Comments on: Whoopi Thinks Slavery Still In Constitution?

By: Darlene

Darlene — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 02:47:18 +0000

I am sure she would like to see reparations
as well. I wonder why others are not
wanting reparations? It seems others have
moved on about their past, why can’t Whoopi
and her friends?

By: Terry

Terry — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 11:32:30 +0000

It does do away with slavery unless there was crime which the person was convicted, hence, chain gangs in prisons. The Civil War was about slavery and to secede from the US, those states wanted their own nation state so they could have slavery.

By: Angie

Angie — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 01:29:36 +0000

And… ummm, like, WHY did the southern states want to secede (not succeed)?

Slavery.

So I guess the Civil War REALLY WAS about slavery, huh?

As far as glazing over slavery, passing a constitutional amendment is kind of a BIG DEAL, hardly a glaze. Why does it need to be revisited? It was never condoned in the original drafting of The Constitution, so the only reason I can see that someone would want to “revisit” the issue would be…. reparations? Get that approved so people like me – whose family has been in this country for far less than 100 years – can pay money to people like you for something someone else did 150 years ago?

Too many people living in the past, worried about clawing their way to the top even if it’s at others’ expense, ready to play victim and whine and moan – it’s no wonder this country is in the shape it’s in.

By: Robert Givens

Robert Givens — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 16:07:10 +0000

what’s wrong Warner? You deleted my post about your errors in your original article. I don’t support Whoopi – she’s wrong in her statements. But so are you! Why don’t you allow people to show how wrong you are? Again, you CANNOT remove slavery from the constitution, as you stipulated in your article. Slavery WAS NEVER legal under the constitution. The founding fathers never had it in the constitution. Moreover, you cannot remove clauses from the constitution as you implied. Instead, you pass amendments, repealing other amendments. For example, the 21st amendment repeals the 18th amendment on prohibition. The 13th amendment makes slavery illegal, but it never repealed any other amendment. Thus, you are wrong in saying it was removed from the constitution, since you imply it was ever in the constitution. So before making fun of Whoopi for not knowing the constitution, please learn about the constitution yourself.

By: Warner Todd Huston

Warner Todd Huston — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 01:04:52 +0000

“Margaret”

If you think the Civil War was not fought over slavery, you have not paid attention to its history.

Yes, there was more than one reason the Civil War was fought, but to say it WASN’T slavery is just plain uninformed.

By: Margaret Opine

Margaret Opine — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 18:49:48 +0000

This blog opens with a sny remark which is mostly untrue. The Civil War was not fought over human slavery; it was fought over succession from the union. To get to that goal Lincoln made a decision to free some of the Americans held in bondage. His decision open the flood gates; the Americans held in bondage came out and joined the Union Army, which Lincoln then agreed to and that event in American history turned the tide and kept the states together. THAT, was a most important event and more important at the time than human enslavement because our flanks were open to invasion, our nation was at each other’s throat.

Therefore, human slavery is an issue that we must address as fellow Americans. We have to face it because we really didn’t fact it then. We kind of glazed over it.

And, slavery was not wiped out permanently in America. There are over 2 million enslaved individuals in America right now in 2008.

IDO NOT AGREE with what Whoopi said and how she said it and the antics that went with it. I think her stance is hurtful. However, I did not realize that it would be taken as a political whipping crane to beat McCain over his political head with.

Human slavery is a subject we just don’t want to talk about. It means we will have to leave our dream world and talk about what goes on in our real world and that will be nasty, ruthless thinking and behavior that occured in OUR American History and in our human history.

On one site a fellow mused, “You don’t need to worry about slavery if you stay out of Africa.” There is an international enslavement ring working out of Amsterdam. I want to do what I can to stop that. That’s a human being even if that human is another nationality and ethnicity.

Enslavement and slavery is a part of human history because it is a human behavior.
–Margaret Opine

By: GJB

GJB — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 18:08:29 +0000

First off, slavery is not illegal in the US.

13th Amendment
Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for a crime whereof the party shall have duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

Second, mm,

How far back should McCain go? Back to the point when the constitution was more important than the opinion of some liberal judge who doesn’t like it.

And yes, the Constitution is not absolute, but there is a method for changing it that the liberals seem to want to ignore.

By: Philip

Philip — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 18:03:44 +0000

She has never worried about being a fool, so why should she worry about anything else?

By: NUFsEnough

NUFsEnough — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 18:00:58 +0000

If Whoopi’s ancestors ever were slaves, she should get down on her knees every night and thank God that they were slaves – since that resulted in her having the priveledge to be born in America and become a millionaire off her wits. Would anyone argue that she’d be better off if she were born in Africa with all the others whose ancestors were not brought here?

By: Gail S

Gail S — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 15:41:09 +0000

Even before the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments, there was no endorsement for slavery in the Constitution. That “All men are created equal…” thing in the constitution means what it says. Passages explicitly prohibiting slavery were not able to be added because southern slaveowners would never have signed up.

Nonetheless, the founding fathers did manage to avoid any language supporting slavery.

It was this constitution that was the legal precedent for the Emancipation Proclamation and the ensuing amendments were probably redundant.

Whoopi is an unfortunate and voluntary slave to ignorance. Her own nation thinks more highly of her than she thinks of herself.

Maybe someday, she will catch up with the rest of us who actually know our government.

Best regards,
Gail S