I don't want to be like the typical fake white liberal apologist, but I did some digging in my family tree and unfortunately it appears my great great great great grand father through my maternal line had enslaved about 10 people.
Bums me out and makes feel sick to my stomach.
This is a good answer. My great-grandfather was a white (Jewish) doctor in the USA who slept with his patients, including African patients. He apparently died of a heart attack while he was sleeping with one. It’s honestly hard for me to discuss this. I suspect that we have an African side of the family out there which is being deprived of the material benefits of belonging to a relatively wealthy family. I’m afraid to look for them via DNA tests because that whole thing is so skeezy, but it’s possible that if they exist (I’m not sure), some of them may be living in the town he was mayor of (he was a busy guy). Do you (or other comrades) think I should try and find them?
I also have no idea about any of this. I think it could upset the relatives I do know about because of inheritance issues? If there's one thing rich people like doing, it's fighting over wills.
:gold-ancom: :gold-antifa: :gold-communist:
Love logging on and learning theory.
Buddy, unless you’re living in some antebellum mansion with an undocumented immigrant fanning you as you type this, you’re fine.
Assuming every member of each generation had three kids, you're one of 729 progeny begotten from that old racist. You have two options: forgive yourself or hunt down the remaining 728 family members to destroy his lineage.
But also, every other white person is just as guilty. It's not about your great great great great grandpa - it's about how all white people today benefit from the systems that people like our great great great great grandpas built. All you can do is try your best to tear down white supremacy in all its forms, same as before you knew this little fact about your family history.
Yeah my great great grandmother's best friend's niece was married to a dude who went to the same bar as a guy who fought in a war involving a country that later came to be ruled by a leader who once engaged in diplomatic discussion with Hitler. I'm so sorry my Jewish and LGBT friends :(
But seriously buddy, guilt doesn't drip down in blood, nothing does. Acknowledging things like white privilege and the benefits we get from generational advantages isn't the same as "inheriting blood debt", that doesn't exist.
That's what the afterlife is for, comrade. Rest assured Ammut has likely taken care of that for you already.
Struggling to get that heart-size down to the weight of a feather.
That's a chump move. When I die, I'm gonna be buried with the biggest, heaviest feather I can find :think-about-it:
If you want to get all metaphorical, sure. But I'm getting a ventricular resection just to play it safe.
Maybe ask yourself why having a distant ancestor who owned slaves has an effect on your identity. Are there some attributes of yourself that you associate with your family’s genetics? Do you feel expected to have a sense of loyalty to this person? Do you feel like this casts the actions or material position of your family in a different light? Would you feel better if you’d traced down every single ancestor and they’d all descended from European immigrants within the past 100 years? If so, why?
Publicly say that it would have been cool and good for his slaves or :john-brown: types to murder him.
Lol I was looking for something more broad scope, but if you need money dm me
Don't be a dickhead? Not much you can do to make up for that shit unless you're still getting material gains today from slavery.
Nope we are not even close to rich. Thanks though, Im sure you know that sick feeling you get in your stomach when you find out terrible news.
Been feeling that on and off since I found out.
For better or worse, nothing's changed except for your perception of yourself. Learning this information does not impact the total amount of racism in the world. It could, though - you get to decide what this story means to you and what you do with that meaning.
Sure, I'd feel shitty too but you're doing the right thing by not repeating history.
Being aware of your privilege, and using it (as much as it's possible) to provide safe spaces and material and moral support to oppressed peoples is part of being an active and respectful ally.
Also, learning when to shut up and listen is a huge one that I had to learn through a lot of mistakes.
The best antidote for that kind of malaise is to work against oppression in the here and now.
Just remember that you cannot change the past but you can be part of breaking the cycle. That's it. Just be tolerant and considerate of others. Be patient. It's not your fault. Nobody chooses to be born or who their ancestors are. Don't let it bog you down. They're dead, you are alive, you have a chance to make a positive impact in the world.
You have to kill ten slavers to redeem your family's honor.
Do at least 1 thing every single day to advocate for and spread communism.
You can't make it up to the victims of the past but we can try make things better for the victims of the present. Everyone currently getting harmed by the legacy is what counts and fighting for the real overturning of that legacy will change things for the better.
