Would you say that black and white people have more in common than they realize?

[Silver7]

Okay so I want to write about a fictional universe where the transatlantic slave trade never happened and also write about how people would view black and brown people if the slave trade never took place in history.

Even though people fight over skin color alot, would you say that skin color doesn't really make white and black people that different from each other?

[DiegoPalacios]

Obviously.....we are all human

[NickRowler]

I live in a pretty diverse area and no one is fighting each other over skin color. Most people just mind their own business and don't care what you look like.

I know there are chronically online anti-social people who pick fights on social media, but most people aren't like that.

[kyupol]

We are all consciousness experiencing reality. The skin color is just a flesh suit. It's not really you.

[ShidoDraws]

Slave trade isn't what caused segregation and discrimination if that's what you're asking. It really boils down to the basic idea that being different is what makes you unlikable/likable. That idea alone can weaken any country, ethnicity and even sexuality. This is why education and proper human connection is important.

We are all consciousness experiencing reality. The skin color is just a flesh suit. It's not really you.

I agree, though I do have to add that this statement is an oversimplification. For religious reasons it makes sense, but scientifically it doesn't make much sense because what usually follows with this sentiment is the idea that we are all in a simulation which doesn't give credit to the fact that millions if not billions of people suffer every day. Calling their experience "just a thing that happen" is a good way to ignore real world problems that can be fix with human effort.

[moontokkym]

I second @DiegoPalacios, but your question is making me ask: how different do you think other people think they are? Because other than really hardcore racists, basically everyone will tell you that humans are humans and we relate more to each other than we differ, no matter the skin tone.

The people who say there's a clear divide in who we are as people (which is different from recognising the long-term impact of systemic racism on people's material prospects and subconscious treatment) are a weird enclave of little freaks in the corner who shout a lot. I'm kind of worried you're surrounded by weird people for you to express "black and white people are actually more similar than they say" as if it were a deep realisation and not something you've been told by just... Idk existing? Like well done, you're right, people are similar to other people but why is that news to you?

[BoomerZ]

The transatlantic slave trade not happening would change nothing. People that look different are the "other" because you can easily identify them as "other". But being from a different place, specially in history past, makes you an "other" also. Slavery wasn't really racial until much later in history, mostly when we had the ability to travel long distances with cargo (slaves being part of that cargo). Asians enslaved asians, blacks enslaved black and whites enslaved whites far before it was a race thing. Most slavery started from just by taking neighbors that looked like you but lived over there and not here. So you would have to eliminate slavery completely (and human nature in general) to change how people would react differently

[Silver7]

I'm kind of worried you're surrounded by weird people for you to express "black and white people are actually more similar than they say" as if it were a deep realisation and not something you've been told by just... Idk existing? Like well done, you're right, people are similar to other people but why is that news to you?

Well I have a cousin who is always trying to tell me that all other nations of people do not like black people and that everyone else is against us, but its not like I agree with him or anything like that. I was just curious if people would view us differently if the transatlantic slave trade never took place

[annascarlson]

Skin pigmentation is really just like built in sun screen.
When it comes to seeing people as different it has to do with a built in biological mechanism to protect ourselves from others that could potentially be a threat. Howevere, you can get people to look past skin color even if they call themselves racists. You just need to make them feel as if they belong to the same group, for example if they both support the same fotball team.

So in a world were the transatlantic slave trade never happened there would still be racism, or other forms of discrimination. I would guess that there might also be fewer people of African decent in America since lots of people would never have been forced there.

Not sure if my thoughts about this help. Good luck with your writing.

[CanOfTuna]

I think we have the same bone structure but I'm not sure

[IndigoShirtProd]

I think it depends on who the "they" is when you say "they realize."

how people would view black and brown people if the slave trade never took place in history.

If the TAST didn't happen, like someone else said, there would generally be less people of African descent in the Americas. But aside from that, colonialization probably would still have had resounding affects regardless. No Africans becoming slaves just means that more lower class "white" people being slaves/indentured servants for longer and likely a more severe genocide of native peoples. Colonialization would still happen in Africa and Asia, to the point where, for example, there are millions, probably billions of adults today who are older than some African countries have had their independence. We would still have racism, but it would be branded different. Maybe certain European people wouldn't be grandfathered into the "white race." Maybe there would be more hate for Asian people and Native Americans. Who knows? Removing the TAST would be removing a massive part in how racism looks like in America aka the USA, but European countries would probably just push those socially detrimental, but economically invaluable ideals more as they went on to colonize the rest of the world.

The skin color is just a flesh suit. It's not really you.

I mean, it is you. It's literally a part of you. If you want to dissociate from the social ramifications of having a certain skin color, you're well within your rights to do so. But saying it's not you is a very lukewarm take.

Slave trade isn't what caused segregation and discrimination if that's what you're asking.

I think it depends on where you directing that type of language. In general, you're right. Discrimination and segregation between religious groups in Southeast Asia probably have nothing to do with the slave trade. But you would be wrong if the context is American or even European coded racism. Which is what I think the OP is focusing on.

Well I have a cousin who is always trying to tell me that all other nations of people do not like black people

Anti-blackness does show up socially in many countries that are influenced by America. But as an individual it would make more sense on propping yourself and other black people you know up, and less time stressing yourself out on "not being liked" in other countries.

I was just curious if people would view us differently if the transatlantic slave trade never took place

Yes, they would, but imo, it would only be marginally better. Remember that the slave trade was an economic effort and racism mainly was and is a way to keep "white" people economically above all other people. And that your proximity to that whiteness helps determine your economic standing in the world. Eh, for the most part to be charitable.

I think we have the same bone structure but I'm not sure

I think we all have skeletons, but some of us are born missing a forearm or two.

[jwabeasley]

Look at the Roman Empire for inspiration, it had all those ethnicities at all layers of society. People cared a lot about ethnicity of foreigners or new arrivals in the empire- what tribe you're from and so forth, but skin pigmentation was just a fact of life that was different for some people.

[VibrantFox]

pardon the sarcasm but i really feel like that ought to be obvious. most racism is bred from ignorance and taught biases based on ideas of supremacy but at the end of the day as others have said we're all human. we bleed the same we breathe the same. we've got the same 206 bones in our body

bill nye already gave the breakdown on skin color and melanin but when it comes to societal aspects thats got to deal with the ideological aspects. i myself am writing a story set in a world where there isnt overt racism. there may be the existence of certain biases or prejudices but not the kind of active systemic racism we see in our current society. obviously that means a little more critical thinking when it comes to creating conflicts but it also forces some changes of perspective of what i would think a non racist world would look like

but yeah no everyone is human. we may have some cultural differences in our lived experiences and the influences of place of living and institutional powers will vary along with physical or mental ability but at our core we are fundamentally the same

[NOOR_ASAKZ05]

Well, the transatlantic slave trade became the only option for Europeans because it was easier, but that doesn't negate the fact that slaves came from all races. You can look into Mediterranean civilizations where the color of your skin didn't exempt you from slavery.
+
Well, we are all human beings. There are no real differences except for biological matters that depend on chemicals, genetics, etc., but these are not important in determining who a person really is. As the Messenger of God, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, said: “There is no difference between an Arab and a non-Arab except in piety.”

[ShidoDraws]

I think it depends on where you directing that type of language. In general, you're right. Discrimination and segregation between religious groups in Southeast Asia probably have nothing to do with the slave trade. But you would be wrong if the context is American or even European coded racism. Which is what I think the OP is focusing on.

Mm, I suppose I should reword it. "Slave trade is the correlation to segregation and discrimination but it's not the causation."

And I am speaking of American history, but you can't talk about black American history without acknowledging African histories. They were also enslaving their own people, since history a lot of black Africans lived in poverty and kids were kidnapped to work in farm fields. A common place for those practices was in French speaking regions of Africa. They didn't care about slavery as much until the French colonization. Other than slaves, they wanted the land, that is where cacao was harvested from, and their rich soil was also beneficial as well. It sounds a lot like how North America was colonized. Every black Americans were not treated equally but not all were enslaved. And Indigenous Americans are still segregated till this day.

What I'm trying to say is, slavery was not done with only racism in mind. It's a greed thing where only the rich and wealthy stays powerful. And that still echoes today, to them it was never just about racism. In modern day, immigrants are the new hot thing to blame American's problems on.

[BoomerZ]

For people that want to read about slavery, go read this book. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Rednecks_and_White_Liberals. Thomas Sowell has a chapter on it.

[TAMAnnoying]

I truly believe people just enjoy being rage baited...

[ShidoDraws]

To be fair, I don't like interacting with rage bait posts/videos. But sometimes you just have to scratch that itch.

Anyway, I'll be signing out of this conversation now. Thanks for the reminder. Lol

[KevinReijnders]

The transatlantic slave trade not happening would change nothing.

Hard disagree. It lies at the bedrock of the foundation of modern day America, not to mention the wealth it generated for those that participated in it and the active multi generational harm is caused (and still causes) for those upon which it was inflicted. It not having happened would cascade throughout history massively. The world we know today would look entirely different.

[BoomerZ]

Once again, read the book I posted. Most plantations with slaves were MASSIVELY in debt. The culture of the south was "live for today". There was very little planning for the future. The south was massively backward in culture, innovation, and wealth compared to the north. It was basically two different countries. This was not a racial thing as blacks in the north out scored southern whites in education at the time. And most of that wealth was then destroyed in the civil war. The left over distrust and racial strife was the only thing left. But as that racism happens in every nation on planet earth, that was not only because of slavery. My point was slavery in America is literally a footnote of horrid practices from basically every culture to other cultures since the beginning of time. I would say Britain had a much larger part in slavery as they are the ones that ended slavery for most of the world.