The US House of Representatives has passed a voice vote measure
that
apologizes for slavery and then the following long time
"jim crow" discrimination laws.
"Slavery and Jim Crow are stains upon what is the
greatest nation on the face of the earth," Cohen said. Part
of forming a more perfect union, he said, "is such a
resolution as we have before us today where we face up to our
mistakes and apologize as anyone should apologize for things that
were done in the past that were wrong." ed.z.: About
dang time, too. Now start working on apologizing for supporting
and installing tinpot dictators all over the planet.
this is public record, here is the full text:
H. Res. 194 In the House of Representatives, U.
S.,July 29, 2008.
Whereas millions of Africans and their descendants were enslaved
in the United States and the 13 American colonies from 1619
through 1865;
Whereas slavery in America resembled no other form of involuntary
servitude known in history, as Africans were captured and sold at
auction like inanimate objects or animals;
Whereas Africans forced into slavery were brutalized, humiliated,
dehumanized, and subjected to the indignity of being stripped of
their names and heritage;
Whereas enslaved families were torn apart after having been sold
separately from one another;
Whereas the system of slavery and the visceral racism against
persons of African descent upon which it depended became
entrenched in the Nation's social fabric;
Whereas slavery was not officially abolished until the passage of
the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1865
after the end of the Civil War;
Whereas after emancipation from 246 years of slavery,
African-Americans soon saw the fleeting political, social, and
economic gains they made during Reconstruction eviscerated by
virulent racism, lynchings, disenfranchisement, Black Codes, and
racial segregation laws that imposed a rigid system of officially
sanctioned racial segregation in virtually all areas of life;
Whereas the system of de jure racial segregation known as `Jim
Crow,' which arose in certain parts of the Nation following
the Civil War to create separate and unequal societies for whites
and African-Americans, was a direct result of the racism against
persons of African descent engendered by slavery;
Whereas a century after the official end of slavery in America,
Federal action was required during the 1960s to eliminate the
dejure and defacto system of Jim Crow throughout parts of the
Nation, though its vestiges still linger to this day;
Whereas African-Americans continue to suffer from the complex
interplay between slavery and Jim Crow--long after both systems
were formally abolished--through enormous damage and loss, both
tangible and intangible, including the loss of human dignity, the
frustration of careers and professional lives, and the long-term
loss of income and opportunity;
Whereas the story of the enslavement and de jure segregation of
African-Americans and the dehumanizing atrocities committed
against them should not be purged from or minimized in the
telling of American history;
Whereas on July 8, 2003, during a trip to Goree Island, Senegal,
a former slave port, President George W. Bush acknowledged
slavery's continuing legacy in American life and the need to
confront that legacy when he stated that slavery `was . . . one
of the greatest crimes of history . . . The racial bigotry fed by
slavery did not end with slavery or with segregation. And many of
the issues that still trouble America have roots in the bitter
experience of other times. But however long the journey, our
destiny is set: liberty and justice for all.';
Whereas President Bill Clinton also acknowledged the deep-seated
problems caused by the continuing legacy of racism against
African-Americans that began with slavery when he initiated a
national dialogue about race;
Whereas a genuine apology is an important and necessary first
step in the process of racial reconciliation;
Whereas an apology for centuries of brutal dehumanization and
injustices cannot erase the past, but confession of the wrongs
committed can speed racial healing and reconciliation and help
Americans confront the ghosts of their past;
Whereas the legislature of the Commonwealth of Virginia has
recently taken the lead in adopting a resolution officially
expressing appropriate remorse for slavery and other State
legislatures have adopted or are considering similar resolutions;
and
Whereas it is important for this country, which legally
recognized slavery through its Constitution and its laws, to make
a formal apology for slavery and for its successor, Jim Crow, so
that it can move forward and seek reconciliation, justice, and
harmony for all of its citizens: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) acknowledges that slavery is incompatible with the basic
founding principles recognized in the Declaration of Independence
that all men are created equal;
(2) acknowledges the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality,
and inhumanity of slavery and Jim Crow;
(3) apologizes to African Americans on behalf of the people of
the United States, for the wrongs committed against them and
their ancestors who suffered under slavery and Jim Crow; and
(4) expresses its commitment to rectify the lingering
consequences of the misdeeds committed against African Americans
under slavery and Jim Crow and to stop the occurrence of human
rights violations in the future.
whereas the Congress of these United States abdicated their
constitutional duty mandated in Article 1 Section 8 of the
Constitution of the United States,
whereas the Congress and President did willfully and
treacherously conspire with the national and international
bankers to enact the Federal Reserve Act and create the Federal
Reserve System,
whereas this private Federal Reserve banking system with
valueless monies consisting of and backed by increasing
indebtedness exists to enslave the people, to commit usury, to
appropriate the people's wealth, to usurp the authority of
the Federal Government, to wage wars and globals economic
manipulations, and cede control to domestic and international
bankers and central banks, is an anathema to the liberty and
freedom of these United States,
whereas the Federal Reserve System is a party to
international banking cartels who with their machinations have
destroyed economies, devalued monies, committed acts of war
and mass murder and subverted the authority of elected
governments at home and abroad,
resolved, that the house of Representatives
(1) acknowledges that slavery is incompatible with the basic
founding principles recognized in the Declaration of Independence
that all men are created equal;
(2) acknowledges the fundamental injustice of a debt based
economic system and that it is de facto enslavement
(3) acknowledges the criminal acts of the illigitimate Federal
Reserve System including enslavement, theft, usury, and
destructive economic manipulations for the ends of private
stakeholders
(4) acknowledges the criminal acts and collaborations of the
Federal Reserve System and its bankers with international bankers
for these same evil ends and moreover of wars, mass murders,
piracy and plundering
(5) expresses its commitment to the elimination of this system
and its fiat monies, and the trial and prosecution of its members
and allies for betrayal of trust, high crimes and treasons
committed against these United States
Debt slavery is different, in that it doesn't discriminate
arbitrarily like skin-color slavery. It is only the
arbitrariness that they're really apologizing for. If
slavery was used as a punishment, like a prison work gang, it
would be more palatable.
The Greeks and Romans had slaves, but weren't assholes about
it.
I'm not so sure there isn't a racial component to our
debt slavery in disproportionately preying on and affecting
african americans, for example lender practices in regards to the
subprime mortgages have been questioned on this matter.
The Greeks and Romans had slaves, but weren't assholes
about it.
It might be possible that the impression of American slavery is
worse than that of Greek and Roman slavery because more American
slaves could write and their account of the time has survived,
while that of more ancient slaves has not. American slaves lived
in a post-Gutenberg age. There wasn't much opportunity for
poor people to read when book reproduction was as expensive as in
Greek and Roman times.
> whereas this private Federal Reserve banking
system with valueless monies consisting of and backed by
increasing indebtedness exists to enslave the people, to commit
usury, to appropriate the people's wealth, to usurp the
authority of the Federal Government, to wage wars and globals
economic manipulations, and cede control to domestic and
international bankers and central banks, is an anathema to the
liberty and freedom of these United States,
Where to start? Should I even bother?
"valueless monies": last time I checked the same
money existed before the federal reserve, and currently is still
valuable. I'll happily take yours off your hand if you
disagree ;-)
"increasing indebtedness": The Treasury is the one
borrowing the money. The Fed borrows nothing.
"enslave the people": Because of personal debt? You
think there was no personal debt pre-Fed? You think the median
person is poorer now than they were pre-Fed?
"to wage wars": I don't recall the Fed doing
this. Care to name one?
"globals economic manipulations": I'd agree
with "domestic economic manipulations". You have a
valid argument that no group should be able to do this from a
freedom perspective, but an argument could be made that these
"economic manipulations" have done us more good than
harm. Again, open to debate
"cede control to domestic and international bankers and
central banks": well, they are a central bank. Control of
what? Monetary policy, yes, but little else. Why would you care
that they control this if it as you claim "valueless"?
money is created on the basis of debt and increasing
indebtedness: of people, businesses and the government.
There are and were alternative systems, even those in which debt
is forbidden.
power is held by oligarchs, enslavement occurs when self
governing, wealth and life is taken from the people to further
the private interests of oligarchs. Examples of these
oligarchs include oil tycoons, defense contractors, central
bankers.
war is waged to the benefit of those oligarchs and their
interests, the history of warfare in western civilization has
much to do with the history of banking.
I'm sorry you don't know how your world works or worked,
however with the events of the next 12 months or more you will
have a clearer idea
> I'm sorry you don't know how your world works or
worked, however with the events of the next 12 months or more you
will have a clearer idea
By all measurements we're better off than any generation that
proceeded us. The world is safer, better educated, healthier, and
more prosperous now than ever. Thanks for the apology but I think
you should look at data (facts Bubba) rather than the voices in
your head.
Well that assumes an economic crash comparable to the Depression.
A rather large "if". Assuming it's a realistic
possibility, you'd recommend moving the urban population back
to farms now
just in case?
People with the wealth to do so have been buying land and
arranging to get away to it while the bad stuff's going down.
While I can't afford more than a few house lots here and
there, I did lay in an emergency food supply that would feed my
family for more than 4 months.
I've only got called once, then they didn't need to use
me. Since then I got one more notice, but the middle name was
different, I called up to check on it, they said never mind. Now
if I did get called and went down to sit, I'd keep my mouth
shut but I'd be looking at constitutional angles to the
entire case, if it looked wrong, tough nooogies for them, I'd
balk at any conviction then. And that is well known for like ages
so that is probably the list I am on, the do not call for jury
duty because he would take it seriously list. I haven't flown
since the mid 90s so no idea if I am on the no fly list or the
hassle every time list, and no big desire to try it out either.
Conscription should be abandoned as unconstitutional. In
times of national crisis, where the country is attacked, we have
not had any shortage of volunteers.
I've seen suggestions of professional jurors, but haven't
look into it in depth.
On conscription, that is a good point, and perhaps if we have a
shortage of volunteers, that should signal something.
I dont know about professional jurors, though. We would not
have "real people" but bureaucrats, jaded people who
have perhaps have seen too much ugliness to do this job
well. One thing that would probably work is to offer the
random jurors 2 ro 3 x their usual documented pay for serving in
this way. That might also keep the more intelligent ones
engaged in the process.
In my current job at my current pay I can legally make ~$290 in a
day. If I go to jury duty I will make $5.
See the problem?
There is no shortage of lawyers or judges but they have a serious
shortage of people who are willing to give up a day/week/month of
their regular pay for $5 a day.
If they paid a market wage for jurors they would have no shortage
of willing volunteers. Not that I'm saying they should do
that under the current system because I'm opposed to the
forced government monopoly on 'justice'.
Would be pretty hard to prosecute victimless crimes though as
there wouldn't be anyone to press charges.
Many, many examples of private court systems throughout history
that functioned quite well until governments discovered that it
was essential for them to control this aspect of society to
increase their power over the people.
Jury duty is one of the most direct ways in which citizens can
control against the government's abuse of power. When
else can a single person rebuff the government? A single
person, disagreeing with the government's case, can hang a
jury. A few like minded individuals can acquit an accused
wrong do-er. See jury nullification.
Jury duty, like elections, the balance of power, freedom of
speech and press, and the right to bear arms, is a structural
mechanism written in the U.S. Constitution to act as a check
against abuse.
Just look to Thomas Jefferson: "I consider trial by jury as
the only anchor yet imagined by man by which a government can be
held to the principles of its constitution."
It's sad that Americans try to avoid using one of their
greatest individual powers.
First, jury nullification doesn't effect the law just the
case before you. If all juries in all cases nullify a certain law
then it would have a lasting effect but other than that it's
just a roll of the dice on the part of the DA.
I prefer my freedom from slavery to the off chance that I get
selected on a case where a bad law is the sole charge so I can
nullify the charges.
Second, I think that nullification is merely a placebo and it
would be much better if the State were unable to pass bad law to
begin with.
And finally, I see no evidence that compulsory jury trials have
in any way stopped the growth of the State since as you get into
the higher levels there are no juries but panels of judges who
are themselves agents of the State.
True, jury nullification has no precedential effect and, yes, it
would be better for society if the government never abused power
in the first place. Jury nullification is not a panacea,
but it is a power juries have. Being on a criminal jury is
a source of power and it is a shame that we see it as an
annoyance.
In the criminal context, in the United States, once a jury
acquits you, there is no appeal. Appellate panels are
irrelevant in the U.S. criminal context.
Do juries prevent the expansion of governmental power? I
would argue they do, even if they haven't eliminated such
expansion.
As an aside, juries in the civil context are less important to
state power than the criminal context. In general, civil
cases involving the expansion of state power are rarely tried in
front of a jury because (1) rarely is there do a seventh
amendment right in such cases and (2) issues of state power are
usually resolved at summary judgment, which does not involve a
jury.
Appellate panels are irrelevant in the U.S. criminal
context.
To clarify, they are irrelevant after an acquittal, barring
extremely exceptional cases with bizarre procedural history (and
even those are suspect given the current makeup of the US Supreme
Court).
I didn't intend to tie in the appeals process with the jury
nullification issue if that clears it up a bit.
What I meant to say that a bad law that makes it past the initial
trial is strictly in the hands of the judicial branch.
I am also somewhat suspect of mandatory sentences handed down
from the legislative branch as an end run around both the jurors
and judges. How many true criminals were allowed to go free
because the jury didn't feel that life in prison under three
strikes fit their crime I wonder. Or how many people have some
seriously long prison terms for petty theft or minute amounts of
drugs in their possession.
Mandatory sentencing is strongly contested in the legal field, at
least in the US. The US Supreme Court recently struck down
mandatory sentencing guidelines in a decision that could
invalidate the majority of those laws. I agree with the Court on
this one. The judiciary is an equal branch, not subordinate
to the legislature.
As for three strikes, in California the presence of previous
strikes is generally withheld from the jury as being too
prejudicial. There is an argument that withholding such
information prevents the jury from exercising its power of
nullification. Most judges don't like nullification,
however, and see no problem from withholding that information.
I have a friend who's grandmother (of Europen decent) was a
slave. We're not talking indentured slavery here.
She was "a slave." Bought, and paid for.
Now I'll admit that I just scanned through that bill
(legalese gives me a headache), but it certainly appeared to be
focused on "Africans and their descendants." So does
that mean that the US congress, in it's mad rush to be
politically correct, is going to ignore any other forms of
slavery not associated with Africans?
If that's the case, then it would appear the House is
actually only apologizing for getting African's involved, and
not actually apologizing for slavery. Maybe a
"separate but equal" apology is going to come about for
non-African slavery?
[personal opinion]
I think way to many times modern perspectives like to skim over
parts of the past we're not comfortable with. Currently
(in a historical perspective) it's in vogue to "feel
for" the atrocities done towards some Africans during the
times in question. However, it would be far more civil to
acknowledge that in the past we, as humans (those that run
around befouling the US as the only source of slavery world wide
need to get a clue), have F'ed up.
However, in these times of thinking "it's not my
fault," acknowledging a world wide F'up wouldn't
allow individual groups of people to feel a personal
besmirchment. For that matter, the individual groups might
just have to admit they were part of that peculiar human race
that F'ed up. "This will not do."
[Pink Floyd - The
Wall]
[/personal opinion]
By the way, as for the comment by "Charles E Hill"
about "The Greeks and Romans had slaves, but weren't
assholes about it;" how can making your slaves fight
large wild animals (lions, tigers, etc) until the death, for the
amusement of the populous not count as being "an asshole
about it?"
By the way, as for the comment by "Charles E Hill"
about "The Greeks and Romans had slaves, but weren't
assholes about it;" how can making your slaves fight
large wild animals (lions, tigers, etc) until the death, for the
amusement of the populous not count as being "an asshole
about it?"
That seems to be the extreme minority position of some slave
owners in the (late?) Roman empire.
Being a slave was by no means desirable in the Roman era, but it
held key differences from slavery in America.
Manumission was one, whereby a slave could earn or purchase his
freedom. Slaves were freed in great numbers by the Romans.
Staking people out for wild animals was usually reserved for
criminals. Armed gladiators fighting animals was cruel, but
not much different in how their military was treated. Most
were criminals or prisoners of war. Win and you were hailed
as a victor, lose and die. Training was provided in both
cases, and it isn't like Rome had a defensive army -- they
WERE an empire -- so a career in the military was fairly short as
well.
The American version of slavery was more arbitrary and
capricious.
I have a friend who's grandmother (of Europen decent) was
a slave.
You've piqued my interest. I've heard of English,
Scottish, Welsh, and Irish indentured servents, but never heard
of recent European slavery. What's the story?
House Passes Slavery Apology
The US House of Representatives has passed a voice vote measure that apologizes for slavery and then the following long time "jim crow" discrimination laws.
"Slavery and Jim Crow are stains upon what is the greatest nation on the face of the earth," Cohen said. Part of forming a more perfect union, he said, "is such a resolution as we have before us today where we face up to our mistakes and apologize as anyone should apologize for things that were done in the past that were wrong." ed.z.: About dang time, too. Now start working on apologizing for supporting and installing tinpot dictators all over the planet.
this is public record, here is the full text:
H. Res. 194 In the House of Representatives, U. S., July 29, 2008.
Whereas millions of Africans and their descendants were enslaved in the United States and the 13 American colonies from 1619 through 1865;
Whereas slavery in America resembled no other form of involuntary servitude known in history, as Africans were captured and sold at auction like inanimate objects or animals;
Whereas Africans forced into slavery were brutalized, humiliated, dehumanized, and subjected to the indignity of being stripped of their names and heritage;
Whereas enslaved families were torn apart after having been sold separately from one another;
Whereas the system of slavery and the visceral racism against persons of African descent upon which it depended became entrenched in the Nation's social fabric;
Whereas slavery was not officially abolished until the passage of the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1865 after the end of the Civil War;
Whereas after emancipation from 246 years of slavery, African-Americans soon saw the fleeting political, social, and economic gains they made during Reconstruction eviscerated by virulent racism, lynchings, disenfranchisement, Black Codes, and racial segregation laws that imposed a rigid system of officially sanctioned racial segregation in virtually all areas of life;
Whereas the system of de jure racial segregation known as `Jim Crow,' which arose in certain parts of the Nation following the Civil War to create separate and unequal societies for whites and African-Americans, was a direct result of the racism against persons of African descent engendered by slavery;
Whereas a century after the official end of slavery in America, Federal action was required during the 1960s to eliminate the dejure and defacto system of Jim Crow throughout parts of the Nation, though its vestiges still linger to this day;
Whereas African-Americans continue to suffer from the complex interplay between slavery and Jim Crow--long after both systems were formally abolished--through enormous damage and loss, both tangible and intangible, including the loss of human dignity, the frustration of careers and professional lives, and the long-term loss of income and opportunity;
Whereas the story of the enslavement and de jure segregation of African-Americans and the dehumanizing atrocities committed against them should not be purged from or minimized in the telling of American history;
Whereas on July 8, 2003, during a trip to Goree Island, Senegal, a former slave port, President George W. Bush acknowledged slavery's continuing legacy in American life and the need to confront that legacy when he stated that slavery `was . . . one of the greatest crimes of history . . . The racial bigotry fed by slavery did not end with slavery or with segregation. And many of the issues that still trouble America have roots in the bitter experience of other times. But however long the journey, our destiny is set: liberty and justice for all.';
Whereas President Bill Clinton also acknowledged the deep-seated problems caused by the continuing legacy of racism against African-Americans that began with slavery when he initiated a national dialogue about race;
Whereas a genuine apology is an important and necessary first step in the process of racial reconciliation;
Whereas an apology for centuries of brutal dehumanization and injustices cannot erase the past, but confession of the wrongs committed can speed racial healing and reconciliation and help Americans confront the ghosts of their past;
Whereas the legislature of the Commonwealth of Virginia has recently taken the lead in adopting a resolution officially expressing appropriate remorse for slavery and other State legislatures have adopted or are considering similar resolutions; and
Whereas it is important for this country, which legally recognized slavery through its Constitution and its laws, to make a formal apology for slavery and for its successor, Jim Crow, so that it can move forward and seek reconciliation, justice, and harmony for all of its citizens: Now, therefore, be it