On Fri, 19 Jan 2007 12:35:15 -0500, Sunshine49 wrote > So because you choose to take a purely intellectual perspective, the > emotional wounds of it don't matter? Is that kind of like you > deciding for black America what they should and should not feel > about their own history? A person can have whatever feelings they choose about their own history or anyone elses. I never said that what happens in the past doesn't matter or that you can't have feelings about it. What I don't see is how you can demand an apology from someone for a transgression that they personally did not commit, even if they remotely benefitted by it. The wounds created by the bad things that happened America's past can't be healed with a simple apology. The only thing that will work is the passage of time. If my g- g- g- g- grandfather was murdered, should I expect an apology from the descendants of the murderer? No! Admittedly if those descendants celebrated that murder and bragged about it I would have just cause to be upset by it. However I don't think Hargrave celebrates the institution of slavery any more than Jewish people celebrate the death of Jesus. And I think that was his point, though poorly articulated on his part. In saying that, I'm not implying that the Jewish people have any collective responsibility in the death of Jesus. It is important to know our history, warts and all so that we can have full appreciation of the sacrifices for those who made them whether those sacrifices were voluntary or not. It's important that we know those mistakes to prevent them from being repeated. For Anne: The South does not have a monopoly on racism and bigotry. Neither do white people. I doubt that all that many people are proud that their ancestors kept slaves. In the latter half of the 17th century, my ancestors probably kept slaves. I'm I proud of that? Of course not. Have I materially benefited from my ancestors owning slaves? No more than any other person in the US of any color or background. The debt owed to the African slaves is that we must not let that happen again, here or anywhere else. It's a solemn lesson that our country must always learn from. The debt is that we must further gains made since the Civil Rights Act to break down any barriers created because of a person's race. Belated apologies don't further those goals. Sincerely, Tom A. To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html