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Why would anyone pay reparations for slavery to even former slaves even in 1865? If something was legal and recognized as valid worldwide at the time, then there's nothing to redress. It wasn't necessary to pay reparations to Civil War veterans killed and maimed (I realize many did receive payment and small pensions) as it was done legally.
About as many people who believe Islamic terrorists are peaceful.
See my status... not a fan of Trump, but a YUUUGE fan of common sense! Making me a deplorable as well.
When HRC made that comment to her billionaire boys club, she insulted far more than just Trumpers.
On my paternal side I am Slavic, where the word slave comes from. I want reparations! ...oh wait, I live in the best country on earth and I call that reparations.
Dude... I live in SoCal, so it wouldn't matter even if I did. Cali is the socialist baby that Marxism and Communism had.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mtl1
All slavery did was dilute and reduce the labor value of around 95% of free whites. Sound familiar to immigration, foreign workers and outsourcing today? It could often be as bad or worse to be a poor white in the south.
You are absolutely right! Look at the southern states who had, and still have, the highest white poverty in the nation.
You can always count on some poor white yahoo to believe the south will rise again. If it did, there would be even more poor whites. Not much to rise to.
The equalizer will be automation and robotics. Colorblind and equal opportunity unemployment machines, better than slaves because they don't need sleep nor food. Only takes a few techs to build them, and replaces thousands of low pay labor.
My favorite argument for reparations is the old black Americans "built America".
No they didn't. All they did was pick the damn cotton. And all that achieved was to save some cheap, lazy white guy whatever the cost difference was between owning slaves and paying white men to work.
The black slaves' labor contribution to the US pales in comparison to the railroad labor of the Chinese. That labor actually made a difference to the country.
All slavery did was dilute and reduce the labor value of around 95% of free whites and free blacks for that matter. Sound familiar to immigration, foreign workers and outsourcing today? It could often be as bad or worse to be a poor white in the south.
Firstly, I'm sure they are sleeping well in their unmarked graves seeing their descendants rotting away in this country. Secondly, are the people of Israel feeling guilty that they received payments for the atrocity of the Holocaust? Just this past year, Obama approved of payments to Holocaust survivors in this country who are living in poverty. Native Americans are receiving payments every year, and refusing black native americans their share. Do they feel guilty about receiving payments? Should they? (They should feel guilty about denying black natives. Of course they should feel guilty with helping to maintain slavery).
Who's descendants are "rotting" away? I'm doing fine, my life is great and I benefit from the fruits of their sacrifice every day. My ancestors labored fields against their will; died in wars, shed blood on the streets, marched, protested, faced the most humiliating circumstances to their livelihood just so that I could have the opportunity to live where I want, vote for whoever I want, get the education of my choice and start a career in whatever field that I please with whatever talents allow me to do so.
If my ancestors could somehow see me today--I'm sure they'd smile with pride. And to be quite honest with you--no one owes me anything.
So my question is to you is, just how has slavery impacted your life to the point that you are personally effected by your situation today and the choices that you have made?
Secondly, in regards to the Holocaust...well those reparations have gone to their direct dependents. Those were given by the German government to people alive today or people directly connected to them who are alive today, not to their "ancestors" but to their relatives (parents, grand parents, uncles aunts, cousins etc etc)...
As for Native Americans--true they do benefit from reparations of some sort but that's primarily due to broken treaties and agreements that they had with the US government.
Like it or not, slavery was much more complex of a situation--there were no contractual "negotiations" to refer to to pay restitution for like there were with Native Americans.
My daughter and I were just discussing this very topic the other day!
I said, yes, they should. The Japanese people who were interned during WWII received reparations. However, they received them almost immediately after the war ended.
It has been so long since Blacks were slaves that it would be pretty impossible to give reparations to every single Black who lives in the US today.
My daughter thought that every Black who was born before the Civil Rights Act was enacted should receive reparations.
I thought that was fair.
Chances are if black people received reparations before the Civil Rights Movement, is it fair to say we would still be benefiting from what they received? Yet we are struggling because they received nothing. Had they received reparations, they would have built more towns like those that were in Tulsa. Their children would have maintained those assets and start more businesses. Today, we would have had many black billionaires. However instead of that, almost a third of our population is in poverty, with about half of all the children right there in it. Black people in this nation must be a damned people for these things to have happened and continue to happen. I guess the biggest tragedy is, so far black people are unable to come together to the point of pulling ourselves up. I hope black people wake up soon before it's too late because as the poll indicates, no one else cares what happens to them.
I want to know how many of you here feel about black people receiving reparations. I look at how many other groups who were wronged in this nation throughout history and it seems everyone of those groups received payments for their hardships. Native Americans received and are still receiving benefits every year. The Japanese who were interned during WWII received payments. Holocaust survivors in this country have received payments, and the US didn't even cause their hardships. (By the way, Germany has given reparations to the Jewish people)
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The time for "reparations" has passed. If we had actually gotten that "forty acres and a mule" at that time, it would have been fine.
Reparations--including those you mentioned--were paid when specific individuals or groups were separated from their property and those persons and their property could be accurately ascertained and the value repaid to the persons injured.
An example of that kind in reference to blacks would be the court-ordered reparations for the losses of blacks caused by the 1920 Tulsa race riots. Government involvement was proven, specific losses were calculated, and the individuals who suffered the losses were identifiable. Unfortunately, the state of Oklahoma is apparently dragging its feet to let those inviduals die to avoid payment...but that's an example of reparations appropriately determined.
In this case, not only can a value not be assessed, but it would be impossible even to determine who should be paid and how much.
And how much would make a difference? Would a one-time payout of $10,000 raise every black person to permanent middle-income level? Twenty thousand?
Or would that even be the goal...is the goal merely to pay some money and call it done? So...how much money?
Finally, a payment of reparations will mean that the issue is closed--no more discussion, no more gripes, no more compensations, no more recognition.
Black Americans, to be precise, are undereducated due to many limited opportunities experienced over a period of time. Reparations will not produce wealth unless it comes with owning of property, institutions, factories, and businesses to create generational wealth. Blacks own less than 2% of US wealth.
Yes. They were horribly discriminated against, even after the 1968 CRA. Sadly, that Act really only said there could be no discrimination in housing, but it did start the ball rolling. Can you imagine not being able to live wherever you wanted to and could afford? No, I don't think you can.
The time for "reparations" has passed. If we had actually gotten that "forty acres and a mule" at that time, it would have been fine.
Reparations--including those you mentioned--were paid when specific individuals or groups were separated from their property and those persons and their property could be accurately ascertained and the value repaid to the persons injured.
An example of that kind in reference to blacks would be the court-ordered reparations for the losses of blacks caused by the 1920 Tulsa race riots. Government involvement was proven, specific losses were calculated, and the individuals who suffered the losses were identifiable. Unfortunately, the state of Oklahoma is apparently dragging its feet to let those inviduals die to avoid payment...but that's an example of reparations appropriately determined.
In this case, not only can a value not be assessed, but it would be impossible even to determine who should be paid and how much.
And how much would make a difference? Would a one-time payout of $10,000 raise every black person to permanent middle-income level? Twenty thousand?
Or would that even be the goal...is the goal merely to pay some money and call it done? So...how much money?
Finally, a payment of reparations will mean that the issue is closed--no more discussion, no more gripes, no more compensations, no more recognition.
Making things right with any survivor of the Tulsa mess I def agree with, even if talking 1 year old babies in 1920.
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