Sick of right wing racists


Whenever I come on the board of a movie showing racial harmony there are right wing racists from America everywhere!

Why are these people so cynical with no love in their hearts for their fellow man?

As a Citizen of Great Britain I find it highly disturbing.

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Trump has stirred up the white supremacists making them believe they're in the mainstream and not extremists and don't need to hide out on Stormfront anymore.

This movie has particularly annoyed right-wing Southern whites who swallowed the Koolaid about the "noble Lost Cause", "Southern heritage" and "states rights" to give a (slight) veneer over their racism. The story of Newt Knight, Jasper Collins and the Knight Company infuriates them because it is a striking example of one of many rebellions in the South in which the Southern yeomanry opposed secession and did not support the planter class which created the Confederacy. And the Confederacy only served the interests of the planter class.

They manipulated the poor whites and the working class, just like Trump manipulates poor whites and the working class today, to believe all their problems are caused by black and brown people - just like in the Olde South.

Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose.

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Pretty much this.

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Exactly! It boggles my mind that his supporters can't see through him. He is so transparent!

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A movie showing racial harmony is fine...except when they take a story from history, pervert it, and brand it as "true." Knight was neither super-villain nor super-hero. He did not free the slaves of Jones County and no slaves fought with him. There were several Union raids in and near Jones County during the war. Did the "southern Unionist" Knight and his gang ever give any aid to those raiders? Not once.

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Still haven't seen a movie you're obsessed with. Pal, you disappoint me. He isn't portrayed as having freed slaves.

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democrats = the party of the triple k's. Accept your history, boy.

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Come on now, if you try to tell people the villains in this movie were slave friendly Democrats who were fighting against a "tax the rich scheme" enacted by Lincoln and the Republicans - they might start questioning their education.

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there are racists on both sides (heck, all sides), interestingly enough.

Great Britain allowed the African slave trade to flourish in all of its colonies and possessions until quite late in its history. (either 1807 or 1833, depending on whether you focus on slave trading or slavery itself). the independent state of Vermont abolished slavery in 1777 (before it became part of the United States), the first sovereign nation in the world to do so, and long before Great Britain did.

i am not an Anglophobe; i find much to admire about British history and culture. but please do not sit on your high horse and denigrate the US because we still have problems dealing with the aftermath of a system that you put into place.

the US almost destroyed itself rectifying the institutionalized injustice that had been given to it by its British founders. no other country on Earth put such effort and sacrifice into freeing its slaves. there are still scars that exist today, and some people (on both sides) do not deal with it well.

the enslavement of Africans existed in the United States for 89 years, from 1776 to 1865.*

the enslavement of Africans was encouraged and allowed to exist in Great Britain and its territories and possessions (including the American colonies that it governed) for over 250 years.

as a citizen of the United States i find that highly disturbing.



*some leeway on numbers there: one could count the USA as being founded in 1789 with the adoption of the Constitution; as to slavery's end, some might count the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 as opposed to the end of the Civil War and actual freeing of the last slaves. in those cases slavery would have lasted 74 years.

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[deleted]

the institutionalized injustice that had been given to it by its British founders.

The British, and the others involved in the slave trade, did not force American plantation owners to buy slaves. Nor did they forbid colonies from abolishing slavery themselves.
no other country on Earth put such effort and sacrifice into freeing its slaves.

No other country had to.
the enslavement of Africans was encouraged and allowed to exist in Great Britain

In fact, while legal overseas, slavery itself was illegal in Britain from 1772 in England and 1778 in Scotland.
the enslavement of Africans existed in the United States for 89 years, from 1776 to 1865.*

This is somewhat arbitrary as Americans owned slaves for over a century before independence. More important is that the UK abolished slavery throughout its possessions a generation before the United States.

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The British, and the others involved in the slave trade, did not force American plantation owners to buy slaves. Nor did they forbid colonies from abolishing slavery themselves.

no, but they introduced the practice to the colonies in 1619, provided slaves to buy, and demanded their colonies be profitable.

In fact, while legal overseas, slavery itself was illegal in Britain from 1772 in England and 1778 in Scotland.

so the MPs could claim their hands were clean since their were no slaves in the immediate neighborhood as it were, all while making money off of their profitable overseas possessions built on the backs of slaves they had provided. that's a bit on the hypocritical side.

This is somewhat arbitrary as Americans owned slaves for over a century before independence. More important is that the UK abolished slavery throughout its possessions a generation before the United States.

no, Americans did not own slaves a century before independence. British subjects living in America owned slaves, allowable under British law. a subtle difference, to be sure, but a real one.

and as far as the UK abolishing slavery a generation before the US, 30 years is not much in the way of time after having allowed it for 250+ years. it's kind of like two prostitutes arguing about who is more virtuous: the 60 year-old who gave up whoring 5 years ago after 40 years of it, or the 30 year old who gave it up last year after 15 years of it.

neither of us have clean hands; but as someone once said "And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?"

don't get me wrong. i am not blaming the UK for slavery. it's a horrible institution that has existed during all of human history, and still exists today. but don't look down your nose at the US for allowing it to exist slightly longer than you did, especially since we sacrificed so much more to eradicate it.

"I'll do the masterminding around here." -Sgt. Stryker, "Sands of Iwo Jima"

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so the MPs could claim their hands were clean since their were no slaves in the immediate neighborhood as it were


In fact, it was abolished by British courts ruling in accordance with traditional British laws. Unfortunately, those courts had no jurisdiction overseas. The British abolition movement was just heating up, though.

no, Americans did not own slaves a century before independence. British subjects living in America owned slaves, allowable under British law. a subtle difference, to be sure, but a real one.


There's no real difference here. Those British subjects didn't disappear while being replaced by a new group of people. They're exactly the same individuals. Washington, Jefferson et al were slave owners before the war, during the war and after it.

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There's no real difference here. Those British subjects didn't disappear while being replaced by a new group of people. They're exactly the same individuals.

yes, and until the Revolution those individuals were British subjects living under British law and following British customs and practices. one of those practices was the enslavement of Africans. The government of the United States did not bring slavery to North America. the government of Great Britain did.

Washington, Jefferson et al were slave owners before the war, during the war and after it.

it's probably unrealistic to expect that they would not have been. they were born into a system that was created, supplied, and supported by their British overlords. slavery had been practiced since the beginning of human history. their peers engaged in it, and people justified it with dubious biblical support.

was it wrong? yes, completely by our standards. but why should they be held to a higher standard than their contemporaries? and as to mentioning Washington, it should be remembered he included a clause in his will stating all of his slaves were to be freed upon his wife's death, and that his heirs provide for their support and training as freedmen. he even stated publicly "I never mean ... to possess another slave by purchase; it being among my first wishes to see some plan adopted, by which slavery in this Country may be abolished..." unfortunately his actions were not often copied.

we are going to have to agree to disagree here. my only point is that the UK can not pretend to be so much more morally superior than the US because they abolished slavery slightly earlier, especially since they had implemented it to begin with. in the same way it would be wrong for anyone from the US to disparage Brazilians for keeping slavery until 1888. all of our hands are dirty.

but this discussion has made me think of an interesting "what if". had the American Revolution not occurred, what would have happened when the UK wished to abolish slavery completely? would the political clout of the southern cotton industry have forced Parliament to modify its plans for abolition, or even drop them? would a different revolution have taken place? southern states versus Great Britain, with northern states remaining neutral, supporting the Crown, or siding with the south?

a scenario for someone like Harry Turtledove to ponder.


"I'll do the masterminding around here." -Sgt. Stryker, "Sands of Iwo Jima"

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no other country on Earth put such effort and sacrifice into freeing its slaves.


On the above specifically I beg to differ. Haiti fought for its independence from 1791 until successfully defeating Bonaparte's army in november of 1803 thus becoming the first free black nation of the world born out the slave revolution as declared on January 1st 1804.

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[deleted]

I agree with this nuance. So dreaded in fact that Haiti became isolated by all of the major powers of the time, France, England, United States for decades, understandably so has Haiti had declared that any slaves or men in servitude who reached Haiti would automatically gain Haitian citizenship and gain their freedom.

After it's independence Haiti also landed aid and support to Simon Bolivar when he travelled there seeking help to liberate Latin American countries. The deal that Haiti made with him was that in exchange for the amno and aid in man power he was to abolish slavery everywhere he conquered..We all know that didn't happen either.

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yes, i did not mean to overlook the heroic struggle for freedom waged by the people of Haiti. but i think it that case it was the slaves, along with other free people of color, freeing themselves. quite a remarkable accomplishment.

"I'll do the masterminding around here." -Sgt. Stryker, "Sands of Iwo Jima"

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Indeed =)

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@OIF-Retread


I'd love to see a movie about the Haitian rebellion---in fact, actor Danny Glover tried for something like a decade to get a film made about Toussaint L'Overture (the leader of the Haitian resistance) after getting turned down by Hollywood studios and trying to get independent funding for it. It's a shame he was never able to get it made, because it's a great story. Read about it here.


http://www.blackpast.org/gah/haitian-revolution-1791-1804

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Go to hell, FFS.

Liberalism is literally the end of democracy, IMHO.

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It would be a shame to end this thread with your divisive and closed minded comment.

I am sick and tired of the cynicism. It's not even about right wing or left wing it is about recognizing your own and others humanity.

This thread started as a semi serious troll thread but I was hoping to expose racist bigots.

Instead, I got some reasonable replies by reasonable people, it's a shame you had to spoil it.

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@thebricks

Uh,what? It was liberals who started the civil right movement, the women's movement, and the environmental movement----three movements that had a major positive impact on our society over the last 50 years. Read Some American history and stop spouting off ignorant nonsense you obviously know nothing about. You probably don't even know what the hell "liberalism" means but you're sitting up there talking big s*** about it anyway.

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Please...this little argument has gotten really old and really worn out...especially since there area NO living slaves, nor any living slave owners. FOR you to sit back and criticize America is just your jealousy showing.. Ever wonder why all these people from other countries come to American websites to argue with Americans, but hardly any Americans go to foreign websites... Because you all are jealous...and don't even get me started on how screwed up the UK is, or the injustices they agree guilty of. In fact, England is guilty of much more atrocities than the U.S could even be accused of... Go do your research because I'm not wasting my time giving a history lesson.

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To Flynn..the person from Great Britain who has such a repulsion for America... I thought about it, and since I wasn't doing anything and I knew you wouldn't do your due diligence... I'll give a few examples on why America couldn't even compare to the horrors your country is responsible for...
#1. Boer Concentration Camps around 1902 the British rounded up over 100,000 of mostly women and children of Boer ethnicity, and threw them in concentration camps like animals..about 30,000 died, including untold black Africans.
#2. There was a peaceful protest on 13 April 1919, and upon orders of the British Commander Dyer, approx 1,000 protestors were murdered by soldiers..I guess they didn't realize that not every country allows protesting like America. The British people raised up money as a gift to "Thank" Com Dyer for what they saw as a "good deed".
#3. In 1947, Cyril Radcliffe was tasked with drawing the border between India and the newly created state of Pakistan over the course of a single lunch. 10 million people were uprooted and made to flee their homes and possessions and run for their lives from the British gov. It's estimated that close to a million people lost their lives at the hands of the British
#4. Thousands of elderly Kenyans, who claim British colonial forces mistreated, raped and tortured them during the Mau Mau Uprising (1951-1960), have launched a £200m damages claim against the UK Government saying they were treated worse than animals and women as well as children were repeatedly raped by the British soldiers.
#5. In 1943, Winston Churchill (with Englands approval), diverted food from India's starving population with the intention of starving the Indian population. He stated how he hated the Indian race, and
they were beasts..and how it was their own fault they were
starving because the breed like rabbits.
WOW... AND YOU AS A BRITISH CITIZEN THINK YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO SIT BACK AND JUDGE AMERICA WHEN WE HAVE TRIED TO RIGHT A WRONG FROM OVER 140 years ago, yet all these THE UK is guilty of have happened much more recently than when
slavery was abolished in the U.S. So, as an American, it's disgusting to me what the British people have allowed and condoned... And if you really want to get a history lesson and know how barbaric the British are, what about the things they did to the Irish/Scots..of which some still hold resentment to this day.

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The Scots-Irish Protestants were and still are the ones oppressing Irish Catholics. The British have stayed out of it for decades. It's racist Scots-Irish sectarians who are still attacking Irish Catholics and marching their Orange Order flags and processions down predominantly Catholic streets.

Also, a lot of slavers were of Scottish Protestant origin.

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I'm sick of ALL racists, ESPECIALLY the white pro-slavery DEMOCRATS who tried to prevent Black voters from registering their support for the Republican Party following the end of slavery. Did you even watch the film FFS?

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