200 Years Since Slavery Was Abolished Should We Apologise?

[Styles]

There has been a lot in the news and on the BBC about the 200 years since since the British parliament passed the Act of Abolition, which banned the trafficking of slaves from Africa to the New World.

 

Should British politicians apologise for the slave trade?

 

Should the UK pay reparations for slavery?

 

I for one think no as it was a different time and 200 years ago.

 

Why should I apoligise for the sins of my father etc?

 

A lot of slavery was Africans selling other tribes etc into slavery and slavery has gone on through out history. It still does go on in many countries and also has changed in some forms.

 

I think we are not responsible for somthing that happened so long ago and should instead look forward to trying to stop it in the present.

[Sudden Stop]

I don't think reparations should be paid since there has been enough time for any fiancial impact to any individual to have faded.

 

However, the act of an official apology can do no harm and could in fact repair any cultural ill feeling that is passed down through the generations.

 

You shouldn't have to apologise for your father's sins as they are his sins, the difference is that the government of the time was responsible for allowing slavery and that establishment still exists albeit with a new labour cheshire cat at the helm.

[JAStewart]

I think we are not responsible for somthing that happened so long ago and should instead look forward to trying to stop it in the present.

 

Consider that Germish politicians have stated that while they were not responsible, perhaps not even alive during the Holocaust, its their DUTY to honour the dead and condemn the crimes.

 

I think we should do the same.

 

Why haven't we apoligised for it already? There should be an apology every 20 years.

[Ghostrider]

Why bother addressing any one issue in history over others, what odds will it make to that one issue? If politicians/governments are going to start apologising for every abomination perpetrated by their predecessors against the human race, they'll be doing nothing else. Not that we might notice any real difference, but still.... It's a farce and a pure PR exercise anyway, slavery existed in the UK long after 200 years ago. What else was the Press Gang? It still exists albeit in a loosened up watered down and renamed form even today.

 

Would a somewhat saner and more productive exercise not be, if any mention must be made at all, to express regret for all past governmental actions which have harmed humans and humanity regardless of colour, creed or timeline? And, undertake to endeavour to learn from such things, which while perhaps having seemed acceptable before the fact, had proven very unwise and shortshighted with hindsight.

[technobob]

Apologies possibly yes in the spirit of reconcilliation... reparations absolutely not.

 

If we did then would we have a case against the Italians for the Romans taking Britains for slaves?

 

There comes a point where history has to be treated as such. Britain has moved on. After all we still have no apology and reparations for the treatment of WWII prisons by the Japanese!!!!!

[Sudden Stop]

After all we still have no apology and reparations for the treatment of WWII prisons by the Japanese!!!!!

 

They did get nuked for their crimes though. I don't think the slaves of Africa every really felt that Britian had got it just deserves.

 

Would a somewhat saner and more productive exercise not be, if any mention must be made at all, to express regret for all past governmental actions which have harmed humans and humanity regardless of colour, creed or timeline?

 

Would that not be a more cynical PR move? To just right off all past discretions with one all sweeping statement is a bit of a cop out. Can you imagine the response when someone writes to Number 10 asking for a comment about some other crime commited before the UN was around to stop them - "Oh we don't have to mention that subject ever again and I refer you to the blanket apology we issued on 01/04/07, blah blah blah..."

 

Rubbish.

[Ghostrider]

Would a somewhat saner and more productive exercise not be, if any mention must be made at all, to express regret for all past governmental actions which have harmed humans and humanity regardless of colour, creed or timeline?

 

Would that not be a more cynical PR move? To just right off all past discretions with one all sweeping statement is a bit of a cop out. Can you imagine the response when someone writes to Number 10 asking for a comment about some other crime commited before the UN was around to stop them - "Oh we don't have to mention that subject ever again and I refer you to the blanket apology we issued on 01/04/07, blah blah blah..."

 

Rubbish.

 

If the government were allowed to get away with it in that manner, then I agree, it would become a massive PR cop out. The point I was trying to make, almost certainly not very well, was that IMHO no one single governmental atrocity against humans and humanity ranks as greater or lesser than any other. By picking and choosing one or two to make a big deal of, the subject of this thread being one so picked, simply allows others to be overshadowed, belittled and forgotten, which are arguably of equal status.

 

By all means, at times and in circumstances which are appropriate, regret should be expressed by governments for individual incidents, but done so in a context of expressing similar regret for all other similar historical incidents as well. As well as expressing willingness to learn from past indiscretions and move forward in harmony with the descendants of those wronged for a mutually beneficial future.

 

Concentrating on single incidents does as much harm in hiding much of the overall picture, as it does good in focusing on past mistakes. Rememberance Day ceremonies address more than one war, the same train of thought needs to be applied to nations addressing the past mistakes and indiscretions of their nation IMHO.

[Sudden Stop]

...that IMHO no one single governmental atrocity against humans and humanity ranks as greater or lesser than any other. By picking and choosing one or two to make a big deal of, the subject of this thread being one so picked, simply allows others to be overshadowed, belittled and forgotten, which are arguably of equal status.

I agree to an extent, but to make individual apologies for crimes at appropriate times doesn't IMHO devalue others. I would think that it would mean more to those affected for some kind of goodwill act to take place when it is appropriate as in this case of slavery on a significant aniversery rather than at random other times when the message may be lost.

 

And this isn't about taking the political high ground, whichever party happens to be in power at the time should be expected, as the voice of the nation, to take some kind of action.

 

Concentrating on single incidents does as much harm in hiding much of the overall picture, as it does good in focusing on past mistakes.

 

I may be missing your point, but surely concerntrating on a particular subject, when those who have been wronged feel there is a significant date, only serves to highlight the message.

[Styles]

I dont think anybody or any organisation should apologies for anything unless they were personally responsable for it and acknowlege they were wrong.

 

People may say but the UK Goverment were responsible etc for things that happened, but it was a totally different government and everyone who was involved is dead and have been for over 4 generations at least. History is history and should be look at what peoples attitudes were in the time period.

[BigMouth]

No and No.

 

It was usually the wealthy or the church that was exploiting these people. As I belong to neither group I feel no need to apologise for the action of others.

 

I do sympathise with what the slaves went through though, but as employees we are all slaves, just with better conditions.

[Rasmie]

I don't think that we can apologise for something we did not personally, just as todays Germans should not have to assume the guilt of what Hitler and his cohorts did.

 

We can offer our sympathy and our promise to attempt to prevent this happening again and more properly seek out and stop this from happening now and in the future. e.g. Kurds, Marsh Arabs??

 

The african slave trade is more tangible, perhaps than other forms of slavery that have occurred since the beginnings of human history. There are examples close to home in our recent past; truck system, press gangs, conscription etc.

[KOYAANISQATSI]

Lets just get it all over and done with in a oner I'm really sorry to the neanderthal people for stealing your land and relegating you to papa westry, sorry to the slaves, sorry to the girls over the voting thing, sorry for the witch burnings as well,and the sheep clearences, sorry to the animals for keeping eating you, sorry to my cat over the litter tray inncident it wasn't your fault I know I should have cleaned it earlier. I am just really really sorry and I'm sorry to all of you for the time I stole from your life reading bad taste posts, I am I'm sorry I mean it. There all friends now can we get on.