4 ms·
An infinitesimal fraction of humans have ever owned a slave. I know how the pronoun was intended to be used, and I’m not attributing any ill-intent. It’s perfe
by lurquer 6y ago
An infinitesimal fraction of humans have ever owned a slave.
I know how the pronoun was intended to be used, and I’m not attributing any ill-intent. It’s perfectly appropriate to use “we” when referring to humans in general; such as “back before we discovered nuclear power” or “back when we discovered antibiotics.”
But, for something as recent (and ongoing) as slavery, you may want to think twice before using such a sweeping pronoun. A good portion of the US, for instance, have great-grandparents who literally fought in a war to abolish slavery. More subtly, the use of “we” seems to impute blame or responsibility on those living for actions taken by a very small group of people. It’s neither accurate nor useful.
- Aeolun 6y ago> More subtly, the use of “we” seems to impute blame or responsibility on those living for actions taken by a very small group of people. It’s neither accurate nor useful. Saying that it was a very small number of people sounds a mite ridiculous to me. Multiple cultures throughout history have supported/accepted it. It is also a reminder. These weren’t storybook monsters, they were humans, and we should be reminded of that lest we regress. We’re certainly not to blame, but we are responsible for not going back there.