Dear Ben Affleck:
No need to apologize for
the bad behavior of past generations. Please, we know who you are. If you were
a bigot TMZ would have told us that a long time ago.
As a member of an
American Indian tribe that lost ancestors to slavery during pre-colonial and
colonial years, followed by generations of cultural genocide and our
lands taken from under us, hardly a day passes that I don't regret the sins
committed against my people, but I don't hold their descendants responsible for
acts they had no part in.
In fact, in 2009 I was
invited to be the keynote speaker at the annual meeting of the Massachusetts
Mayflower Descendants society. The speech was long and quite honestly I feared
I wouldn't get through it without having food thrown at me as I recounted the
devastation suffered by the Wampanoag at the hands of the colonists.
I was talking to a room
full of people potentially burdened with nearly 400 years of white guilt.
Their ancestors brought
disease, broken promises, and piety that pitied my ancestors as savages then
tried to convert them. As a final insult all those Wampanoag who refused to
assimilate or were otherwise deemed a threat to the colonies were packed aboard
ships and sold into slavery.
But my salient point
before finishing my speech that was followed by a standing ovation went something like this:
I do not hold any of you
accountable for the sins of your ancestors. I hold you accountable for the
future.
Which is exactly what I
would say to you.
Just the fact that you
were embarrassed enough at the discovery of your forebear's connection to
slavery to want it squashed shows that your family has evolved to a much higher
moral ground. And now that it's out there, just as you said, it contributes to
the ongoing discussion about the roots of racism and a period in history that
we should never forget lest we be doomed to repeat.
Carry on Ben Affleck.
It's not your fault. Just raise your kids to be the next generation of change.
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