Some time ago conservative pundit and author Pat Buchanan was roundly and correctly criticized for saying that black Americans who are descendants of slaves, should be thankful that their ancestors were sold into a life of bondage, torture and oppression. Buchanan's belief presumes that the only way that blacks would have found a way to America would have been on a slave ship and that the slave thing was a net benefit to many of us.
Apparently, Souljah Boy believes the same thing. According to Toure via 'The Daily Beast' website:
Then came Soulja Boy Tell Em. I asked him, "What historical figure do you most hate?" He was stumped. I said, "Others have said Hitler, bin Laden, the slave masters ..." He said, "Oh wait! Hold up! Shout out to the slave masters! Without them we'd still be in Africa."
My jaw, at this point, was on the ground."We wouldn't be here," he continued, having no idea how far in it he'd stepped, "to get this ice and tattoos."
Ice and tattoos.
What to say?
I am wondering if that is the most ignorant comment I've ever heard. Maybe not it ... but close.
Seriously, I'm betting that some agree with Souljah Boy's assessment of slavery's impact on the black community. I, on the other hand, always consider what Africa might have looked like if millions of our ancestors had not been dragged from the continent.
My friend Tyler is a little more blunt about it.
Comments: (72)
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By: dwight on 10/31/2008 12:01PM
he is young and dumb! he will make mistakes!
we all have , but with the internet this dumb statement will live on forever!
THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK YOUNG MAN!
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By: highermind on 10/31/2008 12:05PM
Comments like these are why our community is in such turmoil. The most pathetic thing about soulja boy is that there are other young people who will probably go around quoting this. Trust me, the slave masters did not do my family any favors. As far as being better off in American vs Africa. At least Africans know who they are as a people and take pride in their history and their past. Africans have a purpose in who what they do and they see a bigger picture. As a young African-American I see why people look at my generation as the lost generation because we don't have a clue about anything important.
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By: Lynette on 10/31/2008 12:23PM
I took the comment as sarcasim...if not, he's just plain ignorant.
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By: Joyce on 10/31/2008 12:43PM
That has to be one of the dumbest thing I've ever heard/read!
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By: Jabir Abd\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ on 11/05/2008 1:39PM
What's scary about this is that he really thought about his answer!!!Somebody take this young brother to the side and educate him;please. Teach him about slavery,jim crow,lynchings,burnings,bombings,uh show him a picture of young Emmitt before and after,uh matter of fact find his parents and smack the living crap out of them.
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By: Chez-Cerise on 10/31/2008 1:34PM
That is exactly the kind of statement that comes out of someones mouth that was not educated on what the effects of slavery were/are. He is a prime example of that effect.
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By: Ebony on 11/01/2008 3:02PM
I cant wait to tell my son when I get home. We were just talking about solja boy and I was like they need to stop hating on him hes young.
But giving a shout out to slave masters his mama need to beat his butt for real.
Thei is why young people need to know our history
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By: Tiffany on 10/31/2008 1:49PM
We all know he is ignorant; this is not a surprise.
I blame his parent(s) for this. I'm sure this was something taught in the home (like racism and manners).
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By: Kryssi on 10/31/2008 1:47PM
I believe he said that to make a point. We were brought here as slaves and now we've climbed so far up the racial ladder that we can have anything or everything if not nicer things than people of other races have.
Most of the life we see and hear of in the media about Africa is from a negative aspect (poverty, AIDS, outrageous death rates).
I just think his terminology was off. Instead of thanking the slave masters, he should thank God! Try that next time S.B. to avoid misinterpretation!
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By: essence1913 on 10/31/2008 2:09PM
I'm not surprised! Unfortunately I watched his Ice-Cube diss video on you-tube (me and my Sorors were bored) and he sounded really young and immature. So it's not too far-fetched for him to make such a stupid statement like the one aforementioned. He and a lot of other young rappers, athletes and public figures are very uneducated and don't know how to think about the world and articulate anything, let alone discuss race issues, culture, art, etc. The problem is that these overaged babies have a fan-bases that includes our little brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, and children. We need to start censoring what our babies our taking in and start actually teaching them ourselves. Our school systems cannot be held responsible for everything. Some of this ignorance is coming from our homes. I rue the day when the Souljah Boy generation starts running the country!
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