Rippounet Posted February 9 Share Posted February 9 (edited) 7 minutes ago, Phylum of Alexandria said: To be clear, I'm not making an argument of absolute moral relativism. Maybe a soft one, in terms of shifting societal standards across time. I agree that slavery is terrible, no matter what the social norms are. My point was against the easy certainty, and the easy dismissal of past figures as shitty, because they took part in a shitty system that was quite normal for their time. At least Washington knew it was shitty! Most of us would not even be that advanced in thought if we had been born back then. I don't think your argument is bad in itself. But making it on a board full of leftists and social justice warriors who endlessly debate and bicker about the moral issues of their own societies might be a bit risqué. Edited February 9 by Rippounet Phylum of Alexandria and Spockydog 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeanF Posted February 9 Share Posted February 9 5 minutes ago, Phylum of Alexandria said: To be clear, I'm not making an argument of absolute moral relativism. Maybe a soft one, in terms of shifting societal standards across time. I agree that slavery is terrible, no matter what the social norms are. My point was against the easy certainty, and the easy dismissal of past figures as shitty, because they took part in a shitty system that was quite normal for their time. At least they knew it was shitty! Most of us would not even be that advanced in thought if we had been born back then. The same way, most war criminals are not like Beria or Dirlewanger. They’re “ordinary men”, who fit easily back into society. Phylum of Alexandria 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zorral Posted February 9 Share Posted February 9 3 minutes ago, Phylum of Alexandria said: I see that you didn't make clear how you would respond had you been born in their place. But I wouldn't have been born in their place, would I, considering my gender and my background? Which includes the second generation of nordic/german farmers emigrated to Wisconsin and Iowa, whose men of that generation had just turned old enough to enlist in the first regiments being recruited to fight for the freedom of the enslaved. Their letters make it clear that was why they enlisted. Not everyone in the North, you know, was a hypocrite or even involved with slavery at every level -- as were almost all businesses in New England and New York, for instance However, there are those who were born like George Washington etc., who went to great effort and thought to not only free their labor, but make it possible for them to have decent lives in freedom, providing land, training, education over a period of years. One of them was brother of an African slave trader of Rhode Island -- see Sons of Providence: The Brown Brothers, the Slave Trade, and the American Revolution by Charles Rappleye. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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