Denial Is A Helluva Drug....

I recently came across a website that had an article entitled, "Six Inconvenient Truths About the U.S. and Slavery." The author, Michael Medved, attempts to re-write history by listing six so-called facts that Americans refuse to accept about slavery in America. He posits:

1. SLAVERY WAS AN ANCIENT AND UNIVERSAL INSTITUTION, NOT A DISTINCTIVELY AMERICAN INNOVATION.

2. SLAVERY EXISTED ONLY BRIEFLY, AND IN LIMITED LOCALES, IN THE HISTORY OF THE REPUBLIC – INVOLVING ONLY A TINY PERCENTAGE OF THE ANCESTORS OF TODAY’S AMERICANS. 

3. THOUGH BRUTAL, SLAVERY WASN’T GENOCIDAL: LIVE SLAVES WERE VALUABLE BUT DEAD CAPTIVES BROUGHT NO PROFIT.

4. IT’S NOT TRUE THAT THE U.S. BECAME A WEALTHY NATION THROUGH THE ABUSE OF SLAVE LABOR: THE MOST PROSPEROUS STATES IN THE COUNTRY WERE THOSE THAT FIRST FREED THEIR SLAVES.

5. WHILE AMERICA DESERVES NO UNIQUE BLAME FOR THE EXISTENCE OF SLAVERY, THE UNITED STATES MERITS SPECIAL CREDIT FOR ITS RAPID ABOLITION.

6. THERE IS NO REASON TO BELIEVE THAT TODAY’S AFRICAN-AMERICANS WOULD BE BETTER OFF IF THEIR ANCESTORS HAD REMAINED BEHIND IN AFRICA.

Hahahahahaha!!!!

After reading this, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry at the level of ignorance that exists among a certain segment of society in this country.
 
The first thing that came to mind was that we need to do a better job at teaching the history of slavery in this country. After all, Mr. Medved insists that slavery "only existed briefly...involving a tiny percentage of the ancestors of today's Americans."
 
Where did Mr. Medved get this information? You'd figure that if one is to make this kind of claim, they would have academic resources to support it. But no! Mr. Medved presents none of that and received over 300 "likes" regarding the article, which indicates that there are others who believe these falsehoods.

Nonetheless, this says ALOT about the psyche of some Americans, in that they would rather be oblivious to the terrible truths, instead of facing them and doing the work to ameliorate a situation. To some people, SLAVERY was a long time ago, and blacks should just get over. To others, slavery is not as bad as they portray it in the media.

This is dangerous.

Conversely, more and more blacks, including myself, have walked away from the table when it comes to discussing slavery and racial history in the United States with a certain segment of society. It is pointless to speak and engage in a dialogue with people who will not listen to you, due to their inability to see a perspective beyond their own.

To engage Mr. Medved in a conversation, where you would present him with research and facts would be an exercise in futility. This is what a conversation on racison has become. 

Ultimately, you now have perpetrators of racism calling historical victims of racism, RACISTS! I even saw a commentator on MSNBC say that "real racism is self-evident."

I have learned to walk away from these type of conversations regarding race and inequality, as denial is a helluva drug!

Until next Monday...