June 29, 2006
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Reparations
I want to talk a little tonight about the issue of reparations for slavery. There are several groups out there that believe that we as a society need to make right the injustice that has been done by those who have come before us.
The thinking is that slavery did harm to black Americans. The thinking continues that the descendents of those slaves have been harmed too. The thinking is that any organization or government that was guilty of promoting slavery owes reparations to those descendents.
Should black Americans be allowed to receive reparations because of the slavery their relatives experienced before them?
Comments (212)
No
no
Third
2nd that means you gotta comment me
And, absolutely not.
No. The past is the past…
no..
Only if my decendants get money for the way America treated the homosexuals when I was around.
nope, shit happens, its in the past, lets leave it there.
No….but it’s hard ot explain why…i have sat here and retyped this 5 times and jsut can’t explain my htoughts on this one
Absolutely not. I think its just an excuse to get money,
The sins of the father die with the father. No one should get reparations for what happened to their ancestors.
Only if I get recompensed by Italy for the way that Julius Caesar treated my anscestors. So we painted ourselves blue…so we ran into battle stark naked…so we swung swords that were five feet long…we had pride darn it.
Have the all the rich black athlets and rap stars give their money to their brothas and sistas. Black people don’t know anymore about being a slave than I know about being a slave owner.
Rape-a-nations is absurd.
No.
Pretty much every single race/ethnicity/nationality has been enslaved at one point. I don’t get anything for my ancient Celtic ancestors getting raped and butchered by Romans. Jews don’t get any money for their endless centuries of oppression and genocide.
Absolutely not. The idea is stupid.
Europeans should get reparations for the Mongolian horde’s pillage and plunder.
Maybe if the slave drivers desendents wish to do so, but otherwise, no.
is it sad that i feel a tad racist and bad if i answer no, because i am going to answer no. this country, like every country, opposed dominance over one group because of preconcieved notions. and i am not saying it was right… oh hell no! but if we give 7th generation family members of slaves money, then let’s give it to all of the other oppressed people in our nation… how about we give it to family members of the mentally handicap from the 1920s and past who were used as human test tubes and tortured to death. if african americans, why not italians, irish, chinease? i dont see the fair part in that.
Absolutely not. That’s just crazy talk.
If they get $25K do half black people get $12.5? What if you came to America after slavery? Is the gov’t not going to tax black people …cuz THOSE TAXES will be used to pay them. Why not just discount? And, do you only give half a discount to half black people?
Its a sad part of the past, but very much the past. Any living slave should receive reparations, but they have all passed away at this point.
In antiquity a great many peoples have suffered, how do we repay the damage from the past? I don’t think you can, but we can make the future better.
no, but at the same time….the system still isn’t anywhere close to equal…slavery definately lowered our place on the totem pole and to this day, we haven’t recovered in many areas..most importantly, education..”our” schools are nowhere on par w/ “white” schools..and the basis for that is slavery
Absolutely. I firmly believe that we should also reimburse the Native Americans by giving them back their land. Yes, we can migrate to outer space where common sense might find us.
What about the African Cheifs who helped capture and sell them to Europeans? Are we going to go over and tax those relatives?
no nononono no
NO NO NO NO NO
We should learn from past mistakes and just not do things like that anymore. Yet, we seem to make the same mistakes over and over. My grandparents were interned during the war. Years later, they received $…which was something I suppose, but all the people who had died deserved the money moreso…because they had lost their hoomes, their farms, etc. And my uncle, who was born in the internment camp received money. He thought it was cool…yet he personally did not suffer. He was only there for a few months as an infant. And y ears later? Ridiculous.
No.
We should get up every morning and send a check to some place in the world, because all peoples throughout history and one time or another took advantage of others. So instead of all that hassle …just get over it and get on your lives.
no, if my brother gets injured in a car accident should I get money for the medical bills he had to pay? today’s blaack americans didn’t go through slavery
I don’t know about that… it’s so far in the past that I’m not sure the descendents really need any reparations.
no. it didn’t happen to them did it??
No, because it has nothing to do with THEM. THEY didn’t go through anything…that’s just an excuse. A lot of kinds of people have been through things like that at one point in time, and that doesn’t affect their descendants…
I don’t know about reparations, but I do believe that black Americans have been damaged by slavery, without a doubt. I am definitely in favor of affirmative action as a kind of reparation, but I am simply not knowledgeable enough to give much of an opinion on plain reparations.
Fuck no. Who cares what happened to your ancestors? It’s not hurting you any. Think about it – would any black person prefer to live in Africa than the U.S.? It doesn’t matter how their ancestors came to the U.S., or what they went through to stay here. If black people are upset at how their ancestors were treated hundreds of years ago, then get the fuck out of the country and go back to Africa.
pfffft. No. Slavery is not the only bad thing that has ever happened for gods sake. Maybe you’re ancestors were enslaved. I have a long list of ancestors that were enslaved, slaughtered, raped, had their eyes plucked out, burned at the stake for their religion, and SO ON.
Guess what?
I’m not blaming all my problems on that.
No. We’re in debt right now and I think we made it up (well, no money can really make up the stab at human dignity) by having government-funded scholarships for ethnic minorities. It levels the playing field for those born into poverty because their parents, grand parents, and others further back could only be sharecroppers and couldn’t afford education.
No, because every race at one point in time was enslaved.
No. I am from Swedish descent. Swedes were persecuted when they came over…..”You big dumb Swede….” so if they get repurcussions, so do I…..
I need say nothing. Everyone else here has made such eloquent speech in condemnation of such a foolish idea.
also? Affirmitive action is retarded. I shouldn’t not make it into a school because some minority kid got extra points for melanin. Have a little pride. Do it because you can do it. Not because the government feels sorry for you.
N. O.
Let sleeping dogs lie….every nationality or culture has been enslaved, butched or oppressed in some way in the past. Should I now automatically get something because I found out I have an aunt in Sweden who is Jewish and escaped from a concentration camp? Of course not. I don’t even know her, and I wasn’t there – I didn’t experience it.
No.
You know, I didn’t used to consider myself a racist person. But after having a black store clerk refuse to serve me in the grocery store today for no apparent reason (other than the customers behind me in line that she gladly served, who also happened to be black), I am starting to feel different. People like her make people think badly of minorities in general…
No
I’m writing italy right now! Teach them to kill my Gallic brothers, steal our land and all of our wonderful trees. So the Romans had the Legion, so they knew how to wage war…we were just poor farmers growing our wenches and drinking our meade…then they came along and tried to civilize us and crap.
Nope.
as much as i think reparations are deserved but i dont see any way it can be done justly
No. I would never enslave an African American so why should I have to pay for what my ancestors did?
No, the past is the past. What happened to “money can’t buy happiness”?
Eva.
no.
Ridiculous. No. The past is done and people who might say such things are simply trying to create trouble.
no.
No.
My compassion says yes, but my mind says it in a different way. This seems like a troubling solution, prehaps by providing descendents of african america some college education money it may do right to what they feel is wrong, but the catch is that they would have to prove that they were actually descendents of african americans. It is hard for them but because what they claim is not very logical it seems some what fair. However politically this might cause problems in the long run because other groups might join the band wagon. So maybe it is best to just destory their debates.
No. They already get food stamps and welfare checks, thats reparations enough.
fuck no
Nope. It’s in the past. Let it remain so.
It’d be different if people were still being enslaved and let go, but it’s not happening.
No. Start thinking like that and the Jewish deserve it, and the Polish deserve it, and soon the blondes will
and it just continues on and on. Forgivenes, people! 
forgiveness* haha
Not the descendants. They INDIRECTLY experienced the brutality of slavery. Why would it matter to them as much as the ancestors who actually experienced it THEMSELVES.
no. they personally didn’t endure any harm. their great-great grandparents may have, but not all of them. sure we hear about the terrible chains, etc. that slaves were put in, but what we don’t hear is that this only applied to a small percentage of slaves. my family had slaves, but they were not treated as a lower class person, they were treated as apart of the family (from the stories i have heard, and the pictures i have seen). after the civil war, they were given the choice to stay or go, and they stayed. honestly, this topic gets me all riled up. i hate greed and stupidity.
ROLEPLAYING TIME!
——————————
Hi. Today I’m Cindy, a law-abiding citizen who volunteers for humanitarian societys. I’ve never said a racist thing in my life; I’m well-traveled and respect all cultures.
I’m also the great-great-great-great-great granddaughter of a slave-owner.
Today i was told that I would have to pay people I don’t know because my ancestor–who I’ve never met–was unimaginably cruel to their ancestors–who they have also never met.
——————————-
Would you send someone to jail for something his father did?
No…
nah not really.
no
No. If one was not a slave themself, they have no reason to be paid for the past.
Should South Pacific Islanders get special treatment for the foreigners who exploited the islands? Haven’t gotten a penny. So no.
No… what happened was wrong, but unfortunately it wasn’t the first time or the last. We should look to the past to learn from our mistakes, but if we never keep moving foward then all we do is keep bring the past with us.
Eh, I think not.
Well, seeing as I’m the decendant of a cruel, famous cowboy (can’t remember his name at the moment) who stole thousands of acres of land from his wife’s tribe (formally known to me as the Creek Tribe), I have to say a firm no.
I mean, I have American Indian blood myself. I thought it was wrong. But what can I do about it? My great-great-great-great grandfather was currupt. Would I pay reparation money to the tribe?
Maybe the circumstances are a little different here, but I hope I’m getting my point across.
Times change, and people move on. The “evil” deeds of the past are supossed to be forgiven and forgotten.
Native americans get casinos
No.
[ariana]
the rteal issue is there is still racisim and no matter how bad I try to change that it will still be there. I dont like it at all
All who were slaves should get money. If any survive.
Descendents of slaves may seek reparations from the individuals who profited from slavery. If any survive.
Uh NO
weve spent way to much time and got past this whole ordeal.
Its like giving Germany reparations cause we kiked their ass in the war..twice.
Or giving French people reparations cuse of all the jokes we send at em(losing wars and such).
You give one race a reparation..all races get reparations. Courts would be flying with legal suits
yeah, I agree with the part that harming someone harms his/her ancestors, too. you would probably have to see it happen to know
No. Let’s change the wrongs in our own generation.
I’m going to say yes, just to be different. But understand that if we give reparations to the descendants of slaves, we’d have to do the same for every else whose ancestors have been violated by their fellow humans. Guess what? That means everybody. So, it all evens out. I’ll be expecting my check from England for the oppression of my Highlander kin. Who owes you?
No.
It really upsets me when I’m sitting in an African History class (because it’s required) and someone points there finger at me and calls me a murderer. My family was over in Germany during this period of American history and had no slaves. We didn’t own some huge plantation and mistreat people because of white supremacy…etc.
~Caroline~
would the decendants of white abolishonists who lost everything for the stand that they took get anything? or does it just apply to those who didnt choose their circumstances.
Nope. Think about it, how many people are around who are decended from former slave owners? How many people decended from former slaves? And can of course prove that they were decended from former slaves and slave owners? And if we do that, what about those who are decended from African slavers? You know, the Africans who sold their fellow countrymen into slavery in the first place? Shouldn’t they have to pay towards repartations as well?
See, too many unanswered and unanswerable questions. And there are a great many people who came over after the civil war who are taxpaying citizens, so why should they have to shoulder the burden of something their ancestors didn’t do and weren’t involved in? And what about those who are descended from the white people who were not slave owners but who were either too poor to own any slaves or who were nothing more than slaves themselves? You remember the indentered servants? Why should any of their descendant have to pay anything?
The whole repartations thing is a crock! Now there is no denying the injustice done to an entire race of people, but taxing a great many people who’s ancestors had nothing to do with any of it or even those who were all but in the same situation will get us nowhere, but will instead generate nothing but bitterness and take race relations several steps backward – all over the greed of a few.
NO!
Definitely not…. I like how Creed_Of_Kings put it…. black people don’t know any more about being a slave than I know about being a slave owner. It’s in the past and they need to get over it. I mean, hello, America could totally hate England for treating us the way they did, but what good would that do? Mexicans could totally hate America for taking Texas and California and all that, but instead, they are wanting to come over here.
So, if the black people are still so POed about something that happened to their ancestors…. then why are they in America? If they don’t like that we had slavery here…. then leave. That’s with anyone. If there’s something that they are so strongly against, then why stay?
And I’m certainly not racist. Almost all my friends are black and I love them… and not once has slavery that happened long before we were born ever been an issue.
I don’t think so. It’s sort of absurd to do that… why do they need money now? They weren’t the ones in slavery…yes their relatives were.. but are we seriously going to hold onto that forever? Yes, their relatives were forced into slavery. Yes, it was a horrible thing. Yes, if you were a slave you should be compensated somewhat. But I don’t think that people so many generations seperated, and who are doing quite well financially, need money. Money doesn’t fix stuff. (And if it does, it does so only for a while.. then you need more money, and more)
Besides.. I don’t think those people wanted to be free from slavery so their decendants could come and say “My Grandmother and Great-Grandfather, and so forth were slaves.. compensate me for this.”
Yeah, so that’s my silly uneducated answer haha
no. descendants should not be punished for their ancestors’ actions. they should not be rewarded for their ancestors’ actions. you are resposible for how you live your life, not how others before you did.
I am Irish. There was a time of NINA……No Irish Need Apply. There are all kinds of slavery and if one gets paid for it……then let the line begin. Unfortunately for those at the back of the line…..I think our government would run out of money rather quickly once the size of the line was actually realized.
No. When would it end? You can only show so much restitution, after that, it’s over.
No, because it’s in the past, let’s try to move on folks.
absolutely not
No. I’m not saying slavery is right, or was right, so don’t put that stamp of evil democrat on me. But it’s a new era. No one owns slaves anymore, even though there are assholes out there who are still racist. But just because a group of people were hurt in the past doesn’t mean they should get a reparation. I had a few family members killed by Nazis in WWII, but I’m not looking for reparations. In fact, I think it might start up whole new arguements. It’s making things worse by continually bringing up the past.
Again, slavery was never right and I’m ashamed it happened in my country, but the past is the past, and reparations would only bring it about again in ways we don’t need it.
Maggie
its true that nearly every group in history has been oppressed at one time or another…but i get pretty grossed out when i see people saying “of course not. it was your ancestors – slavery is not hurting you.” im not sure that reparations are they way, but look around you. the situation in our country today is so dependent on what happened here in the past. the effects of slavery are still all around us and we need some sort of way to correct that.
man some of these comments are harsh!!
ok, your question is should people be allowed to recieve reparations? ya, sure they should. can’t stop people from receiving anything offered them.
the question most people are answering is, is it the right thing to do?
personally, i don’t think money ever solves problems like these. the effects of slavery on the current generation are not soley monetary. while it is at the very least a gesture of admittance and attempting to right past wrongs, i think it will take a lot more than society is willing to offer to really repair what has been done.
Sure right after the descendents of Rome give me some money for nearly exterminating my ancestors
maybe
I’m thinking Yes and No.
On the side of Yes, it makes sense of the thinkiing in the post.
On the side of No, it’s as simple as this…That was long ago, and they should be over that. If they still complain about something that happened a while ago that never even HAPPENED to them of today, then they’re being spoiled brats that are crying over spilled milk.
…To put it bluntly
I just thought I’d try to enlighten you about Eon8, something I just found out about. http://eon8theinvestigation.ytmnd.com/
Maybe you might like to write about it?
In general, no.
I an only leaving a comment for the total ignorant comments I saw so far. Forgetting it is something you can forget. “Those that fail to learn from their history are doomed to repeat it” I can go on forever. But that is something that had to be said
No. Who gives a fuck what happened to people you don’t even know. It’s only an excuse to not work, lack education, and blame everyone else for their being lazy. They already get welfare and food stamps. What more do they need? They have nothing to do with their ancestors being slaves. Is it our fault that they fuck up their education and are content with their lifestyles, that they themselves choose? Is it that hard to pay attention in school, graduate, and get a job? No, not at all. If they want more money, they should be sent back to Africa and see how truly lucky they are.
Absolutely. I’ll bet all of your commenters who have said “no” are white. Those who support reparations aren’t even asking for cash. They’re asking for something like the GI Bill, where they’d get certain breaks on educational expenses, home mortgage loans, etc.
Personally, I think means testing should be applied to just about everything. That would help alleviate gross disparities in class as well as race. I don’t think, for example, that the rich should get Social Security or Medicare, whether they’re black or white. It’s a tax, for goodness sake, not a savings plan or an entitlement.
Slavery and further Jim Crow laws is our fault for 300 plus years. This has played a traumatic effect on the future and the current state of the race. Sure other nationalities have faced racism, it exists. Whoever says the past is the past for such a thing does not know the full extent of what they actually faced; countless art work that were done from black artists were taken credit from white males, guns were held to their heads in public areas at their backs, countless photos of gritting teeth whites biting and spitting at blacks who wanted nothing more than an education and a darn pair of shoes. There SHOULD be compensation and such. People need to understand and become educated the extent of how bad it was.
Keyword…”was”
The past is the past, regardless how horrible it may have been.
No
YES!!!!!!! MY PROUD PEOPLES NEED THEIR MONEYS FROM THE WHITE MAN!!!!!!!!
i needs to buy the 11th cd that has been released by a a dead rapper after his death, you know? i mean seriously.
Don’t the Emancipation Proclamation, Equal Opportunity and Civil Rights laws, and Affirmative Action count for reparations?
The idea of reparations is ridiculous. It would be a very sad day when those were made.
wow… i think that was the stupidest question ever!! whoever thinks that bc black people were persecuted in the past their ancestors should get reparations are nuts. i mean the whole “oh they feel the effects of todays world on them” is bullshit!! i mean they should get up off their lazy asses.. quit whinning.. get a job.. buy pants that fit right.. quit pulling the “oh its bc im black” card and try to change the worlds view on them…. i mean look at Condoleezza Rice… who wouldnt want her as president.. there are countless sites with numerous people pleeding for her to run!! i live with the bubbas of louisiana and i know that me and all of my redneck relatives would vote for her in the next election. you dont see any well respected black citizen screaming for reparations so those who are screaming for it need to pick a role model and try to become something better than their parents were
no.
No. I do not condone what was done, but at the same time, a society cannot survive if it spends all its time apologizing for past mistakes. What’s done is done, and the best way to move forward is to forgive and forget.
Instead of doling out cash, it would be a lot better to try and fix the pervasive system of racial inequality that still exists in America today. But reparations have more instant appeal to the ‘black vote’ and make better headlines *sigh*
some of these comments/examples make me laugh…
Yes.
Many wealthy people inherited fortunes from their ancestors… fortunes built by the sweat and suffering of afro-americans. Fortunes they 2 deserve to share in.
No.
how about the NATIVE AMERICANS..they deserve alot. im not native american but i DO know how this country came to be.
No.
I don’t think so. I really don’t think it has caused that much of a problem in their lives to warrant reparations. Most of the people involved in slavery (if not all of them) are pretty well dead, and so it’s not like they’re doing any more slaving. No one else has been given reparations for any other wrong done to them, so why should this be any different?
At this point in time, if the descendents are having issues because of what happened, then it’s their own fault for not putting the past behind them (especially when it isn’t technically their own).
It just sounds stupid…
no. they aren’t the ones who were forced into it, and we aren’t the ones who forced them. and i totally agree with Creed_of_Kings.. What about the African chiefs who helped capture and sell them to Europeans?
Yes. I think any African American who feels they can not continue to function in today’s society here in the U.S. should be given free passage back to the jungles of Africa, with deep regret expressed in a letter from President George W. Bush, suitable for framing.
If they stay here, shaddup and get on with it. My German and Italian ancestors had a rough time of it too, but I’m not getting nor expecting any compensation for that!
no. that would be like me getting an award because my grandpa did some thing 60 years ago.
Sure, as long as every other oppressed group of people also get reparations for any injustices/prejudices encountered in this land, such as American Indians, jews, gays, women, latinos, muslims…basically anyone who’s not a straight caucasian male of western European descent.
It’s been almost 150 years since slavery went away. Yes, it was wrong, and extremely unfortunate that this happened, but there’s no act, no sum of money that can be given, to just erase it and wipe the slate clean.
Jesus, Dan, you’re a HIT with the spammers! lol Do they not realize they’re just adding to your popularity?
There is no way we can ever make such an injustice right. I know people who would never take money because their ancestor was forced to take the Trail of Tears, or for any other black mark on the pages of history. It’s not as if we can tax my ancestor for enforcing the rules of a far different time. The worst we can do is to forget and deny the past, but throwing money at it won’t bring anybody back, in fact I would feel insulted.
No, I dont think so. Hi Dan!
The past is the past.
No.
Even though I’m part black, indian, english or whatever… [[i'm a mutt]]
no.
Then that means that all of the other minorities have to get something also.
[[jews, homosexuals, native americans etc etc]]
and then that would be way too much money to give away. And then allmost everyone might get something. Since we’re all descendants of something.
and also;;
we weren’t the ones harmed, it was our anscestors…
sorry to sound so mean but, yeah.
<33
Absolutely not!!!! Turn back the hands of time and you’ll find that every race was enslaved at one point in time……
Also, I think that the people would not know what to do with their money—Dave Chapelle did a HILARIOUS skit on the hypothetical that slavery reparations were distributed….I wouldn’t be surprised if those things actually occurred.
No. It is a sad and terrible past what many cultures have gone through, but it is in the past. Many programs are in place that benefit these cultures alone. If reparations were awarded, racism would be out of control and many would abuse the rights.
Definitely not. That has nothing to do with them. This is an individual society where each person makes or break it for himself. We all start off with an even playing field. Every person is handed an education sufficient to get a job. If you can get a entry level job and use your money wisely, you can go to college. With a college degree you can get a better job. Rather than trying to find a loophole to get things handed to them, everybody should try to do something for themselves and get a good education. The people that complain about what happened to their great great great great great grandparents need to quit exerting all their energy into trying to get the rare, high-paying athletic and entertainment positions and earna better life the way nearly all succcessful people have- hard work.
such a touchy subject….sorry keeping my opinions to myself on this one
no, i think its ridiculous. i am not racist, i couldn’t care what color people are but, some black americans i have come across have been all on it. thinking that if i looked at them cross eyed, i hated them. i think it has all been blown way out. it is just crazy. i think it needs to be over and done with.
the past is the past is the past …
they got rid of our flag here in GA, isn’t that enough?
Certainly not. At the risk of sounding racist, which I am not.. What’s done is done, and I for one am sick & tired of hearing about how used, abused & neglected they are because of what happened all those years ago. Get over it.. so some of our ancestors owned yours. We don’t anymore..! And if I am checked one more time about my being white.. and because I’m white my family obviously owned slaves, I will scream. My family was either A: Native American, B: Poverty stricken, or C: Christian & refused to own another human being. That fact aside, it’s not like we own your ass now. And what about all the other races & backgrounds that we have in the U.S. now? Are we just supposed to forget about them..? ‘Fraid not.
What else is conveniently left out is the slavery that still goes on today, and that most other races as well as black people are held as slaves. Everyone just needs to stop acting like the victim.. because they’re not, their family was. Since the mid to late 1960′s we have bent over backwards to make sure that everyone is entirely satisfied, and now we’re paying for that because no one is satisfied with things being better.. they have to have everything just perfect for in place of their horrible past. So now we’ve immigration problems.. and racial problems.. and the United States just isn’t what it used to be. We’ve sunk to an all new low because people’s so-called problems.. when in reality it’s problems that occured over 100 years ago.. and that have since been fixed.
let me relate a scene from the tv show “the west wing”. the deputy COS is in a meeting with a black senator that the Bartlett admistration is hoping to put on the Supreme Court. in the meeting it comes out that this senator is for reparations. Josh questions him, and he goes off on it. Josh stops him, and says that if all white Americans have to pay money to every black American because of what some of their ancestors did, then all Germans should have to pay Josh for what Hitler did to his grandfather during the Holocaust.
so no i do not think that reparations should be made to people that did not endure what their ancestors did. i think enough has been done. they have oppurtunities that they did not, they are in a better position. so some people still have outdated preconcieved racist notions based soley on skin color.
nononononononononononononononononono
Did I mention – NO!
nope. although, if the person who had a relative who owned slaves and apoligized for what his family did, that would be kind of cool….
I thought this was interesting:
I AM A GRANDMOTHER OF 7 AND I AM NOT A BAD PERSON. STOP BEING SO SELFISH. .
What exactly is the point here?
Is he/she trying to say “I’m not a bad person, and I’m a grandmother, so what I say is therefore necessarily valid, reliable, and true. You have to do as I say.”
Well, momma says you don’t have to listen to her.
I’m a grandma too, and I think people need to quit being obsessed with this featured content thing to the point where it makes them deranged. My opinion is as valid as anyone else’s. But it’s just my opinion.
OK, I apologize for the fact that some of my ancestors, who I never knew and whose behavior I had no say in and no control over, owned slaves.
Oh wait! I’m Catholic, my ancestors were Catholic, and there’s a whole history of Catholics being abused, denied the right to vote, killed, etc. (what? you didn’t know that! go figure)
I want reparation!
Oh wait! I’ve been Protestant too! And there is a history of religious oppression and abuse, particularly in other countries! I want reparation!
Oh wait! …..yeah, we could all find reasons to whine.
speaking as a minority, no. I don’t think it’s right.
(I don’t look it, but I’m about half Native American.)
I agree with what tonys_2k2 said:
Sure, as long as every other oppressed group of people also get reparations for any injustices/prejudices encountered in this land, such as American Indians, jews, gays, women, latinos, muslims…basically anyone who’s not a straight caucasian male of western European descent.
It’s been almost 150 years since slavery went away. Yes, it was wrong, and extremely unfortunate that this happened, but there’s no act, no sum of money that can be given, to just erase it and wipe the slate clean.
Posted 6/30/2006 at 7:20 AM by tonys_2k2
he’s right.
I think instead of paying people, we should continue to strive for social justice and equality.
(and no, I don’t get any money for my education for being native, cause I can’t prove it. and even if I could, I don’t know if I would.)
No.
The African-Americans around today didn’t have any experience with slavery, so it doesn’t make sense to “pay them back” for something that happened to their forefathers. Yes, slavery was horrible, but we didn’t do it, our ancestors did. So there’s no need to go bribing people to forget about it or ease our conscience or whatever (besides the fact that it doesn’t make up for the horrible injustice that was done to them). And if you were going to do that, it would only be “fair” to tax descendants of people who had slaves, right? So how does one go about discerning that…?
With Native Americans it’s a little different, because they’re still having to deal with what was done to them since there’s a land problem.
Don’t we already have an overtaxed welfare system? no offense
What are slaves anyway have you ever known one?
Seems a little bit rediculous. How are you going to proove which people had enslaved realatives and which didn’t, how much they suffered, how much should be repaid, etc.? Plus, what about all the other races/cultures that have suffered or been enslaved? Should all the white people be compensated because of the original religious persecutions and tax problems that in part drove us to colonize the U.S. in the first place? Plus most black people in the U.S. can’t be considered “African Americans” any more than you or I could be considered “European Americans”. I realize that there are both present in this country, but as for a majority, that’s seems pretty ignorant.
If companies want to, then I think that would be a great way of reaching out to repair race relations. But I don’t think they should be forced to because then they are being punished for crimes they did not personally commit. It would be more reasonable that the owners of BMW should give money to survivors of the Jewish Holocaust since they provided Nazis with plane engines!
No amount of money could erase the blotch that slavery is on the history of our country. Paying the descendants of slaves would accomplish nothing.
no
i personally think that by continually focusing and trying to make repairs on what happened before, the issue is exacerbated rather than allowing being allowed to recede. instead of promoting equality, this promotes everyone to continue thinking “I am different than everyone else” or “They are different from everyone else”. If we want to promote equality, we need to focus on the similarities rather than excentuate the differences.
I’m soo late, but on the off chance that sumone reads this, no we shouldn’t get reparations because, no living member of my family was ever a slave. Some of them had 2 go thru segragation, but thats not what the reparations are for. Instead of using that money on a cause that most black folks in tha ghetto couldn’t really tell u about unless they’ve seen Roots (trust me, I live in tha ‘hood. Somebody actually thought Martin Luther King was a slave so it is not self-hatred that is speaking.) They should spend that money on providing better schooling and housing, and stop supporting walfare families. I’m all for helping those who need it, because i’ve gotten food stamps, government cheese, and tha welfare checks, but too many people are just having babies, gettin tha checks, and not doing ne thing. And it’s robbing tha people who need it, of their money. So instead of giving us money for something we never experienced, give us the means to better ourselves. That’s all I’m saying.
No, because it will never stop. It will go on and on and further back with no end. It would be opening a floodgate of unprecedented dismay throwing this nation into the recesses of society.
It’s two hundred years ago, people! Get over it!
NO
We cannot repay the slaves because they are all gone now. My family never had any part in owning slaves or the slave trade. We fought with the Union army in the Civil War. In spite of all those excuses, I do owe something to the descendants of slaves. I owe them Christian compassion and love. I owe them the honor due to all human beings. Jehovah God will penalize me if I don’t pay what I owe. Any matter of monetary reparation is really irrelevant and as far beyond my control as the gas prices.
what about the blacks who owned slaves? would they have to pay reparations because they chose to own their families? i think we all forget about this portion of slave holders.
they should get over it.
No. I am all for equal rights and I am totally against any form of racism, but I just think the idea of the African Americans getting some sort of money or gift or something because our ancestors did something stupid is a dumb idea. I don’t know why they think that they should get anything… Its not like they were slaves. I
dont know, maybe Im ignorant, but I just dont see any reason for it.
As a person of mixed heritage, whose ancestors arrived here after WWI, I don’t think I should have to pay taxes just because my family chose to settle in a country where there were slaves 100s of years ago.
I have a couple issues with this. Sure, part of this may stem from “white guilt.” But then again I am also a latina woman, so in some ways I have a right to complain, too.
1. Yes, there were far-reaching effects to slavery that have reached us now, and still keep blacks from being at the same exact status as whites in some cases. However, it seems wierd to me that I, who never had any slavces, should pay you, who were never enslaved, money or some other form of reparations. I wonder if these reparations would even mean much to many black people today.
2. Some would say that the descendants of the blacks who were shipped over here to the Americas are much better off than if they’d stayed in some of their native African countris. I don’t know enough to judge one way or the other, but this is something I have heard tossed around.
3. It is hard to deny that we do owe a debt to the great injustices done unto slaves. But how do you even begin to make that right? Money? I don’t think that would solve anything. Maybe the best way to make reparations is to continue to try to give poor black communities more resources and opportunities, try to help them change the culture of “school is uncool” and give them some of the tools that they can use to actually succeed in society.
Lol, if the “slaves”decendants get “reparations”, what about my ancesters…some of them were”Native Americans(Navaho) whos lands were taken.Others were Irish, who came over to be”indentured” servants…and I may have a smatering of african americans in my background… should I get money ?^_^. Everyone knows that it was mostly Dutch ships that brought over slaves, and most of the slaves were captured by other Africans and sold or traded to the Dutch. No one talks about the Slavery trade that still goes on in Africa and the middle east. I think if the African americans really want “reparations, they should patition the US government to send troops into the Slave contries to free the slaves there…but, I don’t hear of any ”Black Leaders” talking about such a plan, Hmmm.
oh my holy heck yes they should. anybody who thinks they shouldn’t is racist. we don’t ask the question should the jewish get reparations from the halocaust – because it’s obvious that they should. the same with black americans. racism is still effecting them. white people don’t see the way racism still effects blacks because whites aren’t effected by racism. black people still deal with racism EVERYDAY. the civil rights movement and martin luther king are not that far behind us. it’s STILL happening.
Fight Mental Illness Stigma
It’s over and done. Over 100 years has gone by… let it go and get on with life.
No – then anyone who is affected by any injustice done them ever in their family tree should have the same right to reparations. It is a bad thing that it happened at all, yes, but we need to go forward and wipe out mistreatment and abuse for everybody futuristically.
if so, then everyone should receive reparations from every institution of gov’t that has done them wrong. Indian Slaves, Native Americans, Irish–they should all be repaid. Korea should be repaid by Japan, Germany by US, Jewish by Germany, and etc.
but i don’t think the aforementioned should happen. it’s about forgiving, relieving and forgetting the debt we owe one another, like the parable of the servant who owed his master mad money but was acquitted of the debt, but went around and strangled another servant for a much lesser amount of money. so similarly, we who have been forgiven of all, should be forgiving of much.
I don’t think money is going to solve any problems.
p.s. sorry for insulting everyone who said no.(which i think was everyone except me?) i was pretty heated.
Fight Mental Illness Stigma
No. It’s stupid. And i disagree with brotha_wit_a_plan, you cant judge a school’s quality by the race majority of the students there. My highschool has a white majority and we’re dead broke.
This reminds me a lot of Israel, and how the Israelis complained about a history of Jewish oppression. And now look at the mess over there. If you support Israel, then it would only make sense to support slave reparations. I don’t support either.
No. It’s an excuse for people to get money.
OK, I just read what I wrote. And now it looks really stupid.
Scratch everything after “no.”
i do feel bad for saying it, but no, not at all. N-O no
Let’s ask them, shall we?
Dear black american, descendent of african slave, P.Diddy,
If you had a choice, would you have rather been born and raised in Africa or keep what life you have here, as is?
Most of these comments are so ignorant. I don’t believe that African-Americans should recieve reparations, but that doesn’t mean that they were not affected by slavery. You don’t know that America would be same the same without slavery, for one. You also don’t know what Africa would be like, so that’s stupid to say “then go back to Africa”. Whatever, people will always be ignorant…
If you start a program for something like this then where and when would it end? i think no. We all learned from that horrible time in our history.
No, its in the past.
no, unless the japanese give me reparations for the way they treated my filipino ancestors..
>>What about the African Cheifs who helped capture and sell them to Europeans? Are we going to go over and tax those relatives?
Posted 6/29/2006 at 10:56 PM by Creed_of_Kings<<
That seems to be a fact many people ignore… that the blacks were sold to the whites by other blacks.
As everyone says, the past is the past. I do not believe that it is possible, nor nessisary to pay everyone for every injury or injustice that any of their ancestors ever experienced.
i think that doing that wud be brining up the past….whats done is done. althought what happedned was horrible, it did happen and nothing can be done about that. its over with…let it rest.
No. It’s finished. African Americans have freedom. People should be happy with that. And it would be an insult to their ancestors that their decendants are benefiting from their pain and hard work. We honor the slaves and their decendants by remembering them and learning about them, not by giving thier decendants reparations.
And like other people mentioned, other races would want reperations.
One of my ancestors was taken captive by Native Americans when she was a baby, and do I recieve reperations? No. I wouldn’t want it, anyway.
NO thats money wasted!.
No way dude
No no no no. I do not apologize to my cousin because I offended my aunt. Down right redikulous.
> What kind of reparations? Blind reparation without due reason? Nope! Pure B.S. ‘Creed of Kings’ brings up another point. More folks looking for freebies….
Peace
Instead, let’s just start treating everyone equally.
I’d rather be treated decent than be given a bunch of money.
It depends.
Yes if the slave drivers relatives feel bad and want to do it.
but no if they dont care— its not like it really happened to them, they didnt go through it, their family did.
they only thing they should get is a honest apology.
Say “no” to counter-racism (and to drugs, of course).
First off, I’d like to point out that slavery isn’t bad; racism is the real sin here. Then I’d like to point out that I’ve never acted hatefully to a black person just because they were black. Sure, I’ve spoken my mind about all the retarded ghetto “gangsta” people, but that’s not the same thing. I’m socially prejudiced, not racially prejudiced. Thirdly, let me point out that none of the current black americans alive were ever slaves.
I will grant that many blacks are born into poverty — but the government doesn’t pick people’s parents for them, God does. If you’ve got a problem with being born in the sociopolitical group you were, talk to God, not the government.
Another thing: if we’re going to get money for anything bad that happened to our ancestors, let me point out that I’m descended partially from the McClaughclan clan, some of whom were killed by William Wallace. I think the descendants of William Wallace should have to pay my family money for things that happened a long time ago and that neither current party was remotely involved in. That sounds like a great idea to me. Brilliant.
Affirmative Action, the American Civil Liberties Union, and any other group aimed at setting blacks above whites should be sued for racism. I see BET (Black Entertainment Television) on my television, but no WET (White Entertainment Television which happens to be a way cooler acronymn!) or HET (Hispanic Entertainment Television).
The NAACP is just the socially accepted version of the KKK, but against white people.
*Steps down from soapbox and goes to get a sandwich*
OK, first, No. second, Homosexuals have not been enslaved, and to talk as if america today treats gays the same as we treated black people in the past is, well, it is wrong.
NO!
If we’re going to pay reparations to slave descendents, then I think they should pay me money for the services my ancestors provided to them through the Underground Railroad and by purchasing and releasing slaves (or allowing them to work on our plantations as employees who earned wages). Sounds fair to me!
Yeah, I’m a birthright Quaker…from a long line of them.
mmm, Ok in the key word there was “allowed” then yes, if someone offers to compensate then why not? I’d take a free lunch. also, if we did make reparations happen in america, we’d have a whole new bag of crap to sort through aside from all the other races who’ve been discriminated against. Only those who’s ancestors actually owned slaves would have to pay. if my fathers forefathers owned slaves but not my mothers then I’d be only half liable. If I was half black half white then I’d ballance out. If I am decended from slave owners and live in a trailer park because my family never learned about hard work, then I should be recive payment from the government for allowing slavery which damaged my ancesters work ethic… Ok, that’s all
Oh, yeah, and about that comment above concerning Israel, “This reminds me a lot of Israel, and how the Israelis complained about a history of Jewish oppression. And now look at the mess over there. If you support Israel, then it would only make sense to support slave reparations. I don’t support either.”
Posted 6/30/2006 at 12:50 PM by youaintjam
I agree, Israel took land that was long gone from them. it’d be like if a person said he was goth (the reall kind not the sub-culture) and demanded his old lands back.
No.
You can’t really regulate that anyways.
Come on all you racist fucks! Give them the God Damn 40 acres and the mule you owe them. Or better yet let’s pay them in Kool Aid and Fried Chicken. Okay, seriously, forget “Black Americans” (Jesus, why can’t you guys just say Black) what about me? Shouldn’t I get re-embursed for all of the straight out robbery that Uncle Sam has been taking all of these years! Taking a third of my hard earned money and using it to fly their mistresses to high class hotels and buy them shit. Or to fly in the many white house helicopters to a golf couse? Shit, what about me? I say look, we are all getting fucked by the US Gov’t as a people. We all have that in common as “Americans” right? I say, if you decide to make reparations then it shouldn’t be exclusive to Blacks. What about all of my Spanish homies out there who have been sprayed by toxic grape sprays in Cali? What about all the millions of Indians (okay “Native Americans)who were killed and jacked for all of their land? What about all of the victims of the Los Angeles Police Rampart scandal? Or all of the Chinese immigrants who were killed building the railroads? Or what about all those years that I filed my taxes through H&R Block only to find out that they were scamming millions every year! I say start with the new and work your way back…how about that? If there’s any left over THEN we’ll talk.
If we do that, why not give it to the people whos ancestors were burned at the stake cause they were “witches”?
If we do that, why not give it to the people whos ancestors were in-slaved by the Egyptians?
Its a stupid thought, and even a stupid question.
My answer is obviously no.
thats just stupid…
i mean…not to be raceist or anything like that…but they wouldnt really have made as much progress as they have if we didnt take them from africa. the people left in africa today live pretty poorly. well anyways, its a touchy subject
nope
Monetary reparations? Nope. However if anyone wants a plane ticket to Africa and go back to what has been taken away from them, let them have it. Once they see what their ancestors lived like before, they will begin to appreciate their cushy lives and stop whining. I think that would be a suitable reparation. The truth is that everyone’s ancestors have been harmed in some way by some other race especially the Jewish people.
no
I don’t think money will really help any of them in the long run as far as actual reparitions, so no.
way to go and piss me off. ughh. this subject makes me so mad. black people were not the only ones to be enslaved at a point in time. i’d go as far as to say that every race has been slaves at some point in time. nobody these days deserves special treatment just because they had relatives that were treated badly a hundred or more years ago. give me a freaking break. my ancestors weren’t even in the U.S. at the time, and i still get blamed for black people that were harmed. I also agree with Creed_of_Kings thank you!
i want to know what brotha_wit_a_plan is talkiong about. They are not lower on the totem pole. he needs to listen to bill cosby. that man knows what he is talking about. black people are so caught up with the past, that they begin to look for trouble just to say that someone is being racist. man. i swear to god, i’m gonna get a grant for a college made for black people. those colleges are the basis for slavery. that’s called segregation, and i will get a scholarship and be one of the few white people there.
i wish everyone wopuld just get over themselves. no skin color is better than another.
I AM SO SICK OF THIS RACISM!
no. i dont think that’s racist.. its totally fair. when my irish ancestors came to this country they suffered hardships and discrimination too. maybe i should be compensated for that. im not a racist person at all..i have different friends who come from a lot of different ethnic backrounds.. and im not prejudice against anyone.. but i hate when certain ppl accuse me of racism then talk about me like i’m inferior to them and refer to me as some ”little white girl” ..its so retarded. then those same ppl have the nerve to accuse me, or whoever else for that matter, of being racist.. b/c god forbid ppl actually get up off their butt and work to acheive something. they’re always looking for an excuse for it to be handed to them. ya.. this is one of my biggest pet peeves ever.. in case you couldnt tell.. lol.
no, because it wasnt’ US that held them for slavery, It was our ANCESTORS. There was different thought back then. We all think a bit different now.
No, but things could definitely be improved more.
the japanese americans were given reparations for being placed in the concentration camps, but those reparations were given not too long after.
so, if african americans were to be given reparations for slavery… well… it should have been given a long time ago.
Short answer, no.
Bishop T.D. Jakes (a very black preacher) once asked his congregation if any of them were slaves. When no one answered, he asked how many of their parents were slaves. When no one answered, he asked how many of their grandparents were slaves. When he got to great grandparents, only a few of the oldest in the congregation raised their hands, and most of them didn’t even remember their great grandparents. “That’s my point,” he shouted, “them white people don’t owe us nothin’ anymore! It’s time we black folks stopped whining and complaining about something that no longer has anything to do with our daily lives and start doing stuff for ourselves!”