WHITE PEOPLE...WHAT DO YOU...

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I'm Native American. My people have been there and done that....

Trolling...but...my $.02

Slavery was deplorable. Through the centuries it has been practiced by nearly every race. We know that many slaves were captured and sold NOT by whites, but by other black Africans. And it's a good thing slavery is no longer legal in the U.S.

As to the series, I watched it in high school when it first aired, and almost every showing since, until I recorded it on VHS in the 1990s. I watch it about once a year.

Watching it now, it seems very "dated" and, at times, hokey. It was, however, ground-breaking at the time of its release. It is an incredible story, was about the only quality work John Amos, Robert Reed, or Sandy Duncan ever did, and also helped launch careers for many great actors/performers, re-start the careers of others, and further showcase and prove the talents of some established stars.

I thought "Roots: The Next Generations" was equally brilliant, "Roots: The Gift" not so much. However, because it is part of the whoel "Roots" genre, I still watch it when it comes on TV, usually near Christmas.

As horrible as I think slavery is, my ancestors were in Italy until the early 1900's so I feel no guilt about something I or my family had nothing to do with.

"Let's not ask for the moon, we have the stars".

Hmm my ancestors came from rural Italy (dark skinned Sicilians, there's no hiding skin color as many people have stated), in fact my father (ancestors came from Naples) is still very dark in complexion. Some people could look at us and not even think we were related because of that. For those who are interested, some ethnicities were in fact treated very similar to African Americans at the turn of the century:

http://www.niaf.org/milestones/year_1891.asp

African Americans were not the only race ever lynched, beaten, degraded, mocked, and terrorized, or enslaved for that matter. The English treated the Irish like animals for centuries. Dark skinned Europeans, particularly of Mediterranean and Eastern European descent dealt with a great deal of the horrors of Western Europe and then the horrors of racist, industrial America upon emigrating from Europe to seek a better life. Child laborers you see in Lewis Hine photographs were probably of slavic, Eastern European, Jewish, Italian, or Irish descent. Today some of these ethnicities have been able to "blend in," but it wasn't until quite recently that they really felt like anything other than second class Americans. Let's not forget that.

People say the Holocaust lasted a few years...sure but the entire Jewish lineage had already been enslaved, forced out of countries, degraded, treated like second class humans for centuries upon centuries. It goes back to biblical days. I'm not one of those people who thinks we should just forget about slavery and that African Americans are "whining," that's a stupid opinion. I do however think that African Americans (or any ethnicity for that) who believe African slavery was the biggest atrocity toward any ethnicity, have a false perception of history.

Anyway to answer your question I don't feel sorry for what my ancestors did. They weren't in America until the early 20th century. Nor do I feel any sort of guilt for what my ancestors did because they didn't really do anything. If anything I feel the need to ask the same question you're asking posters here. Do people feel sorry for degrading Italian Americans? Anytime you watch a Martin Scorcese film and laugh at trashy Italian American caricatures or Jersey Shore, do you feel guilty?

So what if they used cotton?? Africans traded their own human beings for guns and rum! Should they not feel any sense of guilt? And they absolutely knew what they were doing and what the fate of their fellow Africans would be, they weren't that ignorant.

My grandmother was forced to lie about her name in order to get a job during WW2. Does anyone feel sorry for that? I don't think anyone should ever be held responsible or made to feel guilty for the sins of their ancestors. Feel sorry for the sins you're responsible for today, like violence and poverty in America's cities. I know in the Northeast people flock en masse from cities to avoid gun violence and crime where a huge amount of African Americans and hispanics live, personally I don't blame them. On the other hand it's just adding to the problem of ethnic separation, as more and more people are given the burden of high taxes in the city, low paying jobs, little employment, crime, violence, etc..

Do all of you feel guilty for typing on computers (or smartphone devices-you're iphones and blackberries) that were built on Asian sweatshop labor? This is real slavery that's occurring right now, something we can all do something about if we actually cared.

I find the story interesting because I enjoy period pieces. But I also find social commentary interesting as well. Does a person have to be a African American to care about African Americans? A person is a person and their suffering is still upsetting to observe regardless of ethnicity.

Don't paint all "whites" with the same brush. Uncounted millions of them were appalled at what happened and did nothing whatsoever to support it.

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