True to some extent (given the reality that I recall you denying here) that white privilege exists, but at any rate, gauging the ongoing suffering is easier to do at a communal level. Many recommended forms of reparations (for absues suffered during chattel slavery, and afterward) are aimed at localized communities, not individuals.
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We discussed this once before, I think; as I recall weāre both strongly in favor of tax-funded reparations (although it might be politically smarter to call them something else) to communities that still havenāt recovered from the Slaveholderās Revolt. Obviously, given the demographics of such areas, the necessary assistance would disproportionately benefit people of color, and thatās highly appropriate since they are being disproportionately harmed.
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Holy guacamole Batman, so we do agree on something! 
Given that you agree with that, I donāt know why you find white privilege such a risible concept, but yeah, cool beans on āreparationsā at least (how about calling them the United White Peeps Apology Fund? Just kidding!)
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I would give money to a United White Peeps Apology Fund.
Seriously. For every dollar given, your pledge is matched with a furious scream of disapproval from a white supremecist.
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Of course the T-Rex spoke Gaelic! What else would it speak?
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Nope. āSlaveā actually does specifically mean someone owned as property. Later meanings, including subject to violent emotion (āa slave to passionā) or abject working conditions, are metaphoric uses of the term. Indentured servants, however unwillingly ārecruitedā or horribly treated, simply were not slaves by definition.
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Not slaves. Kidnap victims, human trafficking victim, but not slaves.
Itās a fairly important distinction. A slave is recognized as the legal property of another person or entity. The imposition of slavery as a legally sanctioned practice is a wholly different level of oppression than the crimes it seems to resemble.
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Forced indentured servants were though, which is what I said. Forcibly depriving someone of their freedom and entering them into a contract from which they cannot break on their own terms equals property.
This has all been covered in this thread already, maybe you should read the whole thing?
Many Americans seem to confuse Northern Ireland in the 60ās and 70ās with the Republic of Ireland right now. Iāve been asked multiple times by seemingly intelligent and well informed people whether Iām afraid of being bombed when we mention family trips. And I routinely get puzzled looks and argument when I mention the fact that Ireland has things like a president, elections, and public TV.
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I imagine that most peoples conceptualization of Ireland is probably some combination of news reports about the Troubles from the 60s and 70s and movies like Angelaās Ashes and The Magdalen sistersā¦
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I wonder how much of a factor that sort of thing is in this whole Irish slave thing. Many Americans, including assimilated Irish Americans seem to draw conclusions based on assorted media (especially the tear jerkers) and coast on stereotype for their info about Irish history.
Seems like a racist argument loosely based in history would be pretty easy to slip in when your cultural hallmark is āDarby OāGill and The Little Peopleā.
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Thatās a good question. So much of films made in Hollywood at least (and probably Irish films made for an American audience in mind), seem to be about Irish misery and suffering (and often overcoming too). Iād suspect films made in Ireland are more broad and interesting, and not all about the Troubles or the anti-imperialist struggle.
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Irish media tends to be a bit more varied though āeverything is shit and itās hilarious and depressingā is definitely still a thing. Itās hard to find a lot of it over here. Iāve got a long list of shit from RTE my cousins recommended, but no dice finding most of it. A recentish favorite are the rubberbandits, weird little musical comedy group.
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Wasnāt there a show with Chris OāDowd from RTE? Moone Boy? Iāve only seen an episode, but it seemed okayā¦ and there was that film about the monster that hated alcohol, Grabbers, but it sort of traded on lazy stereotypes of drunken Irishmen againā¦ And then The Butcher Boyā¦ again, a drunk dadā¦ Wake Wood, that Aiden Gillen was inā¦ sort of horror film meets celtic paganism (sort of a more serious Wickerman).
I need to watch more Irish films, damn it.
Eighteen Episodes over three series, in fact.
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'71?
(actually, I think thatās a British film anyway)
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Moon Boy I havenāt seen, though it is/was on Netflix. A lot of āIrishā TV that makes it over here is produced for or with UK venues. Particularly the BBC. Like Father Ted or The Fall. Most of the stuff produced by RTE for the Irish domestic market doesnāt seem to get broad release internationally. Similar things seem to happen in the film Business. So thereās this whole deep well of stuff Iāve never been reliably locate. For a while there I could pull stuff off a certain website starting with D and ending with copyright infringement law suits, but thatās not so much a thing anymore.
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@japhroaig
Church/parish records are apparently incredibly useful. Especially among Catholics or in Catholic areas/countries. Community events, baptisms, weddings, deaths and a bunch of other stuff were recorded with a surprising amount of detail and granularity going back a freakishly long time. French Canadian church records in particular are supposedly among the gold standards of genealogical records, and seem to get used weirdly often in genetic and historical research. So if you can narrow it down to a town or parish/diocese whatever and have some rough names and dates contacting the right Church group can be a huge help. Iāve not dug into it with the french side of the family, but that might be the only avenue to actually check it out. From what I understand my family members who fiddle with genealogy as a hobby have used that route to figure out a bunch of the Irish sideās business. Up to actually finding out what our familyās name was before Ireland was Anglicized. Which is crazy interesting.
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This is a good thing for the most part, Irish produced television and film is mostly terrible, with very low production and writing standards compared to the US. The RTE and Irish Film board are very corrupt nepotistic organisations, most of the genuine talent moves to the US or the UK as soon as it gets the chance (though the UK isnāt much better IMHO, but then Iām not a big fan of Downton Abbey or period dramas in general). There are exceptions of course (GoT, animation and vfx is doing quite well as well), but the average level is pretty low.
I get your point that US chattel slavery is different to modern definitions of slaver, but forced prostitution is within the modern definition of slavery.
"Forced prostitution
Forced prostitution and sexual slavery are considered contemporary manifestations of this historical crime, and can be found anywhere in the world."
Now this means that many of the practices on workers (including white people) in the past would also fall within the contemporary definition of slavery while not being recognised as that in the past.
If teh wikis is not sufficient for you I can go and pick up an international law textbook or two and transcribe relevant passages, though Iād rather not as I donāt consider this to be a controversial position and thatās more work than is required.
So: Irish (or other Europeans) were not slaves within the definitions around contemporarily, but some of those conditions would now be considered slavery. Forced sex work is modern slavery.
