Mr. Brothers: Which American Indian community do you belong to? The reason that I am asking is that I am just comming in on this discussion because I have been quite busy working with my niece who just entered kindergarden two weeks ago. Plus I also assist my mom in babysitting her. Thanks. Jane Steele. -----Original Message----- >From: James Brothers <[log in to unmask]> >Sent: Sep 4, 2007 2:20 PM >To: [log in to unmask] >Subject: Re: [VA-HIST] Gov. Kaine Pardons Prosser's Gabriel > >Anita > >It is too bad that you see it as an "attack on you". It was meant >more as a cautionary comment. You frequently don't see where people >are going, or coming from, with their posts because you don't read >them you react to them. > >Mr. Browning was responding to your "flaming" him, because you did >not read what he posted. And contrary to what you claim you did >"attack" Mr. Browning. And it is not the first time you have jumped >on another poster. You have a tendency to go off half cocked, over >react, and relate almost everything to slavery. There is and was more >to Virginia history. My point was that while you are legitimately >proud of your African heritage, you wear it on your sleeve. That is a >potential problem because you let it influence your posts and it >detracts from what you are posting. > >While we are all interested in our ancestors. One's race should not >be an issue in an historical discussion. It shouldn't matter that Mr. >Browning knows that you are African-American (everyone does as you >make such an issue of it) and you don't know his race. Just because >you are of African ancestry, does not make statements you make about >slavery or life in the South any more valid than Mr. Browning's or >anyone else on the list. It does, as you had slave ancestors, give >you a personal connection. But that is all. Are only descendants of >people who owned slaves allowed to comment on their history? Can only >people of Indian ancestry, like me, legitimately comment on Indians? >Much of what we know about the life the American Indian or Africans >is due to the work of lily white Europeans or Americans. Does their >"race" invalidate their work? Your posts often leave the impression >that you think so. > >Mr. Browning may be White. So what? He knows at least as much about >Virginia history as you, perhaps more. As he has spent his life >studying it. He certainly knows more about some aspects, as you do >about others. We cannot know everything because we are compelled to >specialize. Lists exist so we can exchange information. > >If you go back far enough the present theory is that we are all >African. Race is an artificial and somewhat arbitrary way to separate >people. This is particularly true if you take it to the extreme of >skin colour. While most (about 75%) of the people from India are as >Caucasian as a Norwegian, many also have skin as dark as Africans. We >should judge people by the contents of their minds, their >utterances, and especially their deeds, not by the colour of their >skin. > >James Brothers, RPA >[log in to unmask] > > > >On Sep 4, 2007, at 12:42, Anita Wills wrote: > >> I don't know where you are going with this post. I responded to a >> post in which the person said, their ancestors fought in the Civil >> War to free, "My" people. I stated that the poster knew I was >> African American, and I did not know what his race was. Now you are >> sending a post saying that the I am focusing on the color of >> someones skin. In the first place my immediate family contains >> almost every race in this nation. My lines have changed races >> several times since it's inception. I also pointed out that I have >> direct ancestors who fought in the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, >> and in the Civil War. This was again, in response to the posters >> message, which was directed at me. >> >> So I am puzzled as to your attack on me (UMMM). >> >> Anita Lillian Jane Steele