Is slavery bad, or racist?

Now, before I continue, this a a serious discussion, so just hang in with me ok!

Is slavery bad. Is owning one man bad? Or is it just one group of men. And does it make a differenct if there treated well or not?

I thought of this one night, going to sleep, and it really made me think. When you think of a slave, the first thing you think of is a black man, pickin cotton in Mississipi. But many nations before us used slaves, they just didn't care about race. They conqured you, you were a slave, easy. The romans had black slaves, and jewish, and greek and egyption and ROMAN ONES! They didn't on color, it was a job. they even paid there slaves.(sometimes) Romans treated there slaves really well,(mostly, there were always exeptions.)

So I got to thinkin, if we didn't make slavery a race thing, that we would probably had it way longer that it existed. Im sure that when America won the revolution, we would have had british slaves.

I still am not for it, don't think i am, but i just too thinkin, is slavery a man owning man thing, or a racist thing?

Depends: Do you see humans as property/objects or humans?

Let get past this "morally bad" thing. If you had a slave, you would have to feed them and make sure they were able to work for you. That would be money coming out of your pocket. They're bad consumers, and Adam Smith's "Wealth of Nation's" pointed that out.

Also, just because it was done in the past WITHOUT the factor of "race" doesn't mean it's correct. These people were treated as spoils of war (objects). Even if you did, you would have to explain WHY these people are not considered humans but objects.

Is it bad? In my opinion, yes, because they're people, not objects.

It has never been racist, I always saw it as a spoils of war for the victor for the most of it. The only reason why it is deemed racist is due to people just stereotyping it and a way to add guilt to others. Normally nowadays people say slavery was just an "American thing", yet overlook the real old days, It's these people that ruined the history of slavery. Like you said, the Romans and Egyptians had slaves.

Slavery has never been and never will be a thing of racism.

Slavery isnt racist, you just a very close minded individual.
Is it wrong? Of course it is.

Define slavery.

Most people, particularly americans, when they hear the word "slave" they automatically think the movie 10 Commandments and chattel slavery. You know the type -- gaunt, underfed, with a guy with whip egging you on, lives forfeit, ship holds full of kidnapped negroes to work in plantations, that sort of thing.

But, slavery is not like this in all cultures. For example, slavery in the bible ranges from the 10 Commandments type, to prisoners of war, to servants. Slavery in the philippines? Some of them can even own land and their own house (aliping maybahay). Slavery was used as punishment for crimes in some societies, much in the same way some felons today are sentenced to hard labor (but we don't call them slaves at all, and I'm sure no one is going "free felons!").

So, first, define slave.

I'd say the 10 commandments type of slavery is most definitely wrong. Criminals punished with hard labor or those working off a debt or indentured servitude? Not so much.

I agree with this. It all depends on how you treat this so called "slave." What would be considered a slave in some places might be considered an employer or citizen in other places.

I don't think slavery was about race as much as it was about basic human rights.

Slaves are, economically, a bad idea anyway.
In some countries you can get away with paying someone less than they would cost you to keep as a slave.
In most countries, in fact.
People have to work multiple jobs simply to get by; so-called 'wage slavery'.
This is much more economically viable than slavery proper.

If you think slavery is attributed to race, I think you need to hit the books again.

Slavery is ownership of another being, with no rights aside from the ones the owner decides to allot them.

That's it. Plain and simple.

Black, White, Man, Woman, Child, Beluga whale, whatever. If they are defined as property- that makes them a slave.

It depends on the treatment of the slave on whether slavery is bad or good. In most ancient and societies slaves were held for a limited time for a specific reason, and was most likely captured from war. Skin color was not a factor to whether or not a person became a slave and, in most cases, had some human rights. Of course the slave trade between Europe, America, and West Africa is what usually comes to mind for how well documented it was and how completely devoided it was to human right/dignity and in the case of Africans made slaves in America, skin color became a factor and excuse for their treatment. Slavery is a man owning man thing at best and most cases and a racist thing at worst if factors are taken to place.

Would you want to be treated like a object with no rights of your own?

Cause that is basically what slavery is. Unless if you can convince me that somehow seeing people as property can be a good thing i say it is a bad thing

Human is not a mere object, and I don't see why owning a person is normal, in any way.
We're the most intelligent creature in the world, and without human, the world wouldn't be as advanced as it is right now. Slavery is history.

I say it's really bad because humans are not animals who you can own completly, we humans have right that must be respected.

Slaves of all races and ethnicities have been used by people the world over. It's not a racially exclusive thing.

Sadly, Americans were among the last to outright ban the practice, and the majority of American-held slaves were black.

I think the first order of business in a discussion on slavery would be to define it.
For the purposes of discussion, I suggest we define enslavement as possessing the rights, will, and responsibility of another person for either a set period of time or indefinitely. Slavery does not necessitate unfair treatment, nor does it preclude happiness in the enslaved. Many people raised in civilized slavery were content with their lives and wouldn't know what to do if suddenly returned their self-determination and responsibilities.

Best answer is a physical answer, imo, when it comes to this particular topic.

- Blindfold
- Ship to slavery plantation
- Work for 3 months
- Leave
- Have a recollection of everything that happened

OR

Research stories of slavery and slavery itself.

You'll have the perfect answer once either or both are done.

Slavery and the act of Dehumanizing someone through slavery are two completely different fish.

Slave
n.
1. One bound in servitude as the property of a person or household.
2. One who is abjectly subservient to a specified person or influence: "I was still the slave of education and prejudice" (Edward Gibbon).
3. One who works extremely hard.
4. A machine or component controlled by another machine or component.

By the varying definition of the word anyone from the Alienated Africans who were bought and sold, to perhaps even you, can be considered a slave. Hell, even Terminators were slaves. Slavery isn't an automatically evil thing, thanks to the definition of the word it can be interpreted in many ways.

Then there is Slavery mainstream culture is familiar with, which is used to rob people of their humanity. The African slaves of the Americas are a good example, their white owners forced them to believe they were not as smart as them, and that they were not truley human, and as such didn't have the rights given to humans.
This slavery is truley evil, no matter how you view it, it is subjugating another person to a lifestyle, and a way of thinking they are not comfortable with.

Physical wounds can always heal, mental scars on the other hand. In Mauritiana, the slaves have been enslaved to long they truley believe they are not human and that they must obey their Arabian masters, it's a sad story and a sadder fate. The countries abolishnists will have to face the problem of the slaves who now refuse to leave their masters.

Slavery had its uses during ancient times since Romans,Greeks,Egyptians and the Chinese required massive labor forces for their roads,temples,pyramids and aqueduct construction but now its much more hidden.

For anyone who thinks slavery is gone,think again.They merely have new labels such as human trafficking,sweatshops and forced prostitution.

In fact a few years ago,a ship capsized in West Africa carrying dozens of tribals getting sent to a slave auction.The buyers weren't whites or human traffickers,they were other African tribes.In essence African tribes are selling/buying each other.

Do I think owning anyone is correct? No.

I figure this is an easy one. Yes. Slavery is bad.

Reducing someone to an object and forcing them to work without any wage except for a minimal amount of shelter and food you only give them so they won't die is bad. When the Romans did it and treated their slaves with a modicum of civility, it was still bad. Because slaves tended to, in the roman times, be spoils of war. And at the time Pliny the Older would argue that taking slaves from conquered countries is wrong, because the countries are conquered, and a part of your land now, so you're enslaving your own people, and this is wrong. It's as wrong as it is for any country to enslave its own people to a fascistic-dictatorship they never desired.

What about voluntary slavery you might ask? Well what was voluntary slavery? It was the enslavement of people to the people that they owed a debt to. A contract that they owe a certain amount of years to serve under someone because of a monumental debt of some sort. But is that right? No. It prevents the person from persuing their own life when they could just as easily set up a payment system with the people they're in debt to, without essentially putting them in a work prison for several years.

Slaves were and still are malnourished, raped, beaten, and refused education. If you think any of that is bad, then no, slavery is not good.

Also, for those who are claiming slavery was NEVER a racial issue, I'd like to point out a few things.

1. Minstrel Shows.

During the 1800's, Minstrel Shows were performed all over the place by white people dressed up in black face to mock the intelligence of black people. During these shows they would inevitably show that black people are dumb, lazy, incompetent, and actually like being slaves, and prefer to live under their slave masters.

If it's not racial, why need they impersonate black people and paint them as seperate from white people to put forward this message?

2. Racist taxonomical evaluations at the time.

At the time it was not uncommon for black people to be considered beneath white people taxonomically, that their heads were built in a way that made them stupid. and, thusly, by argumentation, it was attempted to use this information to justify keeping them as slaves, as if it was a favor to them.

3. Racist studies done at the time.

There was a study done on the psychological capabilities of freed black people in the North, where scientists would attempt to establish, violating the scientific method, that black people were incapable of living on their own without, quite literally, going crazy. and they would do so by trying to find samples from the North specifically that weren't living upstanding lives to prove this.

It was a racial issue. At least around the time of United States slavery.

You are looking at the topic of slavery from the wrong perspective. Slavery is not brought on from racism, but rather racism is a symptom evolved from slavery. In order for people to come to grips with the concept of owning another person, it is necessary to dehumanize the one you choose to enslave. After that, it becomes easier to justify your actions and continue them.

When the Confederate slaves were finally emancipated, the former slave owners still felt that African people were inferior and could not relate to them as equals. Even many of those, who supposedly advocated the abolition of slavery, still felt they were not quite equal. It is that false feeling of superiority that has evolved into the concept you are referring to as racism.

As to your question:

Yes, slavery is bad. It is an act that strips an individual of their right to choose their own path in life. It tears away a person's free will and self-respect, and replaces them with blind obedience and self-loathing. While there are some people who relish being submissive, and like being controlled, I doubt they understand the harsh reality of true slavery. Being treated well, as a slave, comes from being obedient and not from the kindness of the owner. Good work is rewarded and bad work is punished severely! That is the truth of slavery, and any other belief is a fiction created by those who enjoy living in fantasy land. The true scars come when the slave begins to believe the lies their master's tell them. Those scars are very difficult to heal.

What we see in S&M or BDSM films is not real slavery, but sexual role play. Most people will find little to arouse them if they saw an actual slave staked out and whipped until half dead, and then being forced to continue working in the fields.