I think… Apology
One trend in politics today are for today’s politicians to apologize for mistakes made, in many cases, before the politician was even born, and in some cases before the politician was dreaming of being a politician. In the United States this practice includes (on occasion) the apology for whites have enslaved blacks during the years of slavery. There are other apologies that take place, but that one creeps up now and again. It’s disturbing to me to think that we need to feel, again and again, that we (as a nation) need to apologize for something that happened before any one of us were born.
In my mind, I would think it was enough that we are not only not practicing slavery, but that we vehemently view the practice of slavery. And yet, sooner or later, another politician will stand up before a crowd, and with cameras rolling, will state something like, “The state of Whatsitsname wants to apologize for our role in slavery.”
The end.
Not quite. In World War II Japan enlisted a corps of women they called “Comfort Women.” Basically, this was a group of women who were, for lack of better phrasing, prostitutes. There is some evidence that this might have been forced (on the women) and in 1993 the Japanese government (think, no one alive who was in charge then; no one in charge who was alive then) apologized for the practice. Granted, there is the possibility that someone who made that decision was still in power well past their retirement years, but the likelihood is actually rather small.
These women may have come from conquered territories of Japan. They may have been forced. That is a black smudge on the Japanese government of the time; but, and I love to repeat this, no one in power in 1993 was responsible for the acts done during World War II.
However, you can feel back about acts of previous generations, previous administrations, and a statement like, “The state of Whatsitsname feels sorrow over the historical role it played in slavery,” gives a different connotation. I still think it’s asinine and stupid, I still think it’s a government official pandering for votes and an assembly trying to prove that they do care about the public, and completely unnecessary and useless, but it changes the nature and tone of the statement. Instead of admitting (today) culpability for an act you had nothing to do with, you admit that collectively you might feel bad that someone in your state, a predecessor, had something to do with an abhorrent act.
And yet, we continue to pander to minority groups that have no further claim to fame than the abuse the supposed ancestors went through at the hands of someone else’s supposed ancestor. Now, I can’t say with 100% accuracy that I am not descended from someone who owned slaves (my dad’s side of the family history stops pretty quickly at present), but I am farely certain that I am not. I have a really good idea where most of my generations came from, and truth told, a lot of my families history deals with stereotypes and abuse; not to mention the religious history of persecution and abuse. And yet, I don’t expect, nor want, someone to say to me, “I apologize for my states (or the governments) role in the persecution someone you might be related to went through.”
I think that various communities look at situations and then think, “I can manipulate that to my own benefit. They then start to make noise. Enough people makes noise and Whatsitsname makes an open apology. Sooner or later someone says, “Let’s talk money,” and then makes more noise. The outcome, at least hoped for, is that the government, which has deep pockets, will reach deep down inside and will pay out post-mortem reparations. Because, deep down inside, Whatsitsname is sorry for it’s historic role in slavery.
There comes a point where no one is alive that suffered at the hands of slavery, or prostitution, or certain government abuses. There comes a time when it is necessary to say, “That was a bad thing, but there is nothing I can do to change it and your asking me to change things is stupid.” In my mind it falls under the same category as the statement:
There are no stupid questions.
Yes, actually there are stupid questions and, yes, some people ask very stupid questions. That shouldn’t be encouraged. Apologizing for someone else’s mistakes might make someone feel better today but it doesn’t fix the mistake that was made. It doesn’t change the history of slavery in America, Europe, South America, or Asia. We don’t get to look at our ancestors and speak for them. We don’t get to say, “I am sorry,” because we didn’t cause the problem to begin with.
Everyone alive today is a product of someone else’s choices. They are the product of slavery or war or prostitution or religious persecution or they are the product of the persecutor the religionist the pimp the warrior the slaver or a thousand thousand other things. We are all the product of decisions and choices that were made by other people. Some of those people made the best choice availably to them, they are good people. Other’s made bad choices and were inherently bad people. We will never be allowed to speak for them. We will never be allowed to apologize for them. No matter the platitude put forward by the Japanese government or the Whatsitsname government, it doesn’t change the facts. Whites (and other ethnicities) owned slaves. The slaves were gathered in Africa and taken to Europe and the New World. This took place for hundreds of years. Nothing stated today is going to change that and it is foolishness for someone, anyone, alive today and in some form of power to take credit for something they didn’t do.
Its closing the barn door after the cows have gotten out. Sure, closing the barn door was probably a good idea; but since it is after the fact, that good idea is a moot point. It doesn’t matter. The cows are out. The acts are done.
The real difference, though, is that you can gather the cows and put them back. You cannot gather slave owners or politicians and the slaves and make the former apologize to the latter. It’s not possible. That’s the beauty (and curse) of time.
John Hattaway | smokingpen | Alicia Grey | Bond. James Bond