https://www.nme.com/news/tv/edward-norton-uncomfortable-after-discovering-ancestors-owned-slaves-3373703
Edward Norton has expressed discomfort after discovering his ancestors owned a family of slaves, including five young girls.
In the clip, Norton is presented with a photo of a negro father, a mother, and their five young girls, aged four, six, eight, nine and 10.
Regardless of our race chances are that we all have an ancestor (or several) who have done things which would be deemed reprehensible now or even centuries ago.
I don't think it's fair that people should have to feel guilty over that.
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Hell, we all may have had a grandparent too. It's not something to feel bad about.
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shareIt's history. No reason to feel bad. He didn't do it. You learn from it and don't repeat it in the future.
shareThere is absolutely nothing any ancestor of mine could have done that I would feel guilty about. I could deplore it, loathe it, despise it, but I will never feel guilty over it.
shareGood answer.
Although isn't despising something in a sense feeling guilty?
Um, no.
shareExplain?
If you despise something, you can't really go without some kind of guilt, maybe not self guilt, but remorse towards others/evil.
'If you despise something, you can't really go without some kind of guilt, maybe not self guilt, but remorse towards others/evil.'
My despising something doesn't generate any feelings of guilt, or remorse.
I rather a person be 100x a better person than their ancestors, rather than shame them. You don't love or even like everyone, but would it kill the world to have grace and respect towards each other. Even in tiny doses.
People don't HAVE to feel guilty, but I'd still feel guilty when presented with something ugly my ancestors did. It's a natural reaction.
shareNo it isn't natural. You had nothing to do with it.
shareAnd the relatives of the negro family get to enjoy white privilege today like being able to waste gallons of water everytime they urinate and calling people nasty who don't shower daily.
shareAnd making fun of backward black people in Africa.
share...and calling people nasty who don't shower daily.
Your ignorance is your white privilege
sharethe human body is specifically engineered to clean itself for up to 9 days,
in fact, it's a detriment to one's self-cleanliness to shower more than once every 3 days
the human body is specifically engineered to clean itself for up to 9 days...
the 9 day cycle refers to normal human activities like going to work and eating,
it does not account for strenuous activity or exercise
mmm... I'm not sure. Normal human activities now are incredibly sedentary now compared to even a very short time period ago historically.
Therefore I'm not sure any natural "specific engineering" is in place for some 9 day cycle.
Sure maybe you've worked out if you do as little as possible for nine days you can just about get away without stinking to high heaven but I don't think that equates to the cleanliness derived from frequent showering.
Of course the question if whether modern day toiletries / pharmaceuticals has conditioned us away from natural body odours is another question.
What difference do the actions of his ancestors make? You could tell me my great-great-grandfather owned a thousand slaves and wiped out five tribes of Native Americans single-handedly and all I would feel is a desire to read his memoirs.
shareThe point is learn, but don't t repeat.
shareThe difference between Norton and the average white person is that Norton comes from a fantastically wealthy family, and has probably inherited a fortune.
So while the average white person might shrug off such a revelation with a "My family has done better since then", or "My ancestors were assholes", Norton may have found out that his own personal fortune was built on the suffering of enslaved persons.
Inherited wealth = Inherited guilt
shareI wish that inherited money-related guilt was one of my problems!
But no, out on my ass at 18, without a dime from my family. So whatever my ancestors did, I definitely didn't profit from it personally.
I'm thirty one and still live at home. Don't know if I'd call it inherited wealth, but in a way I'm lucky? I don't feel lucky. I'd rather be anywhere else, except where I would be, with my pay from my job, fuck.
shareA lot of arguments about privilege may degenerae into "But I'm poor!" vs. "I'm poorer!", but not when discussing Norton! He's about as privileged as it's possible to be.
I do give him credit for going out and working when he could have sat on his ass, like Julia Louis Dreyfuss he's worked, and he's been good at his job. But unlike Dreyfus, he's been such a pain in the ass that his career has suffered, because nobody wanted to work with his pain-in-the-ass ass.
Yeah but when you have money you have the freedom to choose what job you want. Most likely out of boredom. If you wouldn't do it for free, you shouldn't do it at all, but still get paid. I hate my job. Mundane and boring. For some reason I can't quit. I'm actively trying to get fired but they won't comply lol.
shareActing has become a job for rich kids, almost all of the young actors you've heard of either come from filthy rich families, or have familial connections within the entertainment industry. Rich kids like Norton and Dreyfus have a much easier time breaking into the industry, because they can afford to hire publicists and plastic surgeons when they're trying to break in, and hang out at places where people go to be seen, instead of working to cover the rent.
Plus, they are much less likely to be treated badly, because if their daddy can afford to buy a company just to ruin the career of someone who tried to sexually harass their adult child, nobody's going to tell the rich kids to put out if they want the role that will get them that coveted SAG card. A person can be both very good at their job, as Norton is, and the beneficiary of privilege.
No doubt.
shareOne of the many things wrong with Hollywood.
I just hope all these rich-kid actors are donating heavily to the SAG strike relief fund, so that their not-rich striking peers can cover the rent as long as they need to.
It's hard to be angry at successful people just because they're successful, but when it doesn't seem fair it hits differently. I have nothing against nepotism, to me it makes sense. Why wouldn't you try to help your own family?
shareWell, I DO have something against nepotism! Every job that goes to someone because of a family connection, is a job that didn't go to the best person for the job. Every boss who hires family members, or the family members of people whose ass they want to kiss, is a boss who isn't doing their job right. Their employers trusted them with the authority to hire and fire to advance the company's interests and not their own, hiring someone's no-talent kid is an abuse of authority.
Remember, every job taken by a Lily Rose Depp is a job that could have gone to an extremely talented young unknown from nowhere, the sort of actor that can't get a break in today's Hollywood.
I totally agree that nepotism fosters ineptitude. Doesn't mean I don't understand it.
shareI understand nepotism too, and that's why it makes me angry.
Not that Norton was ever the beneficiary of nepotism as such, just financial privilege.
If tomorrow you woke up rich slash privileged, wouldn't you you do the same for your kid , cousin or friend?
shareNo, I'd pay for the education of young people if the families couldn't afford it themselves, and then I'd tell them that jobs need to go to the best candidate, so if they want to be successful they'd damn well better work hard and BE the best candidate! I'm not going to give slackers a free ride, or take a job away from someone who deserves it the most.
In a perfect world there would be equality of opportunity everywhere, and workplaces would be genuine meritocracies. Meritocracies where nobody is stopped before they start, because they wouldn't be judged by their background, race, social class, etc. And while I'm dreaming, I'd like a billion dollars and a pony...
It's one of the many diseases created by a population that spends far too much time in a fantasy land where childish emotional impulses are treated like genuine, relevant ideas.
share- a population that spends far too much time in a fantasy land
- childish emotional impulses
We must be dealing with the Democrat party and their lemmings.
Negro, please ...
shareSo what? I'm descended from people who invaded other shores, looted churches, raped and/or kidnapped the women, and raided different towns all around the coasts of Europe. And yes, they sometimes owned slaves and performed human sacrifices. You see me feeling uncomfortable about that?
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