Slavery Apologies, an absurd guilt-trip gesture –


Commentary by Steve Scroggins

The AJC's Political Inciter ran a story today on the subject of Slavery Apologies and then the AP published their story over the wire (text is at the bottom).

In a nutshell, Georgia NAACP president Edward DuBose together with the usual suspects from the exclusionary and racist organization GABEO (Georgia Association of Black Elected Officials) such as Tyrone Brooks (aka Mr. Nuwaubian, aka Tyronnesaurus Brooks) and others, want a trophy to place in their guilt-trip trophy case. The Virginia general assembly recently issued an apology for slavery and we know every state legislature in the country will face demands to follow suit or endure implied and explicit accusations of racism, bigotry, intolerance, etc.

It would be funny if it weren't so pathetic and insulting.

Let me see if I have this right. These same intolerant groups and individuals have harped and wailed and whined for years to eliminate any and all vestiges of the Confederate States and their symbols and heroes from public view. The most frequent whine is that they find these symbols of our history and heritage "offensive" and that they are "painful reminders" of a past they'd rather forget.

First of all, suggesting that we "forget" is just plain stupid. We should NEVER forget slavery. Neither should we forget the horrific mass murders in the 20th century (Germany, Russia, Cambodia, China, Rwanda, etc.). American Southerners should never forget the invasion and looting of the South (that cost the lives of over 600,000 Americans) and the subsequent occupation the Lincoln idolators like to call "Reconstruction." Americans should never forget that they once had a functioning Constitution until in was crushed by Lincoln's forces and various consolidators ever since.

"A nation which does not remember what it was yesterday does not know where it is today..." --Gen. Robert E. Lee

Let me be clear. I do NOT think these demagogues and race hustlers are stupid, nor do they want to forget. They want the public to selectively forget. They may be immoral, dishonest and shameless...but they are not stupid.

But back to my main point...these whiners and gripers can't have it both ways. They whine about "painful reminders" such as Confederate flags, monuments, statues, school and street names and so forth, yet they continually push for more painful reminders such as "lynching reenactments," more and more slavery museums, the subversion of the National Park Service to convert battlefields into slavery museums and on and on. The new fad is to coerce and guilt-trip politicians into issuing official apologies for slavery. Which is it? Do you or do you NOT want to remember?

That is obviously a rhetorical question. We know the answer. But the next time someone whines about "painful reminders", they need to be asked this question.

It's no secret that I favor historic preservation and accurate depiction of history, without exaggeration and without omission. The bottom line is that these demagogues and race hustlers simply want to re-write and revise history to suit their agenda and guilt-trip gravy train. Once they have official apologies from every state, what's next? Reparations?

Syndicated columnist Walter Williams, in his recent column entitled 'Regrets for Slavery,' has it right. He calls such modern day apologies "nothing less than a cheap insult and capitulation of white delegates to black hustlers."

Some writers have concluded long ago that all these guilt-trip activities, aside from temporary fund-raisers, are nothing but groundwork and a prelude to a demand for reparations. I won't belabor the ridiculous nature of those demands or the impossible logistics of such a proposal. Suffice it say that there is no way to ever make such an arrangement fair...not even close to fair.

Presidential candidate Barack Obama recently learned that he had slave holders in his family tree. Likewise, he may have some slaves for ancestors, too. Then there are all the people who came to the U.S. after slavery had ended. Obviously, they saw no benefits from slavery. Likewise, there are black immigrants like the parents of Colin Powell. Then there are the descendants of mixed race. Do they pay and receive? You get the idea. There's no way to equitably determine who owes who and how much. The melting pot is a Gordian Knot that cannot be untangled. And cutting with a blade isn't the answer.

Let's hope that the Georgia general assembly will maintain their spines in the face of name calling that is sure to escalate. Georgia NAACP chief Edward DuBose has already said he expected no help from "those white Republicans." The rhetoric will surely advance to calling all apology opponents racists, bigots, etc.

Tyrone Brooks submitted his bills to change the 1956 flag for over 20 years before he got traction with Atlanta Chamber merchants and Roy Barnes who had national office aspirations. We can expect no less on this silly apology idea. We are sure to hear these demands for decades to come.

Meanwhile, they refuse to meaningfully address serious issues right here at home such as pitiful education and shocking illiteracy, unwed girls having babies, rampant drug and alcohol abuse, violent crime and others. Furthermore, there's not a peep about slavery that exists today all over the world but especially in African countries like Mauritania, the Sudan and others.

While the race hustlers won't even acknowledge present day slavery, they refuse to make the real American social issues a priority. They prefer to continue their cheap hustles and shakedowns and to guilt-trip for paper apologies that mean nothing.

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