Because that's the justification for "reparations," in the article. The justification is that BECAUSE this has been going on for 400 years, black people are entitled to something. That's very different from saying George Floyd's family should be compensated or we should reform the police today. |
This. First of all, the US should pay significant reparations to 150+ countries around the world. And of course return significant portions of its territory to Mexico, Russia, France and Spain. |
Hard to fight when you are busy sharecropping, avoiding a lynching or having your town - Tulsa - destroyed. |
I disagree. They face unique challenges because of today's oppression. Is George Floyd dead because his great grandfather was a slave, or because a cop put a knee on his neck? Is it harder for a black person to buy a house today because of slavery or because they can't get a loan? History may explain why these things happen, but it doesn't cause them. What we do right now causes today's problems. And the solutions are all right now as well. |
Oh brother. Do Spain, France and Russia have to pay for their empires too? What about the UK? Do we have to reconstruct the Ottoman Empire, then smash it again? Does Mexico have to go back to the Aztecs? Does Spain have to return itself to the Muslims? Does Germany have to become part of France again, or do the decendants of the Franks have to return to Germany? Does Finland have to return itself to Russia, or does Russia have to return itself to Sweden? Is the Catholic Church entitled to get the Papal States back? |
Saying "because of what happened 400 years ago" is very different than "because of what has happened for the last 400 years" - and given how precise you are with language it appears that you are intentionally distancing the atrocities. Over what time period do you think the US has systematically oppressed black people and done harm? |
+1 It's hard to fight injustice when you are fighting just to stay alive. That is some SERIOUS gaslighting. "Sorry, you should have been fighting for justice back when you had even less power than you do today (which isn't much)." |
How old do you think this country is? Hint: the United States declared independence in 1776. |
400 years, did I not make that clear? My point is that you don't get reparations for something that happened to dead people. What happened to them can't be repaired. You can get reparations for something that happened to you. Black people are being oppressed today. That is all that matters. It doesn't matter if you are oppressed for 1 day or for 400 years. It matters that it is happening today. Which means we are responsible to fix it, today. |
Well, George Floyd wouldn't even be in Minneapolis if the US hadn't participated in chattel slavery. If he, his father, and grandfather had more opportunities then maybe he wouldn't have been an out-of-work bouncer who was possibly writing a forged check. If the US hadn't allowed white supremacy to flourish for centuries then perhaps the MPD wouldn't have had such a toxic, racist culture and officers like Chauvin would have been kicked out long ago. There are a series of historical atrocities that led to his death. It's not just slavery - the issue is that the US has allowed white supremacy to go unchecked for centuries. Slavery, Jim Crow, redlining, etc. Those are all manifestations with "residual harm". Certainly, black people DO face unique challenges in the US today because of the last 400 years of oppression. |
Black people have been transported and oppressed in the Americas for longer than 400 years, but the transatlantic slave trade began in earnest when the first human cargo arrived in Virginia in 1619. https://time.com/5653369/august-1619-jamestown-history/ |
Slavery started in Africa with......... you guessed it......... Africans. That doesn’t mean here in US they have been pushed down relentless. How do fix that? Reparations ain’t it. Nobody (including myself) is going to give up their job, status, wealth, pay more taxes, or any other measure you can come up with to fix what has been happening. Why should I!? I’m an immigrant who has worked hard to have what I have. |
If the US hadn't participated in chattel slavery, he'd be in West Africa. Then what? I'm not arguing with you about the history is. I am arguing about the meaning of it for today and what to do about it. |
Too many variables:
1. Who gets it? All Black people, or just poor Black people? Do African immigrants get it? What about mixed race? DNA to determine the amount? Right here is an almost impossible task. 2. How much do they get? Per person. Per slave ancestor? 3. Who pays for it? Government? Go find the descendants of former slave owners? Many of them likely are dirt poor. Until there are some answers to these questions that are reasonable, this can never and shouldn't happen. |
It's not just happening to dead people. There is "residual harm" from all of the various forms of oppression that have happened over the last 400 years. slavery - loss of language, religion, family, history, culture Jim Crow - segregation, monuments to celebrate white supremacy redlining - further segregation Segregation has led to decreased wealth, health, education, opportunity, etc. -- measurable harm in almost all aspects of life. |