Reparations To American Blacks... Yes/No?

I dont approve that the slaves did not get something, if there was no money they should have gotten land....but it was not my call. The clock ran out when the ex slaves died.

I actually agree. I guess I was hoping to get some nod from you that former slaves deserved it - and I guess I did. Glad to know that.

I have the same problem in the rape thread where no matter how many times I affirm that rapists need to be hit I get called rape apologist because I demand justice. You start with truth and justice, and you go where it goes, our emotion reaction to truth and justice needs to be secondary. This makes people think I dont care, mostly because they have been contitioned by victim culture and letting the emotions rule. But they are wrong. I care, I care about humanity and individual people, but I disagree about the best way forwards, and I disagree about what matters.

Lash you do not need to go back as far as US slavery to find a large group that should had been given reparations as in the Japanese Americans who was placed into camps during WW2.

Now given the situation at that time period, I am not as ready to condemn the government actions like most people seems to be, but even if you give weight to the argument that security concerns required the resettlement from the West Coast the moment the war ended every one of them should have been issue a check in an amount to at least undo the finance damages done to their lives by being taken away from their homes and businesses to set in camps for years.

Writing a few small checks to a few survivors many decades later does not cut it at all.

Let forget the slaves themselves as you are right they are long gone and the clock have run out but how about the US government ending the protection and support such as the freemen's bureau and the anti KKK campaign to blacks in the south in order to keep southern whites from mistreating them?

From 1872 or so until the civil right act was passed in the 1960s and the Federal government resume protecting the rights of black Americans one hell of a lot of harm was done to blacks in the south.

So as a nation do we own reparations to the men and the women who are still alive from the period of 1870s to the 1960s who was not offer protections from the actions of the white control state governments by the Federal government?

Affirmative action and multiple other preferences for blacks have rendered the debt paid in full. If blacks dont agree then **** them. They have done little with all of the special assistance that they have gotten since the great society started, but since they have made it clear that they consider it a hand out rather than a hand up, and whine for more more more, I am at ENOUGH! I think we have helped all the blacks that can be helped, all the blacks who are willing to work towards a better life, sending more money to the rest is useless.

LOL

My lord you been watching the fox network for too long a period of time and as a result are starting to be taken over by the dark forces of the far right.

footnote to this very day we have the right trying all kind of means to block the poor and with special note of blacks from the voting booth.

I agree. Another horrific instance of maltreatment of a large group by the good old US of A. I know more has been attempted to make things right with Native Americans - as if that crime could ever be repaired.

Excellent question.

I dont watch FOX at all, what I am is fed up with professional victims stomping their feet as they tell me " I have no interest in fishing, I should not have to do that, now give me some ******* fish!"

U know, Lash, the Indian tribes were ruffer on one another,
in war, than we were on them. Thomas Jefferson was a little closer
to the situation, when he mentioned: "the merciless Indian Savages,
whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction
of all ages, sexes and conditions." (Thomas Jefferson: The Declaration of Independence 1776)

Candor moves me to admit
that the US Army did injure
or kill female Indianesses and children, also.

I should get an exemption from paying reparations. My family didn't arrive in the USA until well after slavery ended.

What about the blacks that owned
other blacks ?

Yes however it is not that simple............for one thing having large arm/warrior groups/tribes within your nation borders is not very comfortable.

For example, in the French/Indian wars large numbers of tribes fought for the French against both the colonies and the Brit and was known to not honor surrenders and such, next we have conflicted with the Indian tribes fighting on the English side against the soon to be US, then we have the war of 1812 where one again we found ourselves dealing with Indians tribes that found for the English.

Footnote the Indians had such a bad name for not honoring surrenders and of killing the wounded and women and children if they got their hands on them that the Brit general Isaac Brock wrote a letter telling the US general William Hull at fort Detroit that if he did not surrender before the fighting start he could not promise that he could control his Indians allies. The result being the surrender of the fort without a shot being fired.

An of course the Indians on the southern border was constantly raiding either into Mexico from the US side or into the US from the Mexico side.

It got so bad for the northern Mexicans that there was years where not enough farmers was willing to go out to plant crops and large numbers of people starved to death as a result.

As I said it not that simple..............

This is a useless thread to debate as Hawkeye clearly is making this a "bait thread" why begin a discussion on an article you've claimed to not read but make subsequent assumptions? Hawkeye's statement is a prime example as to the plethora of many Caucasians in the U.S who believe as he do. Hawkeye's behavior at least in part is why there is continuous resentment among African-Americans cause as I see it in this thread "blacks are always victims," always 'race baiting' and are always asking for handouts . Unfortunately people who think like Hawkeye, usually scream the loudest and are the most socially influential which drowns out the level headed whites who, like any other rational human being of a different culture can understand and discuss the dynamics of acknowledging some monetary "gift" for the historical injustices of a people.


Since I see (mostly) white people discuss an issue which involves members of a different culture perhaps we ought to allow a member of that culture speak on behalf of that person's view, mine.

Should blacks get reparations? No. First off reparations would be seen as giving a people something. Blacks are already labeled "moochers" off the government so if the U.S enables that stereotype, it only further enhances a common opinion among white America. Also, you cannot give back what you have sowed in the fabric of history. Giving blacks money, scholars, housing, whatever, does not erase the pains of slavery and multi-generational racism that blacks have (and still continue) endured.

The native American lands that are autonomous, and the many casinos does not change the fact that this land was inhabited by them. They were killed off, by war and disease brought by Europeans. Now they battle alcoholism and so many socioeconomic afflictions I dare not mention. I don't even want an apology, because an apology from the U.S government does not change the fact that there are plenty of whites who would argue that "the current descendants of former white slave owners have nothing to apologize for." You'll still have whites who do not understand the symbolic gesture of acknowledging a history where one group of humans gravely mistreated another group of humans which subsequently shaped that group's destination in functioning in a country that they was not willfully brought to.

As for Hawkeye's comment on "blacks milking the system" well, my above response is definitely a contradiction to that particular ideology.

Affirmative Action was made to level the playing field that early racism has caused, obviously affirmative action has helped, but it still did not level the playing field drastically, but it has improved it significantly. Now, WHITE women are benefiting from it more than any other minority group. So if you're going to argue about blacks and affirmative action, you may want to include how not having it, effects white women #FACT

I started the thread because this piece is getting a lot of traction, and it is a important subject of debate, which should make it a good A2K thread.

Yes, I saw one study that has it that 5% of whites are in favor, versus over 60% of blacks. I am surprised so many blacks are saying no to free money, this is encouraging.

It does seem like we are getting more blacks going against affirmative action on basically the same argument, because then every black is assumed to be not worthy of the position. I find this also encouraging.

Hawkeye still didn't address my comment. White women benefit from affirmative action so if you get rid of it what do you say about the many whites that benefit it more than blacks?

I know Americans are steeped in stories of "Indian savages," but as you allude, Europeans (our homies) treated them as savagely. I've been researching a project set in that time - and Native Americans have nothing on us in the savagery realm.

I would like to hereby absolve Advocate of reparations debt.

We broke every treaty we ever signed. Native Americans don't stand out in the "hey, I changed my mind" area.