# Interesting article about questions received while giving tours of Southern plantations **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 30, 2015, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-article-about-questions-received-while-giving-tours-of-southern-plantations/723842 "2015-06-30T02:44:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2015, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-article-about-questions-received-while-giving-tours-of-southern-plantations/723842/41 "2015-07-05T22:51:55Z")
It doesn’t matter when your personal genetic ancestors–or you–arrived. Or in what section they settled. The nation itself was built on a foundation of which slavery was an indispensable part. Slavery is part of the heritage of _all_ Americans. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2015, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-article-about-questions-received-while-giving-tours-of-southern-plantations/723842/42 "2015-07-05T22:52:59Z")
I hope they make it clear there will be lecturers and exhibits on slavery. Someone that wants to see a historic antebellum home and architecture should have that option. They need to know ahead of time what the museum has planned for the tour. Then the visitor can make an informed decision if they want to go. Many will want to learn more about the history and lives of slaves. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2015, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-article-about-questions-received-while-giving-tours-of-southern-plantations/723842/43 "2015-07-05T22:53:57Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > Look at the numbers of when most white people came to the U.S. [after](http://www.cairco.org/sites/default/files/images/charts/us-immigration-growth-chart.gif) 1865. The vast majority of white Americans can’t trace their ancestory to American slavery. > > Part of the Irish-American identity has to own the Draft Riots, Italians the Bensonhurst killing, the Koreans for shooting Black kids over stolen Pepsi, etc. etc. but slavery isn’t going to get much traction. It just isn’t. But **grude** ’s point is that people just use the royal we/us as a matter of habit. I think you’re proving **monstro** ’s point–that it is about identifying with the enslavers, not the enslaved. > [@aceplace57](#): > > Theres no denying history. Oppression, slavery, poverty all happened. I think its more productive to face forward. Send all your kids to college. Take advantage of every opportunity and build a better life for the next generations. There are new immigrants doing that right now in America. All righty then. The source of our proud anti-intellectual tradition! ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2015, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-article-about-questions-received-while-giving-tours-of-southern-plantations/723842/44 "2015-07-05T23:02:48Z")
By the same token, > [@monstro](#): > > Yet it doesn’t stop a lot of white people from talking about using “we”, “us”, and “our” when it comes to the good stuff. Like how “we” fought the British and proclaimed “our” independence. The American-citizen descendants of slaves, and of latter-day immigrants, should feel as entitled to such constructions as anyone else. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2015, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-article-about-questions-received-while-giving-tours-of-southern-plantations/723842/45 "2015-07-05T23:07:57Z")
> [@Peremensoe](#): > > By the same token, > > The American-citizen descendants of slaves, and of latter-day immigrants, should feel as entitled to such constructions as anyone else. I can do the “we” and “our” with some things. But not others. I’ve always had a time with “our” Forefathers, for instance. I know that as an American, I am entitled to act as if I’m descended from those gentlemen. But it just feels wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2015, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-article-about-questions-received-while-giving-tours-of-southern-plantations/723842/46 "2015-07-05T23:32:45Z")
Go ahead and claim whatever “we” you want. I hear people say “we” won the Cold War, while ironically, I who was in uniform at some of its uglier episodes feel like I was an unwilling spectator. Must have worked like the Ludovico Technique. But it’s the “you” that worries me. I hope we can agree that hereditary blame is a Nazi concept. ETA > [@Peremensoe](#): > > Slavery is part of the heritage of _all_ Americans. No, thank you ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-article-about-questions-received-while-giving-tours-of-southern-plantations/723842/47 "2015-07-06T01:50:58Z")
I can’t see the point of using a museum tour to deliver a harsh lesson. Slavery was covered quite thoroughly in school. How it caused tensions during the drafting of the Constitutions. Then severe political tensions as new states entered the Union (some free and some slave). Culminating with succession and the Civil War. I recall studying portions of U_ncle Toms Cabin_. Discussing the underground railroad and how escaped slaves found freedom in the North. Movie and tv have covered slavery. \*Roots \*is a miniseries that every parent should watch with their teenage children. Slavery isn’t a shameful event being hid from anybody. It happened. People died fighting a Civil War over it. The South paid a terrible, punitive price during the [Reconstruction Era](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reconstruction_Era). We don’t need a tour guide at a museum to remind us of that terrible period in history. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-article-about-questions-received-while-giving-tours-of-southern-plantations/723842/48 "2015-07-06T02:07:50Z")
To clarify, certainly include a balanced story at these antebellum museums. Include information about all aspects of plantation life. Exhibits from the slavery period are appropriate. The former guide in the quoted article sounds like they went far beyond that. It sounded like a really drawn out lecture meant to shock and upset tourists. There’s no need to do that. A balanced story can be told without upsetting people. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-article-about-questions-received-while-giving-tours-of-southern-plantations/723842/49 "2015-07-06T02:11:48Z")
[A lot of people haven’t been properly educated.](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/monkey-cage/wp/2015/07/01/white-support-for-the-confederate-flag-really-is-about-racism-not-southern-heritage/) Or maybe they have and their ignorance is 100% willful. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-article-about-questions-received-while-giving-tours-of-southern-plantations/723842/50 "2015-07-06T02:30:49Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > To clarify, certainly include a balanced story at these antebellum museums. Include information about all aspects of plantation life. Exhibits from the slavery period are appropriate. > > The former guide in the quoted article sounds like they went far beyond that. It sounded like a really drawn out lecture meant to shock and upset tourists. There’s no need to do that. A balanced story can be told without upsetting people. Can you quote to me the parts where she lectured people to shock and upset them? Because I don’t see anything like that there. It sounds to me like people asked her questions betraying their ignorance and that she sought to address that, politely but without sugarcoating it. Also, if we’re talking about history, why is the end goal “Dear god, let’s not upset the white folks!”? Seriously–terrible things happen and are still happening, but your takeaway is let’s not upset the white people? ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-article-about-questions-received-while-giving-tours-of-southern-plantations/723842/51 "2015-07-06T02:57:32Z")
I said don’t upset the tourists. There are tourists from all races and all countries. They are there on vacation to have fun and to see local culture. Give them a balanced historical perspective but keep in mind why they are there. Now I’m curious to go to one of these museums and listen for myself what they are teaching. I may have gotten the wrong impression from that article. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-article-about-questions-received-while-giving-tours-of-southern-plantations/723842/52 "2015-07-06T11:34:43Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > The South paid a terrible, punitive price during the [Reconstruction Era](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reconstruction_Era). Considering the aftermath (lynchings, Jim Crow, segregation, voting suppression, etc.), perhaps it wasn’t harsh enough (or perhaps it was the wrong strategy). I think there should have been a de-Confederization, just like the post WWII de-Nazification in Europe. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-article-about-questions-received-while-giving-tours-of-southern-plantations/723842/53 "2015-07-06T11:56:51Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I said don’t upset the tourists. There are tourists from all races and all countries. They are there on vacation to have fun and to see local culture. Give them a balanced historical perspective but keep in mind why they are there. > > Now I’m curious to go to one of these museums and listen for myself what they are teaching. I may have gotten the wrong impression from that article. If your main goal is to have a good time without thinking too much, maybe don’t go to a Southern plantation for your vacation? Plenty of folks vacation in Washington DC–do you think they should lighten up the Holocaust Museum? ---
**Author:** ![Emiliana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f0a364/32.png) [@Emiliana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emiliana)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-article-about-questions-received-while-giving-tours-of-southern-plantations/723842/54 "2015-07-06T12:36:33Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I said don’t upset the tourists. There are tourists from all races and all countries. They are there on vacation to have fun and to see local culture. Give them a balanced historical perspective but keep in mind why they are there. > > Now I’m curious to go to one of these museums and listen for myself what they are teaching. I may have gotten the wrong impression from that article. What would a balanced historical perspective look like? Ladies and gentlemen, look at the beautiful proportions of this room, it’s refined furniture, the serenity of its color scheme–all of which the owners could afford to buy and maintain because of slave labor! Actually, there are former plantations where you can get married while pretending to be a southern belle if you’re vapid enough to think it appropriate. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-article-about-questions-received-while-giving-tours-of-southern-plantations/723842/55 "2015-07-06T13:44:34Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > The South paid a terrible, punitive price during the [Reconstruction Era](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reconstruction_Era). Goddammit, no it didn’t. Wealthy Southern ex-slaveowners paid a punitive price of sorts during Reconstruction. Southern ex-slaves did not, unless you’re considering the formation of the Klan to be part of Reconstruction. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-article-about-questions-received-while-giving-tours-of-southern-plantations/723842/56 "2015-07-06T14:21:41Z")
> [@Emiliana](#): > > Actually, there are former plantations where you can get married while pretending to be a southern belle if you’re vapid enough to think it appropriate. When will [Ghana](http://theculturetrip.com/africa/ghana/articles/ghana-s-slave-castles-the-shocking-story-of-the-ghanaian-cape-coast/) realize the money it’s losing as a destination wedding spot? Or Jamaica, where interracial couples getting married can dress up like slaves and reenact the [forced blending](http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-irish-slave-trade-the-forgotten-white-slaves/31076) of the Irish into the African slave population. ---
**Author:** ![Tzigone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Tzigone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tzigone)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-article-about-questions-received-while-giving-tours-of-southern-plantations/723842/57 "2015-07-06T15:32:29Z")
> [@](#): > > Goddammit, no it didn’t. Wealthy Southern ex-slaveowners paid a punitive price of sorts during Reconstruction. Southern ex-slaves did not, unless you’re considering the formation of the Klan to be part of Reconstruction. Not enough was done in Reconstruction. The KKK popped up and terrorized certain people, the Feds left, and everything except slavery went back to status quo, with Jim Crow and the discriminatory laws and lack of representation for black people. Of course, there’s the entire issue of Lincoln’s handling, Johnson’s, and then the backlash to that and then how after that was over most accomplishments were rolled back. Just look at the number of black people elected to office in states with high numbers of black people (former Confederacy) in the [1865-1867- period v. 1870 to 1878](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reconstruction_Era#African-American_officeholders). ---
**Author:** ![ZPG\_Zealot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e47c2d/32.png) [@ZPG\_Zealot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZPG_Zealot)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-article-about-questions-received-while-giving-tours-of-southern-plantations/723842/58 "2015-07-06T17:30:05Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > How is this in any way related to what I said? 😕 Irish slaves were sent to the British colonies in the Caribbean. You see, while most of us would agree the Irish are white, the ruling class of Great Britain at that time considered them inhuman enough to enslave. They worked on some of the same plantations and under the same horrid conditions as slaves originating in Africa. They were definitely a group of white people that could complain about white people oppressing them. Enjoy your hat. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-article-about-questions-received-while-giving-tours-of-southern-plantations/723842/59 "2015-07-06T18:46:04Z")
> [@ZPG\_Zealot](#): > > Irish slaves were sent to the British colonies in the Caribbean. You see, while most of us would agree the Irish are white, the ruling class of Great Britain at that time considered them inhuman enough to enslave. They worked on some of the same plantations and under the same horrid conditions as slaves originating in Africa. They were definitely a group of white people that could complain about white people oppressing them. Enjoy your hat. A mind is a terrible thing to waste. And so is reading comprehension. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-article-about-questions-received-while-giving-tours-of-southern-plantations/723842/60 "2015-07-06T21:13:44Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I can’t see the point of using a museum tour to deliver a harsh lesson. > > Slavery was covered quite thoroughly in school. How it caused tensions during the drafting of the Constitutions. Then severe political tensions as new states entered the Union (some free and some slave). Culminating with succession and the Civil War. I recall studying portions of U_ncle Toms Cabin_. Discussing the underground railroad and how escaped slaves found freedom in the North. > > Movie and tv have covered slavery. \*Roots \*is a miniseries that every parent should watch with their teenage children. Slavery isn’t a shameful event being hid from anybody. It happened. People died fighting a Civil War over it. The South paid a terrible, punitive price during the [Reconstruction Era](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reconstruction_Era). > > We don’t need a tour guide at a museum to remind us of that terrible period in history. You really and truly are one of the dumbest people on this message board. You’re right, historical museums should never mention anything bad. Museums should teach people that only good things happened in the past! The 9/11 museum should close, that’s about a bad thing that happened. There is no use for any Holocaust museums, after all, people learn about that in school, and having museums about it just reminds people of that terrible period in history. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-article-about-questions-received-while-giving-tours-of-southern-plantations/723842.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-article-about-questions-received-while-giving-tours-of-southern-plantations/723842.md?page=4)