descendants of the people who stood on the shore, waving "bon voyage" to the slaves and counting the money from the sale of those slaves.

But these nitwits' hearts are in the right place, unlike their heads, which are AWOL.

Whales,

Don't worry about the apology, us Visigoths have gotten over it. Sacking Rome and annihilating Roman legions in the Rhineland kinda evened it up too, I suppose.

Not that it matters that much, but most of my ancestors were from what is now southern Germany and northern France, which would make me a Visigoth. They eventually came to America and milked cows for 8 or 9 generations. I doubt I'd be able to find a single slave holder in my ancestry. There's not the slightest reason why I should apologize for slavery or feel bad about what other people who may have kinda looked like me may have done a long time ago.

Just read the article. Looks like they handed out a bunch of "so sorry" T-shirts. Well, that makes me feel better. Where can I get one?

Ah, not so fast, Forest. As Thomas points out, even Sweden (yes!) had the odd ship in the slave trade. (Trivial by comparison with the real bad boys - Portugal, Spain, France, and Britain - but still...)

"I want to apologize on behalf of the United States for the enslavement of African children," Jacob Lienau said in 2006, when he was just 14 years old . . .

Hey, you little dipshit, you have NO RIGHT to apologize for me or for any other American, of any race, period! Must be one of those legions of government-educated fools, most of them found in the Dhimmicrat Party.

If you want to "apologize" for your own self, you dolt, go right ahead. Make an ass of yourself. Hope it'll make you "feel" better.

If you would actually use your brain, instead of just parroting liberal garbage some "edjecatur" has installed therein, two things would be blisteringly clear: 1. Neither you nor your immediate family (to include anyone who's lived and died within the last 140+ years) had anything to do with slavery, therefore even you, little dipshit, have NOTHING to apologize for, and 2. No descendant of a slave now living in the United States, of whatever ethnic background, is presently a slave, therefore they cannot possibly ACCEPT your worthless apology for something YOU did not do to them.

I look for pathetic, guilt-racked little Jacob to be running for President on the Dhimmicrat ticket sometime around 2030. Problem is, he'll probably win . . .

Thanks Jay, now I feel terribly guilty.

Now, where did I leave my checkbook?...

Just me a beer, Forest, and I'll give you an skip. I'm running a special on slavery/global warming two-pack indulgences, if you're interested.

"HoosierArmyMom at March 4, 2008 10:59 AM"

The final count is over 600,000. It varies because the northern historians often leave out southern dead (Not "real" Americans) and southern historians often count civilian deaths.

What about the WHITE people who were sent to America as slaves? Criminals who were given the choice of exicution or slavery, people who willingly sold themselves as "indentured servants" for their passage. Durring the "Roots" craze, Alex Hayley looked up Johnny Carson's heritage and on the Tonight Show revieled that his family came to america as slaves!
Do THESE people owe anyone an appoligy?

I have not read all the posts above, yet, so if this was already mentioned, apologies.

I thought EEO and Affirmative Action was our apology and self-inflicted painful payback.

Booo Hooo...

"I'm over here to apologize to everyone for slavery and all the other bad stuff that has happened to you."

"Whats that? You want us to take in a poor black family and provide for their needs to REALLY make a difference?"

"Ummmm....we gotta go. Thanks for everything."

What is sad is that the Modern Democratic Party lives on a platform of still subjecting large numbers of poor black familes to social slavery, by the creation of the perpetual welfare state.

One of my white French ancestors was brought to this country as a slave. Where's MY apology and reparations, eh?

KHarn, I remember that many Irish came here as indentured servants (slaves) and you are right... it goes on and on. Moonbats wallow in insanity... it's nothing new that they apologize for something they didn't do.

I'm sorry, Kristy. (No reparations, sorry.) Sounds like the beginning of a bodice-ripping erotic novel, actually.

Do continue... /g

The White Man enslaved my ancestors with opium addiction. I demand my multimillion settlement to be paid in Ming-dynasty vases.

I had an ant colony on my desk when I was 12............ I apologize to PITA Bread, oops, Peta.

"The ants go marching 2 by 2, hoorah, hoorah...."
LOL!!!

Some of my ancestors were French Huguenots, Protestants in France who were persecuted and killed for refusing to convert to Catholicism.
When are French Catholics going to apologize to me for that.

PS:
Family records reviel that durring the American Revolution my family owned one slave. When Tories attacked the farm, killed the mistress and wounded the master, that slave dragged his master into the woods, dressed his wounds and PROTECTED him from the Loyalists.
So I guess my family has already been "forgiven" for slavery. (Nyah, nyah!)

If you dont know these people how can you make rude and degrading remarks. This family is friken amazing. I talk to Jacob the 14 year old boy who said, "I want to apologize on behalf of the United States for the enslavement of African children,"

All 9 of them have a passion from God and it is not a requirement in anyway. Please stop bashing this family they, are amazing people and deserve better then the crap that people are writing.

If you dont know these people how can you make rude and degrading remarks. This family is friken amazing. I talk to Jacob the 14 year old boy who said, "I want to apologize on behalf of the United States for the enslavement of African children,"

All 9 of them have a passion from God and it is not a requirement in anyway. Please stop bashing this family they, are amazing people and deserve better then the crap that people are writing.

If you dont know these people how can you make rude and degrading remarks. This family is friken amazing. I talk to Jacob the 14 year old boy who said, "I want to apologize on behalf of the United States for the enslavement of African children,"

All 9 of them have a passion from God and it is not a requirement in anyway. Please stop bashing this family they, are amazing people and deserve better then the crap that people are writing.