Quote:
This attitude has by no means died out entirely. I once had a conversation with a very well-educated woman in North Carolina who stoutly insisted that blacks had been better off under slavery. She insisted that all the tales of beatings, rape, mutilation, and murder were clearly nonsense -- since it was "obviously" in the best interest of the slave-owner to take good care of his property.
Apparently, she wholeheartedly believed the propaganda about the happy slaves singing joyfully all day long as they worked, glad to be here in America, rather than back in nasty old Africa.
I'd write this off as an isolated incident except for the fact that when I was living in North Carolina, I used to see "Letters to the Editor" in the local newspapers claiming just that every now and again -- namely that blacks were better off under slavery than they are now. There was something of a fuss (this would be about 10 years ago now) when a local community college hired someone to teach a history course, and he taught that slavery was a benign institution, and that the Emancipation was one of the worst things that could have happened to African-Americans. Needless to say, a lot of people were rather upset by this.
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Wow. What an ignorant view. I do not think I've ever heard anyone claim they were better off in slavery, although I have heard the argument that the whites were better off.
To the education thing. ...Do you think that those students are chided in the same manner for "acting white" as a white student might be chided for being a bookworm, an egghead, or a geek?