Stolen from Utsanati
Song of the South I take a well deserved break at work today, pick up my copy of the AJC, and I turn to the "Letters to the Editor" page.
I love this page, and I always read it first. Why? Because it is easy to read the rest of the paper and look at corrupt businessmen and politicians, and get angry and shocked and shout cuss words at them. After all, they are different. We Joe Normals are good folk, and if we could just get some money/public office, *we'd* sure straigthen this country out, by George.
That is why I read the letters. It shows me, time and time again, that I am correct in my assumption that at least 80% of the citizens in this country are wastes of skin.
Today there were two real winners, both of whom wrote in regarding Alabama's and Georgia's recent decision to appoligize for slavery:
Ask Africa to Say Sorry for Its Role
"The Alabama House and Senate have approved a resolution apologizing for slavery. I think it's important to discuss the source of Southern Slaves and the need to expand outside of the United States to achieve the stated goals of these resolutions. The slave trade was largely a byproduct of tribal and state warfare as a way of removing potential dissidents after victory or financing future wars. In the interest of healing and political correctness, shouldn't African-American leadership obtain formal apologies from African states and other participants in the slavery supply chain?" - Joe Shaulis, Marietta.
Now, in Joe's defense, it is indeed true that other Africans sold Africans into the slave trade. It is also true that when dicussing slavery, this important fact is often glazed over, if not omitted entirely. Still, and maybe it is the "In the interest of healing and political correctness" remark, this letter seems less like an opportunity for sincere discussion and more of a grownup way of saying "Well, Jimmy hit Billy, and he said *I* could hit Billy, so..."
But that letter is flawless compared to this piece of work:
Ask Black People to Say Thank You
"So the NAACP wants an apology for slavery. I was thinking more along the lines of the NAACP giving a letter of thanks to the people of this country. We brought African slaves to the greatest country in the world bar none. No continent or country has done as much for the black man as has the USA. Our poor people are considered rich by Third World Standards. Our treatment of the American Indians and blacks was brutal, but what they got back was unprecedented in history. Shouldn't black people say thanks to the more than 300,000 white men who died in the Civil War for their right to be free?" - W.H. Pool, Fairburn
Ain't it great when stupid people try to sound smart? You know this little fella stayed up til 2am cranking out this gem. He probably feels so proud. I really don't know where to start on this one, so I'll just list:
1. If you think the 300,000 white men died in the Civil War (and I'm assuming he means Union Troops) trying to free black people, then you probably think Lincoln actually freed the slaves. Lincoln (and most people, sadly, at the time), didn't care about the slaves, and neither did the troops. The emancipation proclaimation only freed the slaves in the Confederacy (a punishment from Lincoln). Since they had seceeded, that means the emancipation proclaimation didn't free a single slave. In fact, Lincoln was quoted as saying, "My only concern is the endurance of the country. If I can preserve this Union by abolishing slavery, I'll do it. If I can preserve this country by endorsing slavery, I'll do that too." I only say this because, if the Commander in Chief didn't care, what makes you think those infantry men did?
2. "Our treatment of the American Indians and blacks was brutal, but what they got back was unprecedented in history". Are you kidding me?
Sorry black people. Our bad. We didn't realize it was going to be such a big deal that we enslaved, beat, murdered, maimed, raped, and tortured you. But hey, we gave you fourty acres and a mule right? Okay, so we didn't really, but we're cool right? Right?
And Mr. Indian, sorry about the whole stealing your land thing. Still, its kinda your fault, you know. You should have hired a good real estate transaction attorney. You should have read the fine print on those treaties. But, tell you what, since you look like a nice kid that'll keep himself out of trouble, how about a reservation with a Casino? Not enough? Well, you are a tough sell. We'll throw in all the fire water you can drink.
3. "We brought African slaves to the greatest country in the world bar none." Is he serious? Yeah, I guess we did, didn't we (if you really think America is the greatest, fine, I'll swallow that for sake of arguement). Kind of like taking a child to Disneyworld, and telling him he gets to work in the kitchen... forever... with beatings.
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