leeslover Posted March 24, 2007 Author Share Posted March 24, 2007 With no apology thus far, how does anyone know? This is true, but you could make the same argument for any proposition, it can only be proved wrong if you do it. Rather than ask whether something like an apology would make people feel better, I prefer to ask whether it is justified or morally required to do it - in this case I think that we're 200 years behind the times. I regret the slave trade just as I regret the genocide in Rwanda, ethnic cleansing in the Balkans, the murder of Jews, Gypsies, gays, Commies, the disabled and others in National Socialist Germany, and Stalin's numerous offences - but I feel for anyone alive today to apologise for the actions of British people over 200 years ago makes much less sense than to expect a German the same age as me to apologise to me for the conduct of his country during the war - or for anyone to do it on his behalf. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tactically_naive Posted March 24, 2007 Share Posted March 24, 2007 The German government has never apologised for their predecessors in WW2, although the former West German government did in the 70s. Doesn't mean to say that it's correct in withholding an apology. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
footy68 Posted March 25, 2007 Share Posted March 25, 2007 I guess the Egyptians, Romans, Greeks, Persians and all the rest of the past 'super powers' had better doth their caps and apologise. We certainly were not the first. Our ancestors were slaves a long time before the 1800's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ackey Posted March 25, 2007 Share Posted March 25, 2007 The German government has never apologised for their predecessors in WW2, although the former West German government did in the 70s. Doesn't mean to say that it's correct in withholding an apology. They should do though, yes! I don't want to go off on a tangent - so I'll leave it. I guess the Egyptians, Romans, Greeks, Persians and all the rest of the past 'super powers' had better doth their caps and apologise. We certainly were not the first. Our ancestors were slaves a long time before the 1800's. True, but several of those no longer exist... the UK government is now as it was then, however the Roman Empire fell, as did the Persian and Greek (I think, although I admit I know less about this). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
footy68 Posted March 25, 2007 Share Posted March 25, 2007 But slavery still exists today, though in a different guise. The abolition was for slave trading, we traded slaves internationally, people have just been on the news crying about it. Yes it was wrong, yes it was awful, but look at the cockle pickers at Morecambe they are slaves and are traded between (I suppose) gangsters, cry for them, stop that happening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astottie Posted March 25, 2007 Share Posted March 25, 2007 But slavery still exists today, though in a different guise. The abolition was for slave trading, we traded slaves internationally, people have just been on the news crying about it. Yes it was wrong, yes it was awful, but look at the cockle pickers at Morecambe they are slaves and are traded between (I suppose) gangsters, cry for them, stop that happening. Think everyone may be missing a point here. Can't remember any official mention that this anniversary was coming up. It seems to have generated all it's interest purely because the BBC decided to have a season on it - must have run out of celebs to send some where. No other media outlet seems to have prepared anything on this , they are all responding to what the Beeb has done. So all of a sudden the BBC has sent everyman and his dog off to the Caribbean to coincide with the cricket world cup. Cynical me? And that bloke from Casualty is making a blinking fortune. I keep expecting him to be reading the weather as he is on everything else on the TV or radio 5. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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