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mainthread | 8 years ago

The gleeful tone of the article makes me uncomfortable. This is an artifact of a crime against humanity.

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thaumaturgy|8 years ago

You didn't read very far, maybe:

> With the nation edging closer to civil war over the slavery issue, Alabama steamboat captain and plantation owner Timothy Meaher made an infamous bet that he could sneak slaves into the country, right under the noses of federal troops at the twin forts that guarded the mouth of Mobile Bay. Historian Sylvianne Diouf traced the evolution of the wicked scheme and the resulting journey in her excellent book, Dreams of Africa in Alabama, published in 2007. Attempts to contact Diouf were unsuccessful.

The author is clearly excited about the find (and should be, after spending years working on it), but there's nothing in the article to indicate that he's excited about slavery.

curtis|8 years ago

> The gleeful tone of the article makes me uncomfortable. This is an artifact of a crime against humanity.

It's possible to be excited about the discovery of the artifact without being an apologist for the crime it was associated with.

mainthread|8 years ago

It certainly is. My perspective is that of a victim, not an apologist.

donarb|8 years ago

Exactly. I would think that someone who dismisses the significance of the discovery could be thought of as being an apologist for the crime it was associated with.

emmelaich|8 years ago

Yes, the 'quaking with excitement' quote felt a bit wrong.