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Originally Posted by foundit66  I am all for people who owned slaves to apologize to the people who were slaves.
Demanding people who never owned slaves to apologize to people who were never slaves doesn't help anything. I see it as doing harm because it gives in to the delusion of some that the slavery of the past has somehow wronged them today.
People who fixate on the past aren't able to move on towards the future.
Quite frankly, (and I know this sounds raw), if it would get them to shut the hell up once and for all I would be all for the apology. Once given, nobody can play the "race card" when there is no racism. Nobody can blame their plight on past injustices, and will now be forced to move forward based on their own circumstances and make the best of what they have.
If I can then say "We already gave at the office", I would give the apology myself.
But this "apology" isn't an issue of "closure". It allows some people to feel justified in their continued fixation on events of the past.
If one friend apologizes to another, they move forward with their lives. They don't dwell on past problems.
But I have no confidence that this apology would accomplish that, nor do I see it as warranted.
I quite frankly see it as doing more harm than good... |
I understand your perspective, and there is some merit in it. I have to remind you, however, that the events of the past are still influencing the events of today.
No one is asking a particular person to apologize to another. The State apologizes and it allows some to but that in the past. What is the harm in it? Will it create a utopia where everyone likes everyone? NO. Will it help social progress? I think that it will.
People that fixate on the past don't move forward, but people that IGNORE the past spawn all sorts of coping behaviors that don't really benefit anyone. |