I'm not apologizing!

Well, looks like Virginia's all-knowing and wise delegates have really done it now...apologized for slavery for the whole state. Well, they didn't speak for me. Now before y'all go and scream racists or any of those other terms you find so endearing, hear me out... Slavery was wrong. It was atrocious. It was also legal 140 years ago. I wasn't around then. I doubt many of you all were either. So tell me, who's left to apologize, and who's left to receive the apology? And before y'all want to tell me how underprivileged blacks are today because of history...I'll admit, there could be some truth to that I suppose. BUT - how long can one race use any issue for a crutch, and how long can another race be blamed? And no, not all descendants of slavery use it as a crutch. As a matter of fact, I'd dare say not a lot do. But you know that media - the squeaky wheel gets the air time... Now, bein' Southern, I take particular offense to that apology - for several reasons. For one thing, those pandering politically correct politicians didn't speak for the majority of the state...google any Virginia Apology Polls. That's not what they were elected to do, yet they continue to sit up there in their ivory towers, totally out of touch with what their constituents want, catering to their own political agendas. Well, we can change that the next time elections roll around. Secondly, slavery did not exist only in Virginia. So why did Virginia delegates up and decide to do this? What about New York? Mizz Clinton, you've done enough Southern-bashing with your trip to SC - where's your apology? And Mr. Kennedy - history books seem to show slavery existed in Massechusetts...I don't hear you saying much. Matter of fact, I don't hear much of anything coming from above the Mason-Dixon. That bothers me. Do the great legislators of the North realize how bad Virginia delegates screwed up, so they're gonna keep their mouths shut? (What about that - first time for everything I guess). Thirdly, and just as important, I'm concerned with the doors this will open - mainly the doors of reparations. In early February, before this thing ever passed, Je$$e Jack$on was talking about how "there may be a reluctance to apologize for the heinous crime of slavery, because with apology goes the obligation to repair the damage" (CNSN News, Feb. 2, 2007). Now I ask you - when has Je$$e Jack$on EVER done anything that didn't result in his financial gain? If you're easily offended (and for whatever reason, you're still reading) you might want to stop here, because I'm going to give you my take on "reparations". Actually, it's a friend's take, but I'm going to borrow it, because it makes a really good point. Let's say you're cruising along in your '86 Pinto. I run a stop sign, and total your Pinto. At this point me and/or my insurance owe you "reparations". One of us is going to pay to put you back in the position you were in before I came along and ruined it for you. BUT, we're going to put you exactly where you were. You're not getting reimbursed for a 2007 Hummer, or even a 2004 Lexus. You're going to get the equivalent of an '86 Pinto. THAT'S reparations. So, here's your grass shack in Africa Je$$e - happy now? And I've been told that I'm taking this apology too personally (those of you who know me, I'm sure, see how ridiculous that is!), but actually, I guess they're right. Growing up in the South, I've continually had to watch as my Southern Heritage has been chipped away. Revisionist history has so demonized the South, that anyone who refuses to read the truth about that horrible war continues to demonize my beloved homeland. And everyday, something else "Confederate" is deemed offensive and ordered removed (or changed, or altered, etc.) And everytime we protest the loss, at some point and time someone always tells us to "Get over it". (Use the phrase "Get over it" when it comes to the slavery issue - the NAACP will be on ya' like white on rice!) Not really that easy, you see. I come from Confederate blood. Several of my ancestors fought against lincoln's invasion (and no, you'll never see that name capitalized in one of my posts). Those ancestors weren't rich plantation-owning slaveholders. They were as common as they come. They were farmers mostly, like my family still does some of today. Their homes, their land, their family, their very way of life came under attack. And they fought back. The South seceeded - we just wanted to be left alone to do our thing, and the union could do it's thing. But lincoln couldn't let it be. And don't start on me about Ft. Sumpter. If need be, I'll explain that in another post. But I digress. I came from a bloodline of folks who's only source of pride wasn't their mansions, or how many slaves they owned, or how much land. Their pride was in their families, their simple homes (as they definitely weren't rich), their belief in God and Country. And THAT's what they fought for. The government of that time had become corrupt. The north was all fat and happy, prospering off the proverbial back of the South. And my ancestors fought against it! They fought against the same tyranny that the founding fathers had fought against in the first war for independance. The Southland meant enough to them that they tried to leave the union peacefully, and when that failed, a quarter-million soldiers gave their lives to defend it. THAT's the ancestors I come from. THAT's where my Confederate pride comes from. THAT's why I'm proud to call myself a Southerner. And you see, this apology is being looked at by some as an admission of guilt. Yes, it existed, (in the North and South). Yes, it was terrible. But Virginia is not going to be made to carry the guilt of the entire country 142 years ago! I absolutely will NOT dishonor the pride and memory of my ancestors with some kind of apology that is meant only for show, or political correctness, or appeasement. I genuinely hate that slavery existed, and now I hate that this apology exists. Please check out the following link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUigNi5HZ2U ( Thank you to jackhawkins) - it's a truly awesome call to arms.