I read an article on the Guardian website a few days ago called ‘Never Forget’; you can have a read by clicking hereYou could probably tell from the 8th word what this article is about. Yep, it’s about the slave trade and the holocaust (mainly the holocaust because the author is Jewish). The ‘never forget’ is in reference to the present: never forget what ‘they’ did to us or our people in the past. A lot of people – black, white, Asian – feel anger towards what happened during the slave trade and the holocaust but really, what else can they feel other than apologetic?
If you read up to the second paragraph it highlights a very common point ‘I wasn’t around then and it’s absolutely nothing to do with me’. First part may be true, second part, hmmm, arguable.
I have learnt a lot about the slave trade, how it came about, the process of colonisation and while learning was insightful, it was also enough to make you resentful. But why resent people now for what happened in the past? If we keep doing this will we ever move on? We have days such as Yom HaShoah and black history month to help us remember a past which has affected how we live today shouldn’t we learn from it? Or should we just use it as a tool to get back as those who truthfully, never had a direct hand in what happened?
I see the authors’ point of view, he wants recognition, he wants people to feel ashamed, and he wants them to be horrified at what happened. Not everyone is going to fit this category but for those who do, they can only recognise, feel ashamed and horrified for so long. They can teach their kids and THEY can only feel ashamed and horrified for so long. Yes never forget but also move on.
What makes me angry, upset, ashamed and horrified is the fact that some of the beliefs during the slave trade crop up in the present. I have had company’s ask for a picture to accompany the application form; why? The ideology that black men/women are inferior to white men/women still exists. O yea sure no one comes right out and says it but it’s still around, you only need to look at statistics for that. As a matter of fact, just use your eyes.
The ‘blame’ doesn’t just lie between black and white. There are black ‘groups’ who dislike other black ‘groups’ due to historical events. Forgiveness is a two way act. If the ancestors of the slave owners were to apologise how can we forgive them when we can’t even forgive each other? Sad.
In comparison to the past there is no doubt; things are getting better, we’re all becoming an equal people but there is still a very very long way to go before we achieve even a hint of equality, and this lies on both sides of the ‘race’ line. We need to change the underlying ideologies, get them completely out of the system. There would be no need to have regulations such as the Race Relations Act or the need to use the ‘race card’. These things are still around so as I’ve said before, there’s still a long way to go.
One comment made by someone called ‘WheatFromChaff’ on the Guardian website remained with me and sums up my point:
“History is a good servant, but a poor master. People should learn the lessons of history, not become enslaved by them.”
What makes me angry, upset, ashamed and horrified is the fact that some of the beliefs during the slave trade crop up in the present. I have had company’s ask for a picture to accompany the application form; why? The ideology that black men/women are inferior to white men/women still exists. O yea sure no one comes right out and says it but it’s still around, you only need to look at statistics for that. As a matter of fact, just use your eyes.
The ‘blame’ doesn’t just lie between black and white. There are black ‘groups’ who dislike other black ‘groups’ due to historical events. Forgiveness is a two way act. If the ancestors of the slave owners were to apologise how can we forgive them when we can’t even forgive each other? Sad.
In comparison to the past there is no doubt; things are getting better, we’re all becoming an equal people but there is still a very very long way to go before we achieve even a hint of equality, and this lies on both sides of the ‘race’ line. We need to change the underlying ideologies, get them completely out of the system. There would be no need to have regulations such as the Race Relations Act or the need to use the ‘race card’. These things are still around so as I’ve said before, there’s still a long way to go.
One comment made by someone called ‘WheatFromChaff’ on the Guardian website remained with me and sums up my point:
“History is a good servant, but a poor master. People should learn the lessons of history, not become enslaved by them.”
Amen to that.
3 comments:
You bring up a lot of good points here.
It's highly unlikely that slavery will ever be forgotten, however the way we remember it is what will make or break us. And that goes for all races.
Yes black people are still seen as the inferior . . . unless of course the issue is sports or entertainment related (in that case we're seen as minstrels).
Whats interesting to me is that some black people use history as an 'excuse' for never achieving their full potential, and others use it as their fuel to aspire for greater things.
Ak-Man
I was going to mention the sports and entertainment industry but I'd end up writing a book!
In reference to your last paragraph, I agree. It all boils down to perception, how people take what they have and use it.
This could take many blogs to respond to this. Living in a country where racism was legal till just over a decade ago, I can tell you that the repercussions of racial hatred cannot be overcome by a single act of forgiveness. There are far too many side effects that unfortunately hinder the healing process.
Anyway, I don't feel I could quite say here what should actually be said here, but, hey, if each individual made a effort to be more intolerant of racism, we may perhaps one day never have to write such articles.
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