LogFAQs > #975157724

adjl posted...

Of course, in this case, it is actually wrong, or at least a gross misrepresentation of the situation. Slaves did learn skills while enslaved, certainly, but the vast majority of those skills were really only useful if they wanted to go work for the people that had had slaves filling those positions up until it became illegal. Skills that would allow them to branch out and advance in society were not taught to them, and in many states it was actually outright illegal to teach such things to slaves (literacy being a major one). Presenting slavery as being somehow an educational experience that offset the atrocities committed is outright false, and is being done here not because it's a position that has any objective merit, but solely for the sake of pushing the narrative that black Americans have not been historically disadvantaged and white Americans have done no wrong throughout history. It is blatant white supremacist indoctrination. Calling it anything else is either blind or complicit. Take your pick.

You're making these weird comments like it "offsets the atrocities". Nobody is arguing something "offsets" something else. What is being said is that people alive today have benefitted from turmoil faced by past generations, which is true of everyone, not any particular group.

The modern inhabitants of England experience the benefits of their long-ago ancestors being invaded by Romans first, and Normans later.

The modern inhabitants of Japan experience the benefits of their ancestors having reformed their national identity following a stunning loss during attempted imperial aggression and expansion.

The modern inhabitants of Germany experience the benefits of their ancestors having lost two wars of aggression twice.

The modern inhabitants of South Korea experience the benefits of their ancestors having suffered a war that tore their country in two.

Everything we are, and where we are, is contingent on who we've been and what has been done. If nothing beneficial comes from tragedy, then there is simply no room to recognize any benefit, because there is always tragedy.