Skip to comments.Congress considering slavery apology
Posted on 02/29/2008 12:18:06 AM PST by kingattax
WASHINGTON, Feb. 28 (UPI) -- The U.S. Congress is considering an apology for slavery, something five states have done in the past year.
While it has apologized before, Congress never apologized for slavery, USA Today reported Thursday.
"We've seen states step forward on this," said Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, noting resolutions in Alabama, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina and Virginia. "I'm really shocked, just shocked" that the federal government hasn't apologized. "It's time to do so."
Harkin said he and Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., will propose an apology for slavery and subsequent "Jim Crow" laws that furthered racial segregation. Among the bill's backers are Democratic Sens, Hillary Clinton of New York, the party's first female presidential candidate, and Barack Obama of Illinois, the party's first African-American candidate.
A similar House measure introduced in 2007 has 120 co-sponsors.
Congress apologized to Japanese-Americans in 1988 for imprisoning them in camps during World War II, giving each survivor $20,000. In 1993, Congress apologized to native Hawaiians for the overthrow of their kingdom a century earlier. In 2005, the Senate apologized for failing to enact anti-lynching laws.
In the USA, no one alive suffered under slavery, and no one alive held slaves. If Congress wants to do something about slavery they ought to focus upon the very real cases of slavery NOW in parts of Africa and the Muslim world....
Who said that racism, discrimination, and slavery were dead? The Democrats were the party of slavery and racism almost one hundred and fifty years ago, and they are the same, even today.
Why don’t they consider cutting taxes and spending. Seems more important to me.
Finally. Now I can sleep at night knowing that I’ll be forgiven for being a White man.
Well, I want the Church of England to apologize for kicking my Catholic ancestors out of Scotland, and the Pope to apologize for kicking my Protestant ancestors out of Switzerland, and all you Honkies owe me, for shipping other ancestors of mine off to Oklahoma. Send money, I’ll tell you when I feel better!
Africa is full of people who would love to be here, and take advantage of all the opportunities that others won’t.
Maybe we can arrange an exchange, and make everyone happy!
Why would you apologize for something you had nothing to do with?
Well, okay, maybe Robert Byrd could apologize, but I’m pretty sure he has already.
Sounds like something a COMMUNEity organizer might promote.
Let's ask Hussein what he thinks.
Translation: sucking up to black voters.
Many people today refuse to look in the mirror to identify their flaws and make an effort to rectify them. They have been taught to have good self esteem and that they are perfect just the way they are. Yet their conscience eats at them. Since they have a great self-image, the guilt they feel must be for something done in the past. They think apologies for history will clear their conscience without them having to address their own sin. We have gone from mea culpa to they-a culpa. Their fault, their fault, their most grievous fault.
This is half Hussein Obamas fault.
In Australia, an apology has recently been made to the phoney “stolen generation” of aborigines by the new and ultra wet Rudd Labor government. Many of the left are already screaming for compensation payouts. In Australia it will be a very expensive rendition of hand holding and Kumbaya, in the US, with the numbers of “slave” descendents, it will be a financial disaster.
I expect this kind of idiocy from the Dims. But, for the love of all that’s holy, can’t you Kansans do something about Brownback? I swear, he’s a bigger embarrassment than Lindsey Graham.
Brownback is retiring in 2010.
It’s much more satisfying when they’re retired instead of letting them retire.
Time to make the Italians apologize for the Roman enslavment of about half the known Western world’s population.
Chances are every caucasion living is descended,however remotely,from Roman slaves.
I demand an apology and lotsa lire!
I had no idea Congress was keeping slaves!
Except Barney Frank, of course. We all knew about that...
They are talking about an apology, here. Nobody said a damn thing about forgiveness.
And Catherine the Great has some 'splainin' to do over how she kicked my German-speaking ancestors out of the Volga region...
Gee, Tom, I'm really shocked that you haven't made sure Iowa apologized yet, either.
We did apologize, We apologized with the deaths of all those men who died to bring the Union back together and end slavery. The very government that is going to apologize is the very government who ended. The Democrats should apologize though. It was their party that held on to slavery. It was their party that passed Jim Crow laws. It was their party that fought integration. It was their party that fought equal rights. I am a republican. I come from a long line of Republicans. My family has nothing to apologize for. In fact. I DEMAND A THANK YOU NOTE from all blacks who are ancestors of slaves. I demand some reparation for lost wages my dead ancestors would have made but couldn’t because they died on the battlefield fighting for you. Perhaps I would not have grown up as poor as I did if my great great uncles had not died to free you. Where is it? Where is my THANK YOU.
Wait no further! Click here for your formal forgiveness:
I thought LBJ took care of those reparations.
I demand :-
Reparations from Italy for enslaving us in 55 BC .
Reparations from Denmark for overunning my village in the 10th Century .
Reparations from France for introducing our world famous feudal system in 1066 .
Last but not least , damages from the USA for turfing us out of your gaff in 1776* .
*A crate of that California wine , some East Coast beer , and the USA ladies’ soccer team will do , instead of sending me US taxpayer’s money .
I’m gonna snap. It’s just a matter of time.
Oh give me a break already. I’ve heard nothing BUT apologies in various forms for the last 40+ years. Enough already.
My ancestors were in Poland when that was going on. I’ll send some money to Poland if that makes everyone happy.
If congress wants to do something about slavery, they should reduce the financial burden of federal taxes working people are FORCED to pay. We working people are slaves to the federal government, working on their plantation.
I demand Congress apologize and offer reparations for allowing the use of indentured servants.
I want reparations for the 1066 invasion. Damn Normans!!
Yep...and I also apologize for every slave I’ve ever owned... uhhh nevermind
I’ll go for it if and only if the apology includes for the invasion of the CSA.
WHEN EUROPEANS WERE SLAVES: RESEARCH SUGGESTS WHITE SLAVERY WAS MUCH MORE COMMON THAN PREVIOUSLY BELIEVED
COLUMBUS, Ohio A new study suggests that a million or more European Christians were enslaved by Muslims in North Africa between 1530 and 1780 a far greater number than had ever been estimated before.
I want the Muslims to apologize.
I want to know if all black Americans will get some funds, even if their ancestors were not slaves. There are decendants of black free men and black immigrants who have come over and never been enslaved. Also, will my children (who are bi-racial) get half of the money? If you are light-skinned do you get any money? Is there going to be a sliding scale? Can I get my money in Euros?
Enough! Apology adds to White Guilt. There is too much of it already. This country has already been divided into groups with special privileges. The right thing to do is drop all special privileges and make everyone equal.
I thought they already “apologized”.
These sorry as* sumsabitches need to get their heads out of their arses.
When will we grow bal*s and tell everyone to get over it and move on?
Can we just recall or start over with this bunch of goons?
CONGRESSFOLK: I'll make a deal. I'll sign off on your pathetic, misguided slavery apology on the condition that you sign off for 75 years of pathetic, misguided, even dangerous POLICIES and LOSS OF SOVEREIGNTY that your asinine lawmaking has imposed upon American citizens.Regards . . . Penny
I have one other condition: Reverse course on spending us into oblivion. Close the borders; jail employers of illegal aliens. Refuse your unearned salaries. The list is sadly endless, isn't it?
Besides I have no "white Guilt", I've earned everything I have.
Shouldn’t the Democrat Party apologize for slavery? After all, it was Democrats who were against fighting the Civil War, Reconstruction and they were the ones who instituted Jim Crow laws while fighting desegregation and the Civil Rights Act of 1964.