From: q2tj@vax5.cit.cornell.edu
Newsgroups: soc.culture.african.american
Subject: Was Slavery Really All that Bad?....
Date: 29 Dec 92 16:09:02 EST
Distribution: soc
Organization: Cornell University

I know that many will find this unbelievable, but 
I once had to carefully and delicately explain to
someone what was so bad about slavery.

It's a funny little story that might also illuminate
just how difficult it can be playing with the psychology
of some people to get a difficult point accross.

A friend of mine, intelligent and well meaning asked me:

=====================paraphrase of someone else==========================
"Well, Slavery was bad and all....but there can be much
worse.  But it's not like there were programs to kill them
all.  Is it possible that the tradgedy of it all is being
exaggerated, especially in comparison to a number of 
this century's holocausts (Pol Pot, Armenia, Nazi, to name a few)"
=======================end of paraphrase=================================

This might sound amazing, but I think that many (whites)
are turned off by the more militant sounding rhetoric
of say Toni Morrison (ie.  "60 millions lost...dead!!! the
worst crime in history")  I tryed a completely different 
and softer approach that I believe was very effective.

========================my response====================================
I said "When people complain about one holocaust that
doesn't mean that they are trying to degrade another holocaust,
or say that somehow it was less of a tradgedy.  Don't listen
to anyone who is trying to do that, it's wrong.

I don't think that you ought to do tit for tat comparisons
of who suffered more, who died in larger number, or felt more
pain.  Just try to understand what it actually meant on it's
own terms.  Can one really honestly make an objective criteria
by which we can rank these holocausts in some sort of order
without looking like pigs

But it's not unreasonable to consider North American slavery
among the worst cases of crimes against humanity.  (then I
had to use an analogy)  Slavery really does count as deaths,
because even though there weren't immediate mass-executions
it is just like unjustly throwing someone is prison and letting
them die in prison.  That counts as an unwarranted death ...
and feeding the person doesn't take away from that.
(and don't forget the high mortality rates on the Atlantic
crossing...every death there by our own legal system would
be considered a murder, like when your deliberate actions
cause your kidnapping victim to die)

And then when you consider it long duration (much longer than
other holocausts) it is reasonable to come up with these
mumbers (in the dozens of millions) that are really FRIGHTENING.
======================================================================

That's a snapshot of the "fight" I had with this guy.  I believe
he then sort of saw the light.... and only after the analogy
did he "see" that slavery was more than just an "unfortunate case
of forced labor"

It wasn't a real "fight"....had it been, he wouldn't have listened.
(at no time were voices raises...atmosphere was completely calm)
The point I wanted to illustrate was that sometimes one has to
go to what appear to be extreme measures to explain ethical
issues to people.  It doens't come automatically.  One might think,
"isn't it obvious, slavery was the biggest crime ever...etc.etc...
i don't want to waste time towards those who can't even see that
basic thing which is sooooo obvious!!!"

It doens't work that way.  People really do need this stuff
spoon fed to them in a manner they can appreciate, understand
and not feel threatened by.  (or else they just turn their
ears off)

Steve S.

Newsgroups: soc.culture.african.american