you have no idea about the amount of pro Confederate brainwashing I was subjected to as a child, from basically every adult I knew (including teachers)
"Not only did EVERYONE have slaves but a lot of slaveowners were kind and generous. Oh and there were white slaves too so it wasn't racist. Oh and the slaveowners would give their slaves presents on Christmas. You see they weren't really oppressed just because they got whipped or whatever, the slaves were like a big family. They even sang songs together. Oh and they became Christians so that's good, right? So they were slaves for a little but they got to go to Heaven, see? :)"
Additionally, besides the abolitionist movements within slaving empires, most 'primitive' cultures on Earth either had no slavery or had temporary forms of bondage that didn't reduce people to a tradable piece of property. Without great imperial wars and the international slave trade, slaves were members of the community with rights, rights which would be restored to full status after a time. Still wrong and exploitative, obviously, but in the grand scheme of things the more brutal forms of slavery were unique creations of the strongest and most advanced civilizations, the ones that claimed moral superiority.
The late anarchist anthropologist David Graeber in his book Debt, The First 5000 Years ties the trade in human beings to debt from interest bearing loans and conquest. But even in the societies where debt led to slavery, there were mechanisms like the jubilee, that canceled all debts and released all slaves every 50 years. So it was only conquest and violent seizure of human beings from their communities, the breaking of all social bonds, which permanently reduced them to pieces of property - something that most people most of the time did not practice.
EVERYONE had slaves back then, it was normal.
Y'know, apart from the very prominent abolitionist movement that had incredibly well known public figures backing it and yet was ignored for decades.
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No but you don't understand, EVERYONE had slaves back then. I know this because I am a very smart liberal.
But also, my grand pappy didn't own slaves (I promise!) so why should there be reparations?
They're called slaves.
Well I'm opposed to slavery and I-
Oh
you have no idea about the amount of pro Confederate brainwashing I was subjected to as a child, from basically every adult I knew (including teachers)
"Not only did EVERYONE have slaves but a lot of slaveowners were kind and generous. Oh and there were white slaves too so it wasn't racist. Oh and the slaveowners would give their slaves presents on Christmas. You see they weren't really oppressed just because they got whipped or whatever, the slaves were like a big family. They even sang songs together. Oh and they became Christians so that's good, right? So they were slaves for a little but they got to go to Heaven, see? :)"
EVERYONE was okay with slavery back then....
You know except the slaves, I bet. But their opinions don't count.
Hmm. Was there any known abolitionist movement way back in Roman times?
TL;DR yes
Additionally, besides the abolitionist movements within slaving empires, most 'primitive' cultures on Earth either had no slavery or had temporary forms of bondage that didn't reduce people to a tradable piece of property. Without great imperial wars and the international slave trade, slaves were members of the community with rights, rights which would be restored to full status after a time. Still wrong and exploitative, obviously, but in the grand scheme of things the more brutal forms of slavery were unique creations of the strongest and most advanced civilizations, the ones that claimed moral superiority.
The late anarchist anthropologist David Graeber in his book Debt, The First 5000 Years ties the trade in human beings to debt from interest bearing loans and conquest. But even in the societies where debt led to slavery, there were mechanisms like the jubilee, that canceled all debts and released all slaves every 50 years. So it was only conquest and violent seizure of human beings from their communities, the breaking of all social bonds, which permanently reduced them to pieces of property - something that most people most of the time did not practice.