[JohnnyLingo]

This is far more than caca like Lingo deserves. He dosen't deserve to be treated seriously, including any efforts at enlightenment. I would try to scrape him off my shoe and move on.

For a place that's supposed to promote open discussion, this attitude is shockingly prevalent here at the good ol' Cougarguard.

I dont know how to do that thing where you selectively break up a post into various quotes, so apologies beforehand..

1. Your point about why "obsess" over the US variety of slavery strikes me as incredibly insensitive overly simplistic. Maybe you are purposely being obtuse, but it seems narrow-minded to advocate historical amnesia simply because similar problems exist elsewhere beyond our borders. One very good reason that we should keep race struggles in the public conscious is that, for better AND worse, it promotes dialogue and progress. yes, the progress can be slow, and yes, there are those on both sides of the argument that have agendas. But those in society who have no real voice still benefit by our collective awareness of slavery, racism, and other societal injustices. We arent anywhere near perfect as a country, though, I admit. we still have lots of work to do.

I'm not a fan of the idea that we need to keep race struggles in the public consciousness. I'm not advocating historical amnesia; we need to remember the past, if just to avoid making the same mistakes over and over.

But I don't think we can ever heal as a nation if we keep picking at the scab of slavery. Looking at the scar is not the same as ripping the stitches open over and over again, if that analogy makes any sense.

2. The Jews/Holocaust comparison--thanks for saying it sucks. Maybe it does, which is why I couched it beforehand. Your point seemed to be an "ends justifies the means" approach to slavery. While jews would have remained in Europe and been "just fine," I guess you are saying that those that live in Africa are, for the most part, not fine and unhappy? You could be right, I have no way of proving how people in Africa feel about living in Africa. I know plenty of Americans that are unhappy here, too. Doesnt mean that it is not a great place to live. I have a feeling many Africans are happy to live in their home countries. Also, had jews remained in Europe and been just fine, would there have been an Israel? I don't know.

I definitely do not believe in an "ends justify the means" viewpoint in regards to slavery. I don't believe slavery was good because it brought individuals to America, a land of great freedoms and opportunity.

I'm not even saying Africans aren't happy, because that phrase is too universal to make sense. In terms of happiness, the average African is probably more satisfied with their life than the average American is.

But if being here is so much worse than being in Africa, no one is stopping Americans from moving.

3. Why would the US pay reparations to Holocaust victims? I know that there was a recent case in LA where a holocaust decendant living locally was able to procure lost art that the Nazi's stole during the War. The art recently surfaced in Europe and this woman staked her claim to it. But the US was not a party to the litigation. I cant imagine anyone asking the US to pay them for what happened in the Holocaust.

We wouldn't... I was thinking Germans. Either way, I don't like the idea of reparations happening several generations down the road. Every person has control of their own life... yes our parents and grandparents affect us, but the farther back that line goes, the less that's true.

Mormons today have no problems living in Illinois. Blacks today are still persecuted and discriminated against.

Bwahaha... Mormons never experience prejudice. Funny.