PTSlaveryD?

Theory links slavery, stress disorder

Proponents make for a new diagnosis

By Marcella Bombardieri
Globe Staff
11/12/2002

[...]  In their working paper, Reid, Mims, and Higginbottom lay out a case for links between slavery and behavior in the black community today. They point out that slaves were punished if they knew how to read, and draw a comparison to the stigma attached to education today. ''If you go to any elementary or middle school today and talk to black kids, they say, `I failed all my classes, it's cool,''' Reid said.

They write about how male slaves were not allowed to stay with their families, and then cite the number of poor black men today who father numerous children with different women.  [...]

The idea that the way slaves were treated several generations ago controls how individual blacks cope with life today seems a bit specious. True, blacks were punished for being educated and families were torn apart, but that shouldn't be considered an excuse for poor scholarship from some blacks today, or the inability of some black men to make a commitment to a family.

Women have also been treated poorly.  For many generations women were expected to be uneducated and subservient to men, yet we don't see large numbers of women today who adopt an attitude that "its cool" to not be able to read.  We also do not see large numbers of women who have a dysfunctional inability to stand up for themselves or survive without a man to tell them what to do. At least we don't see these things in the same proportions that it is sometimes claimed to be seen in the black population.  Given the theory behind the "Post Traumatic Slavery Disorder" (PTSlaveryD), however, such parallels should be easy to find in the descendents of any formerly-oppressed group.

Oppression is not uncommon, and many groups have been oppressed through history.  In Europe, we even had one group of white people (the royalty) oppressing another (the pesants).  Would this mean that we should expect to find PTFeudalismD amongst the descendents of the pesants?  If not, why not?  In addition, the article mentions that "PTSlaveryD" is seen in both blacks and Latinos, yet I don't recall anything from my history classes that talked about widespread Latino slavery, so how is it that they can suffer from the same disorder?

Danieli said politicians are resistant to the idea of multigenerational trauma, because it brings up the specter of reparations, and because addressing long-term trauma rarely fits in with short-term political considerations.

I have to wonder if part of the reason such a theory might bring up the specter of reparations isn't because that's part of the goal of the theory.  Maybe I'm being overly cynical, but if it can be shown that today's blacks are suffering from a disorder brought about by slavery in generations past, some may believe that it will make the case for reparations stronger. 

Personally, I think that many of the problems of today exist in the attitudes of today.  There seems to be a sense among some black leaders that there is a value to be had in having blacks today be viewed as victims of what was done over a hundered years ago. And its not just blacks who are doing this.  Women's groups, members of minority religions, cultural groups and other minorities are all looking at past treatment of their ancestors and claiming that the mistreatment from that time should now be answered with benefits now.  This can take the form of quotas and Affirmative Action programs that provide additional consideration to individuals based on what minority group they can claim membership in; political clout through polliticians who want to appear sympathetic to the groups claims and plight; or, in some rare cases, even as a defense for having commited a crime.

Rather than focusing on how victimized any group is, however, it would seem to me that there is more to gain by trying to move out of living in the past an focusing on what can be done today.  Yes, great wrongs were done, and we can't go back in time and change them.  Would it not be more productive, however, to try and work towards improving the situation for today's minorities rather than maintaining the status quo and then trying to come up with way to justify a handout as a result?

I don't have the answers, but the more I hear about theories such as this "PTSlaveryD", the more I think we're going in entirely the wrong direction....