Re: Is It Me ?

I think I'll go along with this one and we should all learn it. It drives me up the wall with all this what we can and can't call anyone. Due to my hair colour, it was often used to identify me in a room if someone was looking for me that didn't know me - did I care? No, it was a logical thing to do.

Sorry but I get irritated when things are taken the nth degree

Re: Is It Me ?

It think the issue of race is a bit more sensitive here in the States. After all, there is a pretty good chance that one of my ancestors may have OWNED someone elses ancestor. That's pretty intense wouldn't you think. AND racisim is VERY much alive and well here.. I didn't think so, but the election of Obama has shown that to be the case and I think it opened a lot of White people's eyes. In fact.. there was just a picture shown of an effigy of our President hung by the neck in a Florida gas station. Lynching Blacks was common in our South as recently as the 1960's.. Rather than bringing our country together, the election of a Black President has devided us even more.. It's a shame.

Re: Is It Me ?

"IC0, IC7 or IC9 – Origin unknown"

Is there really such a category and, if so, "Origin Unknown" is a bit weird?!!

Perhaps it's these - - I could handle that! stevmk2

Re: Is It Me ?

Racism is an awful affliction - I detest it... but, thats not what we are talking here. I think terms for people should be left as is ....

Re: Is It Me ?

At one time, most of our ancestors were owned by someone else - it was the way of the world back then.

In feudal times, there was something known as the culagium, the requirement that a peasant get permission from his lord to marry. Often this required the payment of a fee. Some say the fee was a vestige of an earlier custom of buying off the lord so he wouldn't get physical with the bride.

The lord of a manor or a castellan would have sex with anyone in his household that he fancied having sex with and if they wanted to keep their job, they would have no option but to agree or be cast out.

Most of our ancestors had a rough time with being owned.

Re: Is It Me ?

I think there is a huge difference between Feudalism and Slavery.. but that's just me. People in fuedalism were not owned.. in the sense slaves were. They were controlled for sure.. but not owned. Slaves were property.. that's it. They were not considered to be human. Just utensils. They were not allowed to leave the "kingdom" if they chose. They were chained like cattle. I'm quite sure the slaves would have much preferred to be "cast out" as an option rather than the fate that met them if they disobeyed.

Re: Is It Me ?

We did have that here, in many cases Feudalism was very much like slavery, and we did have slavery with whites owning whites a few hundred years ago. The difference here is we are further away from it than you in the time scale of the abuses. You are still a relatively new country in the scheme of things, whereas our abuses are further in the past.

Re: Is It Me ?

I'm sure you are right.. I know people who's grandparents and great grandparents WERE slaves in the South. They have grown up hearing the stories. So it is still relatively fresh in the consciousness of many.

Re: Is It Me ?

Feudalism refers to Lords, Dukes, and various noble title holders and legislatures. A king could appoint someone to a position--you there, you shall be Lord of Canterbury--which meant that all those nobles under the king would have to serve him in battle or whatever projects he decided to embark on, and protect the kings turf from their post. Their people/peasants/serfs paid taxes to them (the Lords), who in turn paid taxes to the king. Napoleon I put an end to feudalism in France so that qualified people could hold positions within the government and law instead of a bunch of incompetent heirs.

Culagium was when a person from one jurisdiction had to get permission to marry someone from another jurisdiction. For a Lord to lose a source of cheap labor, he wanted compensation.

Serfs were the people who lived in a feudal area. They served their Lord and their king. If a Lord was banished, the serfs served whoever took his place. They were also people in debt to their Lords. Everything they earned or produced belonged to their debtor. Serfs were the original cheap labor force brought to America. They consisted of blacks, whites, and anyone who wanted to come to America but could not afford it. They would work for X amount of years and then gain their freedom. It then switched to slavery because slavery was cheaper.

Re: Is It Me ?

That's an important difference, no one remembers feudalism (unless you are from Saudi Arabia) but slavery is relatively recent and US human rights issues even more so.