The paradox for people out of bondage.

A subject came up today that has in fact been on my mind, so no suprise there then. It came about when a colleague said that he was pondering slavery, except this time with the 'blacks' as the slavers, his exact phrase was 'the other way around'. I quipped that if literacy improved within what some describe as 'Bass' i.e The Black Race, as a possibility that was not out of the question. Forever the one for political correctness (NOT!) I made the observation that without slavery the people of the Carribean, the long term Afro-American population, and certain 'Black' europeans (even if they are actually honey coloured) would not exist. He said that such a statement was a fallacious argument, adding that without the Roman Empire I would probably not exist, now I have no particular love for Romans (I was a Carthaginian at prep school), but his counterpoint argument is actually right on the mark. Without the Roman Empire I probably wouldn't exist, like Marley say 'If you know your history, then you will know where you're coming from'. Let me extrapolate, my mother's family arrived in the North West as a result of her maternal grandfather being kicked out of his family for marrying a Roman Catholic. The family was landed gentry, and although they had intermarried with Jews, Roman Catholics were more than the family could stomach. Had this not happened, in fact had any of my ancestors been absent from my tree, I would literally not exist, fact not fallacy. So the paradox for people who were taken as slaves is this. Without slavery they would not exist. The fact that something is not politically correct does not make it any less true. As I said argument pro and contra the historical phenomenon of slavery is a different subject entirely, but the ability physically and academically to argue the case has roots in slavery and anything else is naught but denial and like the axiom goes 'D' Nile' is not just a river in Aegypt. Most of the slaves originated in West Africa which when compared to the arabic speaking north and east (one may include Swahili in this and maybe Hausa in the West) and Amharic in the East were preliterate. I must state most strongly that this in no way is meant to be used as an excuse for brutal treatment of 'Negroes' during the slaving period, but as Bob Marley said

'He was taken from Africa, brought to (the) America(s), Fighting on arrival, fighting for survival, said he was a Buffalo Soldier, Dreadlock Rasta, Buffalo Soldier, in the heart of (the) America(s), If you know your history, Then you would know where your coming from, Then you wouldnt have to ask me, Who the heck do I think I am.'

(P.S. he also said 'If the cap fits, let them wear it')