The Afflecks Owned Slaves

Ben Affleck, from an old American family, has ancestors who owned slaves.

Oh.

And he asked for and received censroship of this fact.  W T F ?!!??

It is never the facts, it is always the cover-up.

Ben Affleck persuaded the producers of Finding Your Roots to edit out details of how his ancestors were slave owners even though it was a breach of PBS editorial rules.The new Batman star, who supports a number of liberal causes, objected to the ancestry TV show airing how his distant relations were racist, leaked Sony emails reveal.

So what?! If you are long term American, your family probably owned slaves, if you were the right people.  Here is a bill of sale for some slaves my ancestors auctioned off.  On Christmas Eve.



Hell, the Spiers were so tied up in slaves court cases got involved:

1808
Spiers v. Willison, 4 Cranch 398, 8 U.S. 398, 2 L.Ed. 659(U.S.Ky.,1808)(Rebecca Willison, claimed title to the slaves under her grandmother, and at the trial offered parol proof that the grandmother, while Kentucky was a part of Virginia, had given them to her by a deed, which  was lost. By the Virginia act of assembly, no gift of a slave was valid unless in writing and recorded. Court Held:  parol evidence may be given of the existence of a deed of gift to show the nature of possession which accompanied the deed.)
Ramsay v. Lee, 4Cranch 401 (Mem), 8 U.S.  401, 2 L.Ed. 660 (U.S.Dist.Col.,1808) In Virginia, in 1784, no gift of a slave was valid unless in writing and recorded, although possession accompanied the gift.

Back to that bill of sale...  the Spiers were rich and connected.  A man's sins unto the third and fourth generation...."  We were wiped out four generations after that.

I teach my kids two lessons:

1. Don't worry what crimes your ancestors committed that were "OK" at the time, what crimes are YOU committing now that are "OK" at the time?

2.   Don't fool yourself, all you gain will be lost if it is crime-based.

Update:

Affleck has not learned his lesson:

Affleck said he hopes that, if anything, the PBS controversy would keep the issue of slavery in the national spotlight.
“We deserve neither credit nor blame for our ancestors,” he wrote, “and the degree of interest in this story suggests that we are, as a nation, still grappling with the terrible legacy of slavery.”

Nice diversion, Ben.  The question is not slavery in your case, it is integrity.   The controversy is that you were given the censorship you requested. And now the brand is shot, knowing that the raison d'etre of the show is contrived.

Again, Ben, what crimes do you engage in today that are "OK" today, but will be appalling in the light of cold history?  Think ben, think!

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