Irish "Slaves"
This is absolutely untrue. There is a huge difference between indentured service, and chattel slavery. Indentured service is voluntary, and temporary. It’s a set time working off a debt in exchange for money for things like passage to the US from Ireland, in this case. It was not being kidnapped, chained to a boat, sold away from friends and family, and living the rest of your life as a captive, working for no pay, and any children you have being born into that system, as well. Indentured service was not generational.
Did the Irish face discrimination in this country when they first arrived? Absolutely, but they were never slaves. They have also since been inducted into whiteness and benefit from and participate in white supremacy now.
Think of indentured service in terms of today. A good example is a person joining the military to pay for medical school or college. The military pays for your schooling, and you work a set amount of time in the military to pay them back. This is a voluntary state of being, unlike the involuntary state of enslavement. It’s insulting to compare the two. Please stop perpetuating this harmful myth.
No comments:
Post a Comment