Contrary to many of my
countrymen and
peers...
The conquering and almost complete destruction of the Native American culture.
Slavery.
Past Racism.
Imperialism.
McCarthyism.
The Cold War.
These events were all very bad. Had I taken part in any of them, I couldn't live with myself. But, I refuse to take part in selfbashing because of sins of the father.
Reply to pingouin:
I am an Irish Scot. Half my family came to America because of the potato famine. When they arrived, they were forbidden from working in many places. "Irish need not Apply." That was in the middle of the 1800s. The other half were forcibly removed from ancestral lands on the Isle of Skye and shipped with less than a days notice to Nova Scotia. My grandfather's brother was shot in the head when he wouldn't get on the boat. My great grandmother and great grandfather died on the way over. This happened at the turn of the century. All they had was the clothes on their backs. That seems to have happened a lot more recently than slavery was ended. I am I pissed at the English all the time? Should Englishmen give me money because my grandmother and grandfather were abused? Should I be compensated or pitied because there was widespread prejudice against Irishmen 3 generations ago? No, at least in most people's eyes, including mine. I am against affirmative action, and I don't feel guilty about what Americans did in the past. I will not repeat what was done. However, none of the black guys I know were slaves. Few were alive for segregation (I am 18 years old).
Blacks were enslaved (actually, they were initially enslaved by their countrymen and members of enemy tribes and then sold to the Europeans, so logically they should hate the native Africans) by whites. The Irish and the Scots were conquered and "actively fucked with" by the English. The Americans conquered the Native Americans. I don't give a fuck. I will own up to what I do and what I do only. I've never held a guys race against them. Yet people expect me to be guilty about slavery and conquering the natives and Imperialism and just about every other sin thats happened since the world started. Screw it.
Look at Sins of the World. Every nation has done something wrong. How far back should shame go? One generation doesn't do apparently, for slavery, segregation, and the NA conquering was farther back. You need at least 2 generations to cover any. Four or Five for all three. If that long, why not all the way back to medieval times.
Sticking heads in the sand is not the same as not being ashamed. I know a lot of history. Pick a race and they have fucked and been fucked sometime in history. Black, white, yellow or brown, it doesn't matter. The worst neighborhood in Watts is still not as bad as the potato famine, or Dicken's London. Move on, or be left behind. I've seen too many good kids who happen to be black decide that the man is keeping them down and go bad. Usually, the man was in their heads. The black kids who are going to college are the ones who decide they will be the ones to act and that they were not victims. (BTW In most things I am very liberal. I am a member of EFF. I support the ACLU with what little money I can spare.)