No need to apologise
UK slave trade apology 'needed' (from BBC News)
Apologies (from Sad, Sweet Songs & Crazy Rhythms)
Yes, the slave trade was shit, and it's effect is being felt to this day. But I can't apologise for it, because I wasn't responsible for it. Neither do I want someone else apologising for it on my behalf. For an apology to be meaningful, it has to be from the person or people responsible.
Look at the past, and learn from it, but take responsibility by the way you act in the future, not by empty words of contrition.
Apologies (from Sad, Sweet Songs & Crazy Rhythms)
Yes, the slave trade was shit, and it's effect is being felt to this day. But I can't apologise for it, because I wasn't responsible for it. Neither do I want someone else apologising for it on my behalf. For an apology to be meaningful, it has to be from the person or people responsible.
Look at the past, and learn from it, but take responsibility by the way you act in the future, not by empty words of contrition.
Seeing as indigenous people in Australia still get the thin end of the wedge, acknowledgment of the stolen generation fcuk up and widespread abuse is long overdue.
In many ways, being big enough (as a community with history) to say that the past included less than savoury events signals a mature outlook and possibly suggests lessons learnt. And a time to move on together, without harbouring grievances.
Which may not be quite the same scenario in terms of slavery.
I feel that it could be argued that whilst not being responsible for it, in some way, all of us that lead the priviliged lives that we do have - however tenuously - benefitted in some way from it. I don't think an apology is empty - I think it would be more wrong for us not to apologise, because by not apologising we're failing to acknowledge that part of the reason for our ways of life and our economy is built on the suffering of others.
So who should apologise to whom? Everyone to everyone else? In which case, I still think it's pretty meaningless.
I think you can recognise that something is wrong, and you can regret that it happened, and you can act in a way that makes it clear you're sorry that it happened, without apologising.
Look at it this way, say I was stealing £100 a month from your pay packet, would an apology be enough? No, you'd expect me to stop doing it too! An apology on it's own is meaningless, it has to come with a change of behaviour and/or reparations.
I won't argue that maybe my quality of life compared to others in the world isn't skewed by the actions of the slave trade. I wasn't responsible for the slave trade, the government of the time was - partially. But I think it's wrong to put "responsibility" at the crux of this argument. It's more correct to base it around "ability to influence." I have no ability to influence the slave trade of the past, therefore I can't apologise for it, and neither can my government.
There's no doubt, as Kat points out, that inequalities exist to this day. Apologies aren't going to fix them. Actions , perhaps with apologies where suitable, will.
Should the descendants of the Egyptians, Romans, Vikings and every other country that has participated in this trade also apologise for any hurt their ancestors caused hundreds if not thousands of years ago? What about those desendents of the African tribes who sold the losers of their battles for superiority into slavery? Selling debtors into slavery in both the Roman Republic & Empire wasn't uncommon let alone the hundreds of thousands - if not millions - they shipped home from the battlefields of Gaul, Britannia and others. However, if we were to now receive apologies for any of these actions would anyone actually care?
The movement for the abolition of slavery came about because a group of people in the early 19th century realised that they could no longer support the trade in human flesh - a significant change in the attitude that hadn't before occured - and decided to do something about it. As part of this abolition they compensated those who would have found themselves out of pocket as a result of having to free their slaves. Abolition itself didn't happen over night and the Royal Navy spent many years patrolling the likes of the Barbary coast attempting to wipe out the continuing trade that other countries were still particiapting in it.
We can acknowledge the sins of our ancestors and learn from them but apologising for them is a meaningless gesture. If the likes of the church want to atone for their past then they would be better off doing something about slavery as it exists today such as the women trafficed out of eastern Europe to act as sex slaves. Further hot air on the subject may salve the consciences of the Archbishops but if they really want to make a difference then deeds, not words, would be more effective.
Britian's past is hardly sweet smelling in many places - the holocast in the 12/13th century and the concentration camps of the Boer War being but two examples - but the actions of Wilberforce and others in going against the culture of the time and working to bring about the demise of slavery is something we should rightly be celebrating. Above all we must learn from our past and refrain from repeating those mistakes in the future.
I've offered my services as a sex traffic warden, so far, no replies!
Thanks for everyone's comments, and thanks to Clair, I seem to have stolen her topic off her, which was what sparked my posting in the first place.
There are things that perhaps we should apologise for, the rapacious nature of capitalism that creates sweatshops and child labour in some developing countries, huge Third-World debts that allowed corrupt governments to thrive at the expense of their people. I do feel guilty about those, but I have no direct power to influence that.
In the same way, how can I feel pride when the English football team wins a match (I hear it does happen from time to time)? I have made absolutely no contribution to that victory, however pleased I am that it happened.
And don't get me started on victim culture...
After he followed me shouting through the whole supermarket, I was forced to go and drink a large glass of wine.
We all know that two wrongs do not make a right, but in this case, there were no rights that could possibly make amends for the massive wrongs suffered by my supermarket accuser. It was a no win.
"I think it would be more wrong for us not to apologise"
I think Siobhan is right in this case. On a macro level, modern Britain's pre-eminent status and economic wealth *was* built on the backs of slaves.
I've seen reports of claims by certain activists to HUGE reparation bills amounting to trillions of pounds to the victimised countries. While this is an extreme stance it highlights the fact that Britain's status is still a slap in the face to people whose not so distant ancestors were under this country's yoke.
I don't think we should dismiss slavery and the ill effects it has had. In fact I would support paying reparations to the victims if that could be done in a way that wouldn't cause inflation or corruption.
I resent the re-writing and airbrushing out of history of inconvienient truths just so we can have this right on commemoration. Lots of emphasis on the slave trade and Britain's part in it...not that much on the abolition movement or even the West African tribes' complicity and profit in selling and trading their own people or people they thought of as inferior in slavery. Slavery in Africa existed before the Europeans came.
I feel the BBC should apologise for its bombardment of its schedules on this subject.
Even if my true name is Ragnvald Blondbeard.
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