Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
And in that context he was 100% to call a slave an immigrant.
Of course the word has been co-opted by the pro-amnesty croud as a euphemism for Illegal Aliens. i.e. "Undocumented Immigrant" In that context it implies choice, but that is simply a byproduct cause by the doublespeak. We all know that slavery was not a choice.
Sigh.......
I said long ago on this thread that Ben Carson was correct. American slaves, including my ancestors, unless they were born on this soil were involuntary immigrants. Primarily they came from Africa, although eventually some were involuntarily emigrated from the Caribbean and South America.
Irrespective of all this, Ben Carson, like myself, recognizes that today's descendants of slaves have more opportunities than they would have had their ancestors not been forced to migrate to America. People are using this petty debate over words (and they are totally incorrect by strict definition of the word) as a way to attack that particular sentiment and the man who both believes and epitomizes it.
__________________
When I post in bold red that is moderator action and, per the TOS, can only be discussed through Direct Message.
So, since they were slaves, you don't believe they were people?
Since the definition of immigrants would be people who travel to another country to become permanent residents, if you say they weren't immigrants, you are basically saying they weren't actually people. Because they came to a foreign country and remained as permanent residents, that really is the only thing you could say that would keep them from fitting the definition.
Quite the white supremacist ideas you have going.
Now that you have reverted to dishonesty and suggested personal attacks, our discourse here is done, you already lost. Thanks for Participating.
Where in the above definition, which is taken from the Oxford Dictionary, is it indicated that an immigrant must necessarily go to a foreign country to live permanently of his/her own free will?
Can you show me? I don't see it.
Let's look at the Cambridge Dictionary:
Immigrant
a person who has come to a different country in order to live there permanently
Nothing about free will in that definition, either.
How 'bout Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
Immigrant
a person who comes to a country to take up permanent residence
No element of free will there, either.
OK, now let's look at usage of the term immigrant with the word, slaves in just a couple of examples that existed previous to BC's recent statements:
Here is the title of an article that appeared in December 2014 on the website of Operation People for Peace, Inc.
Here is a chart regarding the various types of immigrants arriving in the American colonies prepared by Howard County Public School System and the Center for History Education at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County:
We've long known of his imbecilic mentality, he could not even respect sick people, with his fight against ACA and he came through the medical field to gain his money and notoriety, and he became so arrogantly elated within himself, that he ignored and continues to ignore what his own ancestral heritage came through.
No one takes this man serious, the only problem is he has been placed in a position to do great harm to American people, which includes poor whites and poor minorities.... This man is very dangerous to the civility of poor people in America.
He doesn't ignore it. He has a different interpretation of it than you do along with a response to it that you have deemed inappropriate. That does not make him wrong - it is after all his heritage and his belief system. He is not alone, by the way. Contrary to popular belief we are not a monolithic group of people anymore than any other demographic, but it does seem we are the only ones who get labeled for not buying into the "accepted" groupthink.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Feltdesigner
I think we need to check his records as a surgeon. Dude is an idiot.
Oh, for God's sake, the man was originally placed in the public eye for innovativing cutting edge, life saving neurosurgery techniques. People traveled world wide in hopes of being operated on by him. You can say what you want about his political views or non-medical public blatherings but to insinuate that he was a poor surgeon, let alone an idiot, is just asinine.
__________________
When I post in bold red that is moderator action and, per the TOS, can only be discussed through Direct Message.
I said long ago on this thread that Ben Carson was correct. American slaves, including my ancestors, unless they were born on this soil were involuntary immigrants. Primarily they came from Africa, although eventually some were involuntarily emigrated from the Caribbean and South America.
Irrespective of all this, Ben Carson, like myself, recognizes that today's descendants of slaves have more opportunities than they would have had their ancestors not been forced to migrate to America. People are using this petty debate over words (and they are totally incorrect by strict definition of the word) as a way to attack that particular sentiment and the man who both believes and epitomizes it.
Yep.
I'm black and what Carson said doesn't bother me. My ancestors are immigrants. Yes they were forced, but still immigrants. I don't see the issue with this.
White libs freaked out about this more than anyone (surprise surprise )
As much as I find slavery abhorrent, I know I was lucky my ancestors came here regardless of whether you call it slavery or involuntary immigration.
In the long run, yes they were better off, the point is not the end result after hundreds of years, the point is that they did not immigrate here, and for someone that is supposedly intelligent to claim it was, is dishonest or ignorant, my guess it is the later.
Let me ask this, if I were to throw a rope around you and your families necks and drag you to my home to work for free and I can do whatever I want up to including my right to kill any one of you for whatever reason I want, did you immigrate to my home or were you dragged there without a choice? Once again, by Definition you did not Come to my property you were Forced there.
...the point is that they did not immigrate here, and for someone that is supposedly intelligent to claim it was, is dishonest or ignorant, my guess it is the later.
Let me ask this, if I were to throw a rope around you and your families necks and drag you to my home to work for free and I can do whatever I want up to including my right to kill any one of you for whatever reason I want, did you immigrate to my home or were you dragged there without a choice? Once again, by Definition you did not Come to my property you were Forced there.
Forced or free, if you travel to live permanently in a foreign land, you are an immigrant in that foreign land.
You are wrong. It is not a matter of opinion, but, of fact.
In the long run, yes they were better off, the point is not the end result after hundreds of years, the point is that they did not immigrate here, and for someone that is supposedly intelligent to claim it was, is dishonest or ignorant, my guess it is the later.
Let me ask this, if I were to throw a rope around you and your families necks and drag you to my home to work for free and I can do whatever I want up to including my right to kill any one of you for whatever reason I want, did you immigrate to my home or were you dragged there without a choice? Once again, by Definition you did not Come to my property you were Forced there.
Since the definition of immigrant involves the concept of foriegn countries or regions, no. But for funsies let's pretend that is not an issue with your little analogy; if that were that done with the intent of it becoming my permanent residence the answer would be yes.
And, psst, in certain contexts, such as this one, forced and come have similar meaning. One of the things that makes learning our language so difficult of foreigners is all our multiple word meanings.
__________________
When I post in bold red that is moderator action and, per the TOS, can only be discussed through Direct Message.
Moderator - Diabetes and Kentucky (including Lexington & Louisville)
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.