White Americans Fail to Address Their Family Histories

[meadowlander]

33. It's a statistical certainty that everyone has ancestors that did horrific shit.

Last edited Wed Dec 8, 2021, 06:22 PM - Edit history (1)

All of my immediate ancestors came to North America post-1860 so I'm reasonably certain they didn't participate in African chattel slavery in North America. Most of them went to Canada first and then drifted down (probably illegally) in the late 19th Century.

But I have Vikings on one side and Roman slave owners on the other. One of my Canadian ancestors was in the British Navy sailing around colonizing the East Indies before he jumped ship off the coast of Newfoundland.

By the time you get back to the 13th Century you have more direct ancestors than there have ever been human beings. If you're a Celt or have Mediterranean roots you probably have cannibal ancestors. If you're Eastern European you're probably related at least in part of Ghengis Khan or one of the other nomadic warlords.

I don't see why people get hung up on admitting this. I don't rape or pillage or eat people or steal their shit and subjugate them even though my ancestors did. And the fact that they are my ancestors doesn't make me hesitant or take it personally to admit it when the facts make it clear that they did horrible shit.