Some dude in 2020: You should not judge a historical figure, a man from the past, by the modern ethics! He was a product of his time. 500 years ago his actions were completely normal! Itâs present-ism, we canât judge⌠bla-bla-blaâŚ
People from 500 years ago: Oh my, this guy is such a bastard, a genocidal butcher, a total piece of garbage. Letâs keep records of this douche so people from the future shall hate him too.Â
Columbusâs crew were writing about what a genocidal monster he was. There were mutinies and uprisings by his crews and colonists constantly. If his contemporaries were willing to risk the ire of the queen of Spain to oppose him, we have every right to call him out on it too.
My fave professor always says âthere have always been antiracist people doing antiracist workâ. So yeah, I can hold historical peeps to a higher standard because there were good, ethical people who knew better
Saying âyou canât judge the founding fathers on slaveryâ because âthey didnât know any betterâ or âthatâs just how it was back thenâ is a cop out. Itâs a standard whitewash that is still used to excuse racists today.
And I can promise you that there absolutely positively were people back then who knew slavery was wrong, and voiced their opinion that slavery was evil. Starting with the slaves themselves.
And if the words of the slaves somehow isnât good enough, then listen to what one of the founding fathers had to say about the evils of slavery: (x)
Saying people didnât know any better is whitewashing history, and perpetuating a false image of white purity and innocence. Slavers knew exactly what they were doing. All in the name of free labor and profit. The exploitive nature of capitalism hasnât changed very much. Iâll bet 100 years from now people will argue that Jeff Bezos didnât know he was risking the lives of his employees in the middle of a pandemic. Because âtimes were different back then.â
So yeah, people who insist that âtimes were just different back thenâ are racism apologists, whether they realize it or not. That worn out excuse is as old as slavery itself. Call those fuckers out.
