ellis@spar.UUCP (Michael Ellis) (02/19/85)
> The standard of living of Canada, which had no slaves, is about the same as > the U.S.; if the slaves added so much, this wouldn't be so. One could > easily argue that slavery held the economy back so that if there were no > slaves the country would be far wealthier. All of the facts seem to point > to slavery and the subsequent black poverty as a drain on national > resources. Exactly! Though oppression of one group by another will result in a higher standard of living for the oppressors relative to that of the oppressed, the average of both groups is likely to be below what it would be if everybody had an equal opportunity. Sensible and effective equal opportunity programs are in EVERYBODY's best interest! > It is too late to rectify the injustice of slavery, since those wronged > are dead. Apparently you misunderstood my initial point -- that whites hold an upper hand in this country because they inherited it from their ancestors. And that inheritance was not strictly land and money; it has been social, in the form of superior opportunities for the privileged, and discrimination against the disenfranchised and their descendents. Whether whites stand guilty of possession of a stolen birthright is primarily a matter of what moral code you follow. Ideally, I'd hope that those with wealth and power would WANT to display generosity, regardless of the morality by which that advantage was acquired. Practically, the expansion our highly productive middle class by embracing those formerly excluded will mean increased vitality for our entire society. -michael ps: For those in net.music, an amazing spirit of unity and optimism, tempered by awareness of the awesome problems ahead, appears to be expressing itself in forms as diverse as rap, juju and reggae. The feeling is surprisingly not one of anger, but of understanding, self-sufficiency, pride and even compassion for the oppressors. For instance: Here's another point of life you should not miss Do not be a fool who's prejudiced because we're all laying down on the same list It's like that boy and that's the way it is Or: When I woke up this morning and got out of bed I had some really fresh thoughts floating thru my head They were the thoughts that came from a wonderful dream It was a vision of the world working as a team Such music was clearly intended to be heard by people of all races. Those interested might check out the below: Run D.M.C. - "Run D.M.C." (excerpts quoted in this article) Mutabaruka - "Check It" Africa Baambata and James Brown - "Unity" Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five Burning Spear - "Marcus Garvey" There's much more...
rastaman@ihdev.UUCP (Rastaman) (02/20/85)
> ps: For those in net.music, an amazing spirit of unity and optimism, tempered > by awareness of the awesome problems ahead, appears to be expressing > itself in forms as diverse as rap, juju and reggae. The feeling is > surprisingly not one of anger, but of understanding, self-sufficiency, > pride and even compassion for the oppressors. For instance: > > Run D.M.C. - "Run D.M.C." (excerpts quoted in this article) > Mutabaruka - "Check It" > Africa Baambata and James Brown - "Unity" > Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five > Burning Spear - "Marcus Garvey" I would argue that Mutabaruka is not a compassionate individual. On "Check It" the song "Blacks in England" has a couple of lines that stick in mind: "We fire our guns and the blood does run..." "...light up the chalice. I say 'im should 'ave burned down the palace." I'll keep future discussions confined to net.music. J. Johnson ihnp4!ihdev!rastaman