My writing research leads to a rant-thread about reparations

Doing research on Reparations and what role Norway and Denmark played in the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, and the utter ignorance and stupidity of the comments after reading one of the articles left me breathless. The same arguments that Africans sold their own into slavery, why should I pay, blah blah blah. First off, you fools aren't paying these reparations.

It's institutions, organizations, and in some cases, local governments that will be allocating these Reparation funds. Regular citizens will not. So. Just. STOP. Furthermore, let's get something straight about the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. 

The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade was different from any other slavery that was and is still being practiced. The closest to it was Sharecropping(USA Jim Crow era) but took some of its ideas from Western European Serfdom(100s of yrs earlier).

Most other cultures and countries that had slavery, even in the ancient Roman Empire, gave their slaves the chance to earn their freedom. To even gain citizenship. Also, slavery practiced in many cultures had it limited TO INDIVIDUALS.

Slaves were often prisoners of war, but still accorded certain dignities. What made the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade so very different was that it PUNISHED future generations. Your children and children's children would STILL be enslaved even after you've died.

Furthermore, even after the abolishing of Slavery, the US South still held on to their slaves and other countries continued the "practice" such as Denmark. Also, lest we forget that the Sharecropping system(which is STILL in existence in the US TODAY), was a direct retaliation to the US South having to literally FREE THEIR SLAVES under punishment by the North.

Not to mention that governments around the world, especially from nations that took part in the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade have levied steep penalties and loans to African nations that are still paying TO THIS DAY.

As well as Black communities in the US that continue to struggle on their own because of wealth, businesses, livelihoods, and other forms of power stolen from them. The Robin Hood Legend is misunderstood just like the idea of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and the idea of Reparations. We often say that Robin Hood stole from the rich to give to the poor...

But this is false... It was the rich, wealthy, and powerful, as they've always done and continue to do, to STEAL FROM the poor, the destitute, and the powerless. Robin Hood was simply taking back and returning what was stolen from the poor to make the rich richer and made the poor poorer. The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade stole much of what would've helped had it remained. 

Folks have to understand that a lot of organizations and institutions and even Old Wealth families gained a lot from the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade at the detriment of OTHER nations and communities. Before you get angry at me for saying this, question yourself and why. 

This isn't ABOUT YOU. It is about a global wrong that was enacted on many countries and global communities who are still in present-day pain. True freedom, equality, and equity is only achieved when EVERYONE is free. 

And that means paying back countries, nations, and communities that suffered and continue to suffer in the present day.

The Relay of Traumatic Events

I tried to use this as a Twitter reply and realized it might serve better as a blog post. 

I recently tweeted that we need viable trauma history taught in schools. What do I mean? I mean, as of right now, we aren't teaching about recent historical genocides, ethnic cleansings, or slavery, and exploitation of human beings the right way in schools. We get names and dates and that's usually about it. We don't get a personal or credible narrative of what I want to call 'trauma events'. 

Not only are our methods of teaching ineffective in their impact on younger generations, to say the least. Such information on the matter doesn't seem to be building empathy in the students learning about the trauma event.

When I hear folks say: 

But it happened a long time ago! It doesn't apply to me!

Or, my personal favorite:

Why can't you get over it?

And, I want to scream at and shake these people. Let me explain why:

A) Trauma events are constantly happening. There is no "But that happened then" or, "Those were different times". No, no, it wasn't. It isn't. Human recorded history likes to put things into timeframes such as eras and periods in order for our brains to process. However, as any history scholar, academic, or hobbyist will tell you, there is nothing new under the sun. History constantly repeats. Certain factors can replay at another place and time.

Here are some of my suggestions and they aren't perfect. I respectfully look for further suggestions or different ideas.

First, let us not assume that we will always have the luxury and privilege to have those who have gone through such events around. Sure, some may still be living, but time, resource, and distance may make it almost impossible to get information from the person or people who have gone through said trauma event.

Also, we need to go back to the training of storytelling statuses such as what bards, griots, and other cultural/academia tellers of old were accorded. 

Why do I say this? Because while society must and should give every right for a variety of voices to speak up and speak truths to power, the onus of the retelling of trauma events should not always be expected of those that actually went through them. 

Oftentimes, the people who have gone through said trauma event may not be willing to speak about it as they're still hurting and psychological wounds may still be fresh. 

This is why I feel it's a privilege and honor when a Holocaust survivor, a Native person who has family remembering the Trail of Tears, or the Black person who has family remembering Slavery, or the Japanese person survivor of Hiroshima/Nagasaki speak on and teach others. 

I commend them. I honor them. I weep for them. But at the same time, not everybody is willing to speak on or about such matters, depending on personality, the depth of the trauma, and how much culturally they're given to tell about the event.

However, we still need to be taught these things and so, who should do it? It should be left to those of us who can be objective as well as empathetic to what we are about to impart. 

Not only should the storyteller/educator/historian be given the unenviable task to relay trauma events, it should be done with compassion, a sense of responsibility, as well as the scholarly understanding that such events are not so far in the past that they can't or won't happen again.