Current Events > Would African Americans be better off today if there never was slavery in the US

(+) Yeah! (+)

Was listening to one of my pods, and the guest said he's glad his ancestors were brought to the US on a slave ship. He also said it sucked for them, but he's got a lot of money now and its not his fault he was born later on

Seemed like an interesting take
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No.
Without slavery in the US they would have most likely stayed in Africa


Also, any black person that is mad at white people of today for slavery is stupid as shit.
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Turbam posted...

No.
Without slavery in the US they would have most likely stayed in Africa


Also, any black person that is mad at white people of today for slavery is stupid as shit.

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Without slavery we wouldn't have the vast majority of our many black friends
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They wouldn't be African Americans.

It depends where in Africa they were brought from I guess.

What can you do you're here now
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yes

the outcome of slavery was that a good amount of black people were left illiterate and massively unintelligent. Plus, as slavery was all they knew, they had no viable way of making money. The fallout of slavery, as well as Jim Crow, created a terrible housing market for black americans and many had no other place to turn to except for ghettos. These factors have really hurt the development of them over the years imo.

now with that being said

glitteringfairy posted...

Without slavery we wouldn't have the vast majority of our many black friends

and

Turbam posted...

Also, any black person that is mad at white people of today for slavery is stupid as shit.

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If there was no slave trade at all or any of Europe's conquests of Africa, Africa would be in much better shape than it is now.

Plus, as mentioned, Black slaves had their cultures stripped from them, and could not get any sort of education or even learn how to read.
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I wonder what race all the people saying no are
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Unsugarized_Foo posted...

Was listening to one of my pods, and the guest said he's glad his ancestors were brought to the US on a slave ship. He also said it sucked for them, but he's got a lot of money now and its not his fault he was born later on

Seemed like an interesting take

Without knowing more it just sounds like he's angling for a job on Fox News.

OT who knows what effect such a larger counterfactual reality would have on immigrants from Africa or anywhere else nowadays (let alone everything else, would this still be a colony with GB ruling the world, would the continent still be British/Spanish/French/Native etc.) but things would sure be different for black folks here at the very least.

No. Because if they were bettter off in Africa today, they wouldn't have a reason to move to the US to begin with.
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Solar_Crimson posted...

If there was no slave trade at all or any of Europe's conquests of Africa, Africa would be in much better shape than it is now.

Would it really be that much better off? There doesn't seem to be much correlation between the places that were less colonized (Ethiopia) and being better off. In fact, the country in the best situation in Sub-Saharan Africa right now is actually South Africa, which was the most colonized out of any of them. I guess there's an important distinction to make though between actually building up a nation because your own people want to live there (South Africa) and just completely plundering it (Democratic Republic of the Congo). But still, hard to believe that it would actually be that much better off if left alone.
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Yes. Not only did slavery set back blacks in the US for MANY decades it also set back Africa as a whole for centuries. Long ago Africa was the most advanced continent in the world. That changed during slavery.
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Yeah Ethiopia wasn't colonized and very recently birthed a new country because of strife
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Dathrowed1 posted...

Yeah Ethiopia wasn't colonized and very recently birthed a new country because of strife

It apparently also had legal slavery until 1942. I knew slavery was a part of many African societies, but I had no idea until just now how recently it legally extended in some places. Wow, that's amazing that this is not more well known.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_in_Ethiopia
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Sativa_Rose posted...

It apparently also had legal slavery until 1942. I knew slavery was a part of many African societies, but I had no idea until just now how recently it legally extended in some places. Wow, that's amazing that this is not more well known.

It seems most Western Countries only condemn themselves for their sins.

For instance you don't hear in a class on Slavery that Brazil should look like Haiti or Angola.

Or that the Africans were already selling slaves to the Islamic Arabs.

Or they never put the perspective of economics on slavery, though slavery is an economic institution.
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Sativa_Rose posted...

Solar_Crimson posted...

If there was no slave trade at all or any of Europe's conquests of Africa, Africa would be in much better shape than it is now.

Would it really be that much better off? There doesn't seem to be much correlation between the places that were less colonized (Ethiopia) and being better off. In fact, the country in the best situation in Sub-Saharan Africa right now is actually South Africa, which was the most colonized out of any of them. I guess there's an important distinction to make though between actually building up a nation because your own people want to live there (South Africa) and just completely plundering it (Democratic Republic of the Congo). But still, hard to believe that it would actually be that much better off if left alone.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Colonial_Africa_1900_map.png

Take a look at this map and think about how many of the countries you are thinking of right now existed at the turn of the last century. How many borders were intentionally placed around the world to cause as much tribal/religious/ethnic strife as possible to continue the plundering by western powers? Or how what was once called French Indochina, the British Raj, and the Dutch East Indies are how many countries today?

Look at a map of the area we call the middle east from 101 years ago right now and the read about the Sykes-Picot Agreement if you're interested in history and its effects to see some of how we got to where we are today and why the USA tries extra hard now since we were not big enough to get in on the Euraisan action 100 years ago.

The effects of colonialism and post colonialism are still felt today around the world and while its understandable that the western countries will not openly address this do to them doing these things for so much national, personal, and industrial benefit its still real. Especially here in the US as Washington is still in the empire game even as every other western empire (Spanish/Portugese/Dutch/German/Soviet/etc) has fallen apart in the last century or so.

What a stupid question.
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Lol, nope.
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known2FAIL posted...

Yes. Not only did slavery set back blacks in the US for MANY decades it also set back Africa as a whole for centuries. Long ago Africa was the most advanced continent in the world. That changed during slavery.

Most of Africa never would have gotten out of the stone age. Some of Africa is STILL in the stone age.
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depends on what you mean by africian americans. Like ones who would be coming over would be much better because they have the resources to come to the country in the first place.

the descendents of slaves? Well they wouldn't really exist because their parentage probably wouldn't have met
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NYmasajista posted...

Sativa_Rose posted...

Solar_Crimson posted...

If there was no slave trade at all or any of Europe's conquests of Africa, Africa would be in much better shape than it is now.

Would it really be that much better off? There doesn't seem to be much correlation between the places that were less colonized (Ethiopia) and being better off. In fact, the country in the best situation in Sub-Saharan Africa right now is actually South Africa, which was the most colonized out of any of them. I guess there's an important distinction to make though between actually building up a nation because your own people want to live there (South Africa) and just completely plundering it (Democratic Republic of the Congo). But still, hard to believe that it would actually be that much better off if left alone.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Colonial_Africa_1900_map.png

Take a look at this map and think about how many of the countries you are thinking of right now existed at the turn of the last century. How many borders were intentionally placed around the world to cause as much tribal/religious/ethnic strife as possible to continue the plundering by western powers? Or how what was once called French Indochina, the British Raj, and the Dutch East Indies are how many countries today?

Look at a map of the area we call the middle east from 101 years ago right now and the read about the Sykes-Picot Agreement if you're interested in history and its effects to see some of how we got to where we are today and why the USA tries extra hard now since we were not big enough to get in on the Euraisan action 100 years ago.

The effects of colonialism and post colonialism are still felt today around the world and while its understandable that the western countries will not openly address this do to them doing these things for so much national, personal, and industrial benefit its still real. Especially here in the US as Washington is still in the empire game even as every other western empire (Spanish/Portugese/Dutch/German/Soviet/etc) has fallen apart in the last century or so.

I think it's a little more complicated than that, WWI changed the face of the world.
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"How might the world be different if the Roman Empire never existed?"

When was Africa the most advanced continent?

The face of the world has been changed time and time again over the centuries as different people conquered different lands.

Alexander, Julius Caesar, Charlemagne, Genghis Khan, Napoleon Bonaparte, Adolf Hitler... the list of conquerors goes on and on. Every land has been invaded and reinvaded at some point. So goes the tale of human history.
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rodu_jr posted...

When was Africa the most advanced continent?

I think he was talking about Egypt.
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Honestly don't care, I'm just glad it worked out to the point where I get to live here now.
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The British Isles were a revolving door of invaders at one point

DirkDiggles posted...

rodu_jr posted...

When was Africa the most advanced continent?

I think he was talking about Egypt.

nb4wewuzkangz
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Dathrowed1 posted...

I think it's a little more complicated than that, WWI changed the face of the world.

Of course its more complicated than 2.5 paragraphs and a map, nothing is ever that simple.

NYmasajista posted...

Dathrowed1 posted...

I think it's a little more complicated than that, WWI changed the face of the world.

Of course its more complicated than 2.5 paragraphs and a map, nothing is ever that simple.

I'm just saying we can't just boil it down to "it's the West's fault" especially when a war happened that loosened the grip they had.
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Without slavery blacks would have came to America as immigrants and had a much better identity with their roots.

Not too mention black businesses and prominent families.

lukabrosci posted...

Without slavery blacks would have came to America as immigrants and had a much better identity with their roots.

Not too mention black businesses and prominent families.

That is a possible outcome, but I don't think there's really any way to know. America, as we know it, wouldn't exist.
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Without slavery we would actually be using terms like Nigerian American, Ghanian American, Congolese American, etc. instead of just African American.

doubt it

racists gonna racis
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ThanksUglyGod posted...

Without slavery we would actually be using terms like Nigerian American, Ghanian American, Congolese American, etc. instead of just African American.

Funny, most the Nigerians and Ghanaians I know make sure you know those facts.
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Dathrowed1 posted...

NYmasajista posted...

Dathrowed1 posted...

I think it's a little more complicated than that, WWI changed the face of the world.

Of course its more complicated than 2.5 paragraphs and a map, nothing is ever that simple.

I'm just saying we can't just boil it down to "it's the West's fault" especially when a war happened that loosened the grip they had.

Well yeah and colonialism wasn't just a western thing as the Japanese empire was pretty big in 1940.

I've a big nerd for history as it helps to see where we came from and how we got to where we are now. So many of the biggest social and political issues of today are coming from the effects of post colonialism and the major, minor, corporate, and dark horse powers playing with geopolitics for all kinds of different reasons.

I can't imagine why not.
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They'd probably still be chasing wildebeests with a spear.

PokemonYoutube posted...

They'd probably still be chasing wildebeests with a spear.

Do you still see all Africans doing that today?
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They would have stayed in Africa and then be oppressed by German / French / British colonization by the 19th century anyway.
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I mean, only if Europe/Arabs didn't have slavery too.
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African Americans today would be better off if there wasn't 250 years of slavery, the Black Codes and 100 years of Jim Crow segregation, throw in redlining too. The failure of Reconstruction to protect the newly freed former slave population was one of the great failings of American History. The African continent would be in much better shape if not for the Trans-Atlantic slave trade and colonialism.
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Turbam posted...

No.
Without slavery in the US they would have most likely stayed in Africa

What's wrong with staying in Africa?
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I'm going to go out on a limb and guess CE doesn't understand just how much the U.S. relied on slavery to survive.

the U.S. wasn't even on the world stage charts until the late 18th century

tldr;-ing you mouth breathers itt

**19th century

I CAN'T EDIT MY POSTS. cuck ass MODS banning me suhleepy account

OneTutuThree posted...

cuck ass MODS banning me suhleepy account

@cuckassmod

OneTutuThree posted...

I'm going to go out on a limb and guess CE doesn't understand just how much the U.S. relied on slavery to survive.

the U.S. wasn't even on the world stage charts until the late 18th century

Relying on slavery to survive is a ridiculous concept. They weren't skilled laborers and they were more mouths to feed. The only ones that "needed" slaves were the 1%ers that owned them and wanted to make more extreme profits on agriculture.
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Ryo_the_Inferno posted...

known2FAIL posted...

Yes. Not only did slavery set back blacks in the US for MANY decades it also set back Africa as a whole for centuries. Long ago Africa was the most advanced continent in the world. That changed during slavery.

Most of Africa never would have gotten out of the stone age. Some of Africa is STILL in the stone age.

Name ONE part of Africa that's still in the 'stone age' you racist.
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We were recovering pretty well until the feminist movement hit and half our race hopped on that and the welfare bandwagon. Well i'm Nigerian so i'd have been fine either way.
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