What's missing from the discussion about race in America today: an account for the history of white experience in Western Civilization

[DaveJord]

This is how European immergrents lived in 1800's, and they came to United States because it was better then staying in Europe.

So this is tricky subject if you can't be objective about the history of western civilization, other how it affects your life today. Through out the history of Western Civilization , all the great empires not only had huge and successful armies they also were masters at the exploitation of labor. Dating as far back as the old testament, slavery was an ingrained part of the our culture and history. Even in the Roman Era they conquered and enslave the conquered people and then over time these people eventually because citizens of the Empire. So they paid forward on their debt to the Empire so that their future generations could prosper and achieve full rights and citizenship.

In the Middle Ages there was the Feudal System, which peasants known as serfs worked the land for the wealthy and scarped out a subsistence living... they were no better than slaves. Their whole lives where dictated by the word of the nobility and their rights where few to none. But over time their future generations gained liberty and greater freedoms and they were grateful.

These white European fought generations of wars and were killed in the 100's of 1000's and were promised greater freedom and liberties for their future generations. They staved, they labored and toiled in the fields and were born poor and died poor never knowing freedom, prosperity or chance of greater opportunity in their life time.

Even in American history, these white people fled to the new world to escape social injustice and carve out a new life... and yes they were exploited by the European Powers, and yes in turn they exploited the native peoples and brought slavery to the New World. The geocide of the native peoples was more less unintentional but it happened none the less. White people did not know they had no immunity to the diseases they brought. Conquering them was just the natural course of life for people in those times, just like the Greeks, Romans and everyone else had done through out the history of the world. Nobody was going to see it as wrong in the 16, 17 or 18 hundreds. Sure we can look back today with regret and do our best to make sure it never happens again but that will not change the history nor should it. It was wrong by todays standards, but it was not wrong at the time. This is how nation building worked for eons and this is why we have the country we have today... it is how it was built and whites where exploited by the rich and powerful just as much and anyone else for thousands of years before coming to the New World.

African's were not even apart of the Western Civilization, so these people never endured Medieval Europe or the rule of the Roman Empire, or Viking Invasions, or the Feudal Systems... were our women were raped, men were killed and everyone was born poor, abused and died poor. Yes Africans in their turn were exploited and abuse, but at the same time they paid forward like every other race did within Western Civilization so that their children would have a better opportunity. It was against their will, they were given no better a choice that any of our white ancestors were given. Just like the Chinese and Japanese Americans did, they left China and Japan to work and build the railroads in California. They were treated no better than slaves, but they did it because it was better then staying in China or Japan, because they know their future generations would have a better opportunities and they paid forward on that debt. Just like all our ancestors have through out history.

So here we are today where everyone has it better then they ever had it before, and its not good enough. We want more. So at the end of the day this country for better or worse has been build by white people, and we have struggled as hard as everyone else to build this country to be what it is and we are not satisficed either. We all want more, but yes whites are getting tried of the race debate... we just want progress, because there is no progress if don't all do it together as one unified people. The more we fixate on division of race the more with remain divided.

[captain_voidwalker]

Wow no dude, all civilizations that were successful exploited labor. China was very fond of slaves, as were African tribes and native Americans.
When you want to learn history they opening a history book instead of a sociology book.

[SmokinAces2000]

How exactly is this missing from the discussion? 90 percent of the history I’ve learned in school has been “white history” and that’s being generous. Not to mention that white people screwed over other white people so that’s an oxymoron in itself

[DaveJord]

History matters when try to define or put modern perspective social progress... can't hold people 4 to 6 generations responsible for the injustice of the past. All our ancestors had to pay forward in order to benefit from the social progress we see to day.