(18n-EN) Feeling guilty - How far back in the past?

2020-11-11: Remembrance or Armistice Day, because we must not forget those who died in wars to defend the freedom of others. But some people forget to forgive the people living today for what their ancestors did, often because they feel that the sacrifices their people made are insufficiently recognized.

In recent months, there have been protests in the US and other parts of the world after video footage showed a black man being murdered by a white police officer. As similar fatal arrests took place before and continued after that, people are angry because they and friends still experience racism that reminds them of how badly their ancestors were treated i.e. forced deportation from Africa elsewhere to work for the benefit of their whites (and other) masters. But also many white people protest because they are angry that black friends are still treated differently from whites.

Indeed, our behavior today determines whether people forget or continue to be reminded of the evils of the past.

Belgium’s past to illustrate the question

30 June 2020. It is 60 years since Belgium's colony Congo became independent. And thus, Belgium's King Filip I decided, with approval of the Belgium government, to express deepest regrets (although no excuses) on behalf of Belgians while the Belgium Parliament will investigate our past to propose actions to reduce racism and enhance our mutual understanding and respect. The question people ask is: how far back in time should you feel responsible for past evil done by your society?

 The atrocities under Belgian rule over Congo must never be forgotten. As I described earlier, this must be addressed correctly to prevent it from happening again (as should all other atrocities and genocides in history). But why the hell does anyone have to apologize for something they have not done, for things that happened long before they were born? Are we also going to ask the Italian government for apologies for the Romans who conquered other regions? Or will we ask Scandinavian countries apologies for the Viking raids? Where do you draw the line? What is acceptable? Or should one always anticipate the (group) sentiment of the moment?

1914-1918 - Remember WWI never to repeat what happened

Examples from history

Indeed, drawing a line is difficult. An example are the English, many of whom voted against further EU membership (known as Brexit) because many still remember Hitler and his Germany against which British (and other) grandparents and parents fought, of whom many died. After that war, the victor was denied EU membership, while now that same Germany, along with France that was to be liberated from a collaborationist Vichy government, is making the most noise about how the EU should move forward, even if this “noise” is with the best of intentions. And do not forget, in the past, the UK was used that others followed their orders. Now people do not stop ridiculing those who voted “out”. By the way, I think this also partially explains President Trump’s stance against a Germany that thinks it always knows better but refuses to respect international agreements such as paying its proper contributions to NATO while Germany criticises US interventions such as the removal of dictators but it sends few to no soldiers or contributes little financially to help stabilise countries, something the US did after the fall of Nazi Germany. And then the US is criticised for its deficit, partially due to its spending on its defences.

In fact, Jews have not forgotten that their very distant ancestors were expelled from Judea / Palestine (now Israel) by the Romans nearly 2,000 years ago. The reason why they do not forget this is because they have had moments throughout history when they were persecuted and murdered in Europe. So, they want to live in a Promised Land they call Israel where they can feel safe, a right that President Trump defends and for which he receives praise from PM Netanyahu who distrusts Europe; in that country, Jews may still wonder why their exile happened. However, although Jews originally welcomed the Romans for ending their civil war in Judea and accepting that no statue of the emperor was placed in the Temple, the relationship deteriorated afterwards because the Romans no longer honoured agreements regarding Jewish customs while Jews attacked Roman army divisions several times. Furthermore, Jews were again in constant conflict with each other, creating a separation between Jews and Jewish followers of Jesus and other Jewish groups. This resulted first in the destruction of the Temple by the Romans, and when this did not end the revolts, with the ultimate punishment of banishment. After all, the emperor could not accept revolts in his empire that resulted in the slaughter of his soldiers, even though the Romans should not have conquered those areas. And yes, even today, many Jews would not accept any portrayal of anyone in their places of worship, just as many Muslims have difficulties to accept depictions of Muhammad or Allah.

By the way, also in Europe, the Roman Empire leaves legacies such as the Roman languages in mainly the more southern European areas where the Romans ruled. The tensions between the Flemish and Walloons in Belgium are still consequences of this, and with expansion between North (Germanic as this was outside the Roman Empire) and South (Roman since it was once part of that Empire) Europe. There were also religious wars throughout European history because the Roman Emperor in Rome, now known as Pope, wanted to continue to exercise his authority over Europe and by extension around the world, and this came into conflict with the earthly rulers who also claimed to have received their authority from God. And today for many, the EU is the resurrection of the ancient Roman Empire that ruled others, the reason why certain people oppose the EU, and some justify their opposition by referring to Holy Books.

Return to question

When to stop with the past? Yes, if there wasn’t that open racism in the US as we saw plainly and clearly recently when black man George Floyd was crushed to death by a white policeman while three other officers let this happen, and the racism still present but often more hidden in Europe, it may have been accepted that the past is over. However, that is not and so a diminishing number of white people keep reminding black people (and others) that they are worth less.

Furthermore, the situation in what were Western colonies is such that white people still have the best lands and businesses because they say they inherited this from their ancestors who, however, used violence against the local population to take what was not theirs. Thus, black people have inherited poverty and must be content with it, which is no longer the case.

So, how far back in time? For as long as injustice persists, people will continue to refer to the past. The West still trades in ethnic art while earlier colonies cannot afford art from the West. Historical inequality persists and so we carry the "original sin" of our people with us. Obviously, this does not mean that everything that once belonged to Leopold II, the Belgian king who exploited Congo, resulting in millions of deaths, should be destroyed. But, for example, monuments can be renamed after victims so that we remember those persons while we can give (on loan) pieces of our art as compensation. Western governments can also pass laws that prevent unethical (Western) companies from selling goods in the West, although then the term neo-colonialism is often used, also by local leaders so that exploitation can continue.

Since the former developing countries are emancipating, we can expect sooner or later that a generation will arise that will demand compensation so they too prosper. This will not result in the disappearance of the Western culture because we have beautiful and practical buildings and clothes, although they will mix with other cultures. I fear we are not yet rid of this discussion, especially now that more images and stories are being published that describe the terror that those people had to endure. No, history has not yet been erased.

In response to the above examples, for many, Germany is acting far too arrogant in saying what other countries should do and ridiculing the choice of leaders and their politics by their people as Germany started the great wars during which millions died. And so many think that Germany should be more humble and be more active in helping to protect other populations from dictators. 

As for the Romans, they were punished during the sack of Rome. However, an important and influential remnant of the Roman Empire continued to reign to this day with a pope and cardinals as leaders. This religion, known as the Roman Catholic Church, continued to interfere with society and sometimes with deadly consequences. Even today, many people are tired of the interference of unelected leaders of that religion, such as in Poland where people protest against the influence of the Church on the tightening of abortion laws. However, some of the Protestant religions that emerged as a reaction against the corrupt "mother" Church are now behaving like the conservative leaders of that Church with the exclusion of certain populations such as those from the LGBT community and thus some of those churches can put themselves back under the conservative mother Church. However, the current Pope Francis I is more openminded and is therefore seen by many Conservatives as a heretic, although they should know that Jesus broke religious rules as well, the reason why he was so hated by his religious leaders.

Integrating the past into the present and the future

And so, in order for people to stop referring to difficult relationships in the past, one must recognize this past and the sensitivities they bring, such as anger in some that sacrifices made to free people from dictatorship or the oppression that ancestors experienced, are minimized. This can cause some to label their own situation as unfair and get angry at the alleged enemy. So, commemorations as well as forgetting the past can perpetuate this anger.

So, while the UK used to not be allowed to join the EU, many now feel they cannot leave the EU. Add to this the large number of foreigners that many Englishmen now think are no longer in favour of the UK, while many of these foreigners constantly insult the English and give them the impression that the UK is allowed to disintegrate with some remaining with the EU. Not an ideal situation to reconcile. On the other hand, there are those who want to stay within the EU because they simply appreciate the benefit of a bigger union of countries (although they don't know the full benefit of the euro such as no loss when traveling to other eurozone countries) and because they membership also have greater weight on the global scale. Difficult to reconcile both contradictions, especially since the EU is a third partner; I only see the compromise as a solution by accepting the outcome of the referendum (within the UK) so a good agreement between the EU and UK can be reached. However, the issue of Northern Ireland complicates matters further.

The same in the US where dark-skinned people still have the impression that a certain proportion of white people consider them inferior while white people in certain states are furious that the immigrants refuse to integrate and they now have to speak Spanish instead of English in their own country.

Other peoples did the same is no excuse to minimise our own past

Referring to other nations who also had slaves as some do is not an excuse for our Western excesses that would now be labelled as genocide because we did what we did while other peoples have to apologize for their own misdeeds or their past will catch up with them someday. 

Furthermore, those who demand apologies may actually be descendants from settlers themselves and thus they should also apologize to the original inhabitants who are often still second-class citizens. 

Gazing into the past can help us to explain why people are angry and this allows us to change our behaviour so that the West can be an example to the rest of the world and as we already are in many areas through giving development aid such as education, health care and democracy. Otherwise, the anger will stay and sometimes erupt as the protests in the US show.