I tend to agree that the issue of slavery is not one that can be easily ignored, but I think the real problem for RP is the one-dimensional response to its existence. Eve is a game predicated on conflict, so new players will inevitably see the public expression of that conflict. It becomes all too easy to simply become one of the crowd yelling at the Amarr as cartoon villains.
There ought to be a place for more nuanced approaches to slavery, such as diplomacy, and the challenge of providing a suitable economy and home for those that are freed. History shows us that the 'freeing' of slaves in the US (for example) took a lot of prior effort to the Civil War, the war itself (which was fought on far more complex issues than simply abolition) and the Jim Crow era of indentured servitude - let alone the ongoing modern issues. Imagine the horrors if all the transplanted slaves had been forcibly relocated to Africa upon being freed. This is somewhat analogous to the probable issues in New Eden of abolition.
I think there is much more to do for Minmatar RPers to step back from the one-dimensional 'no abolition no peace' mantra and represent more diverse views of what the future looks like. It doesn't help that CCP appears to have fundamentally devalued the Republic so that there is no meaningful state or state structure to mould - it might be a good idea for players to form some sort of Tribal Council to show at least some direction, since the one we're supposed to have is laughable. (I've gotten told off for 'god-mode' before, but until we show what a Tribal political system might look like, the Minmatar seem to me to be doomed to be the patsies of everyone else in the cluster, and to continue to accept the victim role that is so easy to RP until boredom inevitably strikes).
As a new player to Eve, I got so discouraged by the reality of Minmatar RP compared to the excitement I felt when choosing to play that race, that I have deleted the character. I have been thinking hard about how to re-visit his development and contribution.
I'm considering a plot where my character is now aiding the dispossessed refugees from the 9th generation freedoms and returned Nefantar as I read that many of these are in camps located in the Great Wildlands. As I'd conceived my character as a Republic loyalist with high aspirations to make his country stand strong (I'd have been better off making him a leper with several additional yet interesting skin diseases
) it seems logical for him to try and do something about this example of my earlier point - the inability to deal with the reality of slave releases.
Many of these people are religiously Amarr, which makes them easy to ignore. My starting point would be to make a call for an Amarr missionary to come and help minister to their needs - which I fear, would make my character yet another form of outcast in the one-dimensional approach.
As an RPer, social interaction is important to me in a MMORPG like Eve. Am I setting myself up for yet another spell of solitude, or does this approach have any merit?
If you tell me I'm barking up the wrong tree, you'll be doing me a favour, by the way.