U2Kitten said:
I believe most slaves were not abused, because it just didn't make sense to damage your own 'property.' You won't get much work out of them then!
BonoVoxSupastar said:
Hello owning humans is abuse enough...
So those who have their "the South will rise again" bumper stickers and wear there conferate flags are standing proud for the right to succeed from the union. Why in 2004 would one be proud of trying to divide this nation? Why would one be proud that they fought for the right to keep slaves. Why would one want them to "rise up again". Ask someone that and see if they can give you an honest answer. If nothing less it stands for division.
U2Kitten said:
They don't KILL property either, it's not good for business. That's another thing, the anti slavery movement was largely spread by "Uncle Tom's Cabin" which told of abuse, but how widespread was it? I believe most slaves were not abused, because it just didn't make sense to damage your own 'property.' You won't get much work out of them then! I believe the same type if asshole who beat his slaves is the same type of ass who beats his wife, kids and dog today. And don't they run away? See? The only slaves who the northerners heard from were the abused ones, the ones who ran away to tell the tale, just like battered women in a shelter today. They may have been very isolated cases, but they were the ones who were heard, there was no 20/20 to go investigate, and the entire south was villianized. While of course slavery was wrong and owning a person is wrong, the abuse was likely exaggerated by activists.
indra said:
Being owned is abuse enough. Do you really believe what you wrote here? Do you really? I can't honesty believe I am reading this crap. I'm just astonished.
Macfistowannabe said:What a joke. Why would she even bother wearing that? Settle the lawsuit outside of court and have her become the school slave.
U2Kitten said:
They don't KILL property either, it's not good for business. That's another thing, the anti slavery movement was largely spread by "Uncle Tom's Cabin" which told of abuse, but how widespread was it? I believe most slaves were not abused, because it just didn't make sense to damage your own 'property.' You won't get much work out of them then! I believe the same type if asshole who beat his slaves is the same type of ass who beats his wife, kids and dog today. And don't they run away? See? The only slaves who the northerners heard from were the abused ones, the ones who ran away to tell the tale, just like battered women in a shelter today. They may have been very isolated cases, but they were the ones who were heard, there was no 20/20 to go investigate, and the entire south was villianized. While of course slavery was wrong and owning a person is wrong, the abuse was likely exaggerated by activists.
beli said:Thats true. Shes does look like a spotlight kinda girl. Yes, well spotted.
U2Kitten said:While this is no excuse, it is something to consider before you label them all 'ignorant' and 'evil.' In their time, in their place, they were not.
Yes the North committed crimes as well. I've lived in the North and the South. Never did I meet Northeners who still to this day hate the south, or fly Union flags on their cars, or say the North will rise again and squash the South. It's fine to be proud of where you grew up, but it's another thing to make excuses for their mistakes. But don't embrace their mistakes, you are just going to take us back 4 steps.U2Kitten said:And while you're on 'human rights abuses' ...[/B]
U2Kitten said:I don't think it's fair to call everyone in the south in those days 'ignorant'. Remember this country was started by the 'ignorant' George Washington and Thomas Jefferson and many other slave owners. I know it does no good to tell you all this, but it's not really fair to judge those people by 21st century standards. They were raised and lived a different way, and as I've said about other issues, people will twist, justify, and rationalize ANYTHING if they want to do it and not feel guilty. Some of them even found passages in the Bible (and there are some) to back up the master/slave thing as 'okay.' (ignoring, of course, the entire Moses saga about how bad it was to keep slaves and they should go free, and many old slave spirituals mentioned Moses so I know they saw this) People will pick and choose the things that make them feel more comfortable with their position. When the abolitionists, who were mostly religious and some of them extremists, started bugging the southerners to end slavery, some of the slaveholders' comments were 'don't try to run my life, stay out of my business' and 'if you don't want slaves don't own them but don't deny me my right' sound familiar? They also used the old dehumanizing factor to make themselves feel like they weren't a total human being (again harking to another issue of today) and even convincing themselves that they were HELPING the slaves because they were like 'children' and couldn't take care of themselves! Of course, all this is wrong, but those people, even very otherwise good, intelligent and learned men, felt that way because they had been raised that way and it was convenient to them so they could go ahead and do it and not feel guilty. It happens with a lot of things. While this is no excuse, it is something to consider before you label them all 'ignorant' and 'evil.' In their time, in their place, they were not.
And while you're on 'human rights abuses' don't forget the shout out to the Union armies under Sherman and Sheridan who targeted civilians even if they had nothing to do with the war and owned no slaves. Homes were destroyed, women of both races raped, things stolen. Farms were burned, loaded barns and crops in the field destroyed. Houses were burned down around helpless women and children. Towns were under seige, the Union army hurling cannonballs and explosives which randomly hit homes and businesses until in some places, like Vicksburg, Miss., they were forced to live underground! Both there and in Petersburg, VA, the civilians resorted to eating rats! And some of you think Americans have never suffered from a war. This was a legacy of hatred that did not go away either. Then give kudos to those conquering heroes for going out west declaring 'the only good Indian is a dead Indian' and performing genocide, yes genocide, on the Native tribes, including women and children, some in places that had been declared 'safe' by the US government!
BonoVoxSupastar said:
Never did I meet Northeners who still to this day hate the south, or fly Union flags on their cars, or say the North will rise again and squash the South. It's fine to be proud of where you grew up, but it's another thing to make excuses for their mistakes.