The slavery excuse

Often one of the first things when talking in a heated debate about race issues, to come out of the mouth of a black person is slavery. In fact almost all black problems, such as colorism seem to go back to slavery.

In order to understand why blacks have it so bad in America today, one must in fact go back to slavery to find the answer.

White people do not like it one bit when a black person brings in slavery. They will often retort with a line like "i didn't own slaves" or "my family came here after slavery". This is usually to shut down the attempt at trying to understand things.

I have mixed feelings about using the "slave excuse". I understand where both sides come from on the issue. Essentially what white people are saying is, they don't care about the racism that happened before everyone on earth right now was born, they prefer you to stay in more recent times. Heck even Jim Crow is considered too far back for many whites to talk about race issues outside of a historical context, and many people from that era are alive and kicking as we speak!

What black people are trying to say is that slavery has affected the black community so strongly that we are still affected in some ways by it, such as not knowing much of your heritage (unless there has been more recent forms of mixing going on). I'd argue black codes and Jim Crow affected the black community much much much more. Slavery and that form of racism only began that long line of hell.

But the question is, should blacks be using the "slave excuse"?

There really are times when its called for. If you ask why the black community is the way it is, you can't possibly give an accurate answer without addressing history and what led up to everything.

But if you are talking about recent racism, bringing in past racism from before everyone's lifetime actually works against your argument.

The opponents read it as a sign of defeat, because its been used so much by blacks that its like a joke for white people to laugh at. The fact that in your argument you have to start talking about something from 200 years ago, makes it seem as though you have run out of things to argue about.

And if you really think about it, just how many people have been affected by slavery today? I bet you can find more people who have been affected by Jim Crow, even after it officially ended than you can those who have actually been affected in some shape or form by slavery.

The one way you can be affected by slavery is if you let the fact that it happened and that its ending resulting in Jim Crow and other kinds of hells prevent you from living your life. Most blacks live their life, someway somehow.

The thing is, it should and can be used, when used in the correct context and the right situation. For the most part, its not a good idea to use it in any kind of debate or argument pertaining to more recent kinds and forms of racism.