Do you think we can excuse discrimination of the past?

[Dazedx0]

I mean, I dont think it can be excused but I do think it can be understood
But I'd like to know if you think people of the past, like Winston Churchill, who were racist can be excused for it as it was just the view of that time
(Im not talking about acts of persecution or anything tho, people like Adolf Hitler cannot be understood it was totally wrong and I think we can all agree on that)

Churchill

[MCheetah]

Yes. You can't blame people for things that didn't exist yet, nor can you retroactively sin people for not knowing how they "should be" in society. People from 20 to 40 years from now could see all of us today for being "evil bigots" for not being vegans and donating to help the unfortunate 10 hours every week.

The important thing is, that as long we're making progress as a society and not forget the mistakes of the past, we're doing alright. Too bad hateful, bigoted sh*t like social justice and "socially acceptable" bigotry, like hating on white people or men, or Critical Race Theory bigotry, is what's going on right now, though. Radical leftists have literally regressed society back to the 1960s and maybe even Jim Crow days in America. This is all intentional, of course. To make us hate and destroy each other, while they sit back and gain power from it all. But still; you'd think people (especially on the "tolerant" left) would be better than this.

[ChrisMaster69]

We can acknowledge the past and look at it as a lesson.

Ignoring the Churchill but but looking at what happened to say Alan Turing.

Imagine someone who was such a major figure in a global conflict being imprisoned for being gay.

https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/how-alan-turing-cracked-the-enigma-code

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultra

It’s not individuals attitudes but societies attitudes towards others that always need to be checked.

it’s in the past but we need to be alert to it ever appearing in our futures.

[ChrisMaster69]

@Dazedx0 thank you most appreciated

[Anonymous]

It was just the way things were. We can learn from it, but we have no right to excuse or not excuse people from when we were not around. A hundred years from now people will look at 2020 and say how retarded the people in the U. S. were at that time, but right now you think your opinion is the only one that matters, and the only one that ever has.

[purplepoppy]

Leave the past in the past. As you rightly say attitudes were different them and I'd add I'm sure future generations will look down on us and judge our actions against their new beliefs.

[rcljr]

You have no choice, those that discriminated are long since dead and buried and if you try to blame me for something I didn’t do I will tell you to go fuck yourself.

[Jenny4455]

Historical context is everything. Sadly a lot of people act from emotion rather than intellect

[Sweepthelegjonny]

I think acceptance is the only way to move forward in life.

[sponge-bob]

Its just the way it was back then. you can't change history although a lot of people think you can by tearing down any reminders of that person

[MCheetah]

I agree with you.

[OddBeMe]

Agreed, it’s a sticky issue. As we’ve seen with the statues debates. But simple logic should tell us that we can celebrate Washington who owned slaves and not General Lee who fought to keep slavery.

[scentoflavender]

You can't apply today's thinking to history. If anything, we can look at history and see how far we've rose, or fallen depending on your opinions.

[anylolone]

Adolf hitler not only can be understood, he should be understood.
Can't fall for the same trappings if you can see it coming.

[Nachowedgie]

Of course, times were different back then and so were peoples attitudes

[ManHater]

It's the past how can we change it? We can't

[ragooo8]

No but we mist put into the context of the time.