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Have you seen these numbers ? https://www.slavevoyages.org/assessment/estimates?selected_tab=timeline https://www.slavevoyages.org/assessment/estimates?selecte

Have you seen these numbers ? https://www.slavevoyages.org/assessment/estimates?selected_tab=timeline https://www.slavevoyages.org/assessment/estimates?selected_t... (Edit spelling )

smcl 4y ago
I don't think this person is trying to say "these are exactly the same". Only the hardest-right people try to diminish the transatlantic slave trade by saying that other groups did it than the white colonial powers. The comment to me seemed more "Huh, today I learned..." than that.
- dmurray 4y ago
  There's a chilling effect at the moment where you can't say "huh, today I learned" about anything that might be a right-wing talking point without risk of being treated as some kind of White supremacist yourself.
  - smcl 4y ago
    It's not so chilling or new - people have been misunderstanding each other for millenia. And here on HN at least, if commenters follow the comment guidelines we should be alright. > Please respond to the strongest plausible interpretation of what someone says, not a weaker one that's easier to criticize. Assume good faith.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
- alpinemeadow 4y ago
  Yes, that was my intention… but the comment got downvoted so I learned today also that probably commenting here now is not what it used to be a while ago.
  - smcl 4y ago
    I don't understand
- native_samples 4y ago
  No, that's pretty normal for moderate people to say or believe but of course if you always attack them by claiming they're extremists, they aren't going talk to you about it are they? The scale thing is irrelevant because the morality of it isn't related to scale. It's just a consequence of larger populations at the time and bigger differences in tech levels. It's clear from history that the Barbary pirates etc weren't saying to themselves, well this much slavery is ok, but that much would be immoral so we won't do it. They were just a few centuries earlier when there were far fewer people around.

Have you seen these numbers ? https://www.slavevoyages.org/assessment/estimates?selected_tab=timeline https://www.slavevoyages.org/assessment/estimates?selected_t... (Edit spelling )

smcl 4y ago

I don't think this person is trying to say "these are exactly the same". Only the hardest-right people try to diminish the transatlantic slave trade by saying that other groups did it than the white colonial powers. The comment to me seemed more "Huh, today I learned..." than that.

dmurray 4y ago
There's a chilling effect at the moment where you can't say "huh, today I learned" about anything that might be a right-wing talking point without risk of being treated as some kind of White supremacist yourself.
- smcl 4y ago
  It's not so chilling or new - people have been misunderstanding each other for millenia. And here on HN at least, if commenters follow the comment guidelines we should be alright. > Please respond to the strongest plausible interpretation of what someone says, not a weaker one that's easier to criticize. Assume good faith.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
alpinemeadow 4y ago
Yes, that was my intention… but the comment got downvoted so I learned today also that probably commenting here now is not what it used to be a while ago.
- smcl 4y ago
  I don't understand
native_samples 4y ago
No, that's pretty normal for moderate people to say or believe but of course if you always attack them by claiming they're extremists, they aren't going talk to you about it are they? The scale thing is irrelevant because the morality of it isn't related to scale. It's just a consequence of larger populations at the time and bigger differences in tech levels. It's clear from history that the Barbary pirates etc weren't saying to themselves, well this much slavery is ok, but that much would be immoral so we won't do it. They were just a few centuries earlier when there were far fewer people around.