We used to count black Americans as 3/5 of a person. For Reparations give them 5/3 of the vote.

[Anonymous]

[url]https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/08/21/we-used-to-count-black-americans-as-35-of-a-person-instead-of-reparations-give-them-53-of-a-vote/?tid=sm_tw

Op-ed from Wapo

I think this idea is crazy. I honestly don't know where to start.

[Anonymous]

I think that's a really cool idea.

But first, get money out of politics.

[Anonymous]

There would be a lot of people like Rachel Dolezal and Shaun King claiming they are black.

[Anonymous]

This is simply a very dumb idea.
The author is a doctoral candidate at Northeastern.
He is working on defending his thesis.
Kind of hope he isn’t able to do it.

[Anonymous]

Definitely!

And since women could not vote at all until the 20s, let's give them twice the vote!!!!

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:There would be a lot of people like Rachel Dolezal and Shaun King claiming they are black.

Shaun King's biological father was black. That would have been good enough for him to have been kept in slavery.

[jsteele]

I have removed a bunch of posts from posters who clearly didn't read the article and had no idea what this discussion is about. The topic is not financial reparations. If you want to discuss financial reparations, please start a thread about financial reparations instead of hijacking this one.

[Anonymous]

This is intellectually consistent with affirmative action and other set asides.

[Anonymous]

I take issue with the application. Persons descended from American slaves who do not "look" African American would be denied "Reparations". Reparations should be made to the descendants of people who were enslaved by the Atlantic Slave Trade regardless of what those descendants look like today. Its not really reparations otherwise.

[Anonymous]

Ok...just a minute here. Slaves were counted as 3/5ths for purposes of representation in the House. They didn't vote then. Women didn't vote then either. So this reparation idea, which is essentially to change the outcomes of elections, is asinine. What's next? Oh, you're here illegally but you paid some taxes so we will give you half a vote?

Well Mr. Johnson, while I appreciate your service to our nation did you live through the fifties and sixties? After repairing the injustices and inequities of the past, Jim Crow anyone, we are now going to create a new form of injustice? Again, asinine. One person, one vote.

[Anonymous]

Of course it's crazy. It offends the most basic principle of democracy: one person, one vote.

Asinine and tone-deaf arguments like this are a big part of the reason that people of other races tune out legitimate African American complaints and grievances.

But figuring out a way to speak of black America's problems to all Americans, using language they understand and values they hold, is boring and unglamorous and doesn't let you one-up your fellow academics and activists by saying something even more over-the-top than the last thing anyone said. So instead you have op-eds like this.

[Anonymous]

How about the descendants of people who did not own land? Indentured servants? Many were disenfranchised.

You cannot make up for past injustices. You just can't. The past is gone. It was wrong and those people suffered and they are dead and gone now. You can only do what is right and move forward.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:[url]https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/08/21/we-used-to-count-black-americans-as-35-of-a-person-instead-of-reparations-give-them-53-of-a-vote/?tid=sm_tw

Op-ed from Wapo

I think this idea is crazy. I honestly don't know where to start.

It's not crazy, it's just very funny.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Definitely!

And since women could not vote at all until the 20s, let's give them twice the vote!!!!

I think you would have to give them an "undefined" amount of their vote, but I'm not too good at math.

Article is click bait bullshit that WAPO is becoming known for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Of course it's crazy. It offends the most basic principle of democracy: one person, one vote.

Asinine and tone-deaf arguments like this are a big part of the reason that people of other races tune out legitimate African American complaints and grievances.

But figuring out a way to speak of black America's problems to all Americans, using language they understand and values they hold, is boring and unglamorous and doesn't let you one-up your fellow academics and activists by saying something even more over-the-top than the last thing anyone said. So instead you have op-eds like this.

+1