White People Have Never Forgiven Haitians for Claiming Their Freedom

dantheclamman@lemmy.world to politics @lemmy.world – 55 points – White People Have Never Forgiven Haitians for Claiming Their Freedom
thenation.com

Edit: Fellow white people, please read the article before just reading the title and reflexively commenting to make it about yourselves, thx

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Um, is this a blatantly racist title? As a white person who never even got offended at Haitians claiming freedom in the first place, I think it is.

It's a shitty, incendiary, clickbait title.

If you have to gain equality by dragging someone down instead of elevating yourself, then we all end up down in the mud. Hate is not progress.

I wouldn't call it blatantly racist, it's obviously biased coming from someone of Haitian heritage. But I think they over-sell it.

Your average American likely doesn't think about Haiti at all, positively or negatively.

Yeah, if you asked Trump supporters to find Haiti on a map, I'm guessing a single-digit percentage is getting it right. Their prejudice towards immigrants is not some calculated, historically-informed position. It's a basal fear of the other.

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I don't even know what they got independence from. France, hundreds of years ago? Why would I care? To equate white people with the French definitely seems racist to me.

It's no different than the US blowing stuff up in the developing world. It's not about you specifically.

Are you sure you’re not offended?

Considering most Americans don't know the history of Haiti, nor could even point it out on a map. So I doubt many are offended

That is the great thing about hate it doesn't really require specific knowledge. Most of the people who lynched black folks in the south didn't have a lot of specific understanding of the cultures or history of the people they hated they had a sort of diffuse hatred based on nothing real. Assuming that historical issues aren't a root of anything because the rabble doesn't specifically understand why they are supposed to hate someone is just a basic misunderstanding of how people work.

It's like thinking the smell of shit doesn't come from the turd because the people smelling it can't actually see it.

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Oh shit, we haven't? Do I... do I have to start saying stuff about eating pets?

And here I thought I agreed with the Haitians, and thought that people like John Brown did nothing wrong...

Turns out I'm Big Mad?

Glad you two found a way to make this about yourselves.

Their complaint is valid, making accusations towards a group based solely on their skin color is wrong no matter the color. Also I hardly think the MAGA white people, which I assume is the group this article was attempting to blame, know enough history to know how Haiti got its independence.

Not so sure it’s white people in general. France, obviously yes. I don’t think any other country ever demanded “reparations” for the loss of slave labor. That said, the US has had a complicated and at times troubling relationship with Haiti, intervening on France’s side during Jefferson’s presidency (Jefferson was a slave owner and shit was fucked).

Britain required former slaves to work for 2 years unpaid before they were free to go post abolition. Slave owners received £17bn in today's money in reparations.

Gotta make an example out of 'em or all our people who are "property" in the USA might get ideas. /s but not really, that was the thinking.