Why are people against reparations?

[normalice]

The U. S. has been forcing poverty on black communities for four centuries, only making such practices (i. e. redlining) illegal in the 70's and not really enforcing it until the 90's. And things are improving but a desperation born of poverty has a lot of momentum that could take centuries to reverse.

Of course, reparations would stop it in its tracks, and permanently. Forever and finally cutting the legs out of all arguments that racism is the cause of any future problems of signifcance. But people are like condo owners, wanting to put off much needed but expensive repairs until they move out so they don't have to contribute to it. This goes on until the condo collapses. Then everyone who previously moved out gets to think "wow, sure glad I moved out so I didn't die with the rest of them" instead of "wow, my selfishness literally got people killed."

Updates

+1 y

Wow, this question took off. I only intended to spar with some trolls but instead a bunch of normal people showed up. Anyway, seems the most common answer is based on people assuming reparations are a penalty instead of a repair. If it were possible to stress that no one is blaming you for a problem that nonetheless definitely needs fixed, would you be less reluctant tonhelp fix it?

Updates

+1 y

Well, that last update made the trolls a little nuts. I'll just say, I meet a few people from Niger. One of the things about their outside perspective is they know about the U. S's history of slavery, and when they visit their first impression is that things haven't changed much. Yes, there are people who have risen above it - just as there were free black men walking around the south at the height of the civil war.

[Smoke-n-Growls]

I don't know.

Frankly, as a Canadian, I feel my country should also pay reparations to First Nations people - as should the Catholic Church - for our role in Residential Schools and the wide range of other crimes Canada has commited (or ignored).

The numbers are clear, the benefits are too. I'd happily pay a sliver more in taxes to support my country doing the right thing by me and by history.

The only reason I can see why people wouldn't support this is a lack of empathy and a, understandably, sense of wanting to deny that they've ignored such terrible treatment up until now.

By paying reparations, it's an admission of guilt. And some people can't handle that idea.

[Dragonpurple]

Where does it stop though, natives in the USA should get it for how badly they were treated, so should Japanese and their descendants from WWII detainment camps, how about the white Mormons who were exterminated legally in Missouri and forced from their homes many times and the federal government did nothing so they had to flee out west? Maybe the Chinese who helped build the railroad or those forced into indentured servitude when they came from Europe and while not technically slaves were still slaves. Must work for company who owns you, but you have to live in company housing, buy from company store and you'll never get out of it.

Should all their descendants get it to?

That is the issue is there is numerous groups that should or would want to get it... once it starts with one group is it really fair to say the others shouldn't get it?

[Smoke-n-Growls]

I mean, at that point, just do UBI.

The only reason people think we can't afford it is because no one is properly taxing the 1%. Tax them, and the world could afford UBI.

I understand that it's a slippery slope - you bring up valid points - but I'm of the position that we need to START somewhere before we start looking for ways to expand it out.

It's like Cannabis legalization in Canada. Is it great? No. There's a lot that could be done to protect consumers, encourage craft and small business, meet consumer demand, and punish/regulate testing fraud.

But the start is an important part. Without first wave legalization, we can't have law reform.

We have the start somewhere. And, if it means down the line everyone gets paid, then it's worth starting and continuing.

I view it much like evolution, but applied to public and fiscal policy. We can't stagnate because "it's never been done/where will it end". We have to forge ahead and adapt as we go.

Progress is like that.

[Dragonpurple]

Not sure about Canada but the rich pay most the taxes in the USA, could they be taxed a little more... sure, but even if the government confiscated 100% of their wealth, it wouldn't even fund one years worth of the government. The big issue is finding a way to tax the 1% without hurting the poor.

Things like taxing stock profits, cause the rich make most their money on investments, means taxing middle class who make money on stocks too. Just so happens most middle class don't invest in the stock market but we do, just not as much.

I'm also all for UBI soon as they can balance the budget and lower taxes first, I already pay 53% of my gross income in various taxes and I'm only middle class, not even upper middle class, just plain old middle.

[Smoke-n-Growls]

Dude... There's so much money that isn't being taxed.

www.myjournalcourier.com/.../...on-in-16446311.php

[Dragonpurple]

I'm all for making the rich pay what they owe and refuse, in fact they are taking a huge risk... the IRS may just take their real property and auction it eventually and they won't be able to stop them.

That article is talking about what is owed and they just refuse to pay, I'm all for better enforcement for sure.

I happen to also be for a flat tax, no deductions, just a flat percentage based tax... would mean everyone pays a equal percentage of their income in taxes. Having deductions allows for a low of fraud both from rich and poor alike.

[Smoke-n-Growls]

Progressive tax is where it's at in my opinion.

The more someone makes, the more the can afford to pay.

[doopayo]

“ “If you are the son of a man who had a wealthy estate and you inherit your father’s estate, you have to pay off the debts that your father incurred before he died. The only reason that the present generation of white Americans are in a position of economic strength. . . is because their fathers worked our fathers for over 400 years with no pay.”


- Malcolm X


They don’t teach about Malcom X anymore in American schools 🧐 I wonder why?

[doopayo]

@Juxtapose the quote literally is talking about white Americans who had ancestors that took part in slavery

[doopayo]

@Unpersuadable the only one that’s delusional is you. You don’t even know half of the horrible shit white people did in slavery cause history is white washed as fuck. White Americans built their country off the backs of Native American and black slaves. Tortured, murdered 115 million people and no reparations were ever paid.

America committed war crimes and they’re not sorry, cause even years after slavery they won’t pay for their war crimes because they treat black people and indigenous people horribly.

I don’t care if it makes you mad, that’s the entire point. White people get mad when black people ask for reparations cause their so blind to their privilege that they believe they have no privilege.

Just a news flash, all those black conservatives you probably are drunk on tokenizing and listening to that talk about how black people aren’t oppressed are lying threw their teeth and they know it.

Just look at Candice Owens? Racism doesn’t exist, yet Candice Owens who had to deal with a bunch of crazy white kids giving her racist threats?

www.google.com/.../...-by-Stamford-High-107476.php

African slaves were not compensated for their labor. If you get mad at that simple fact, don’t get mad at me. African Americans were the one that were dehumanized for years and treated like animals.

And still are, until you go and wake up black you’ll never know the experience of a black person or any poc for that matter. 🤔

[doopayo]

@Juxtapose yeah, comparing African slavery to American slavery is just a clear example of how white washed slavery is. Africans didn’t dehumanize their slaves in the way slaves were dehumanized by whites during slavery. And the majority of slaves were indentured servants or criminals of war. Not only that but in America if you were a slave that meant your children were slaves and your children’s children were slaves?

If you know nothing about history don’t speak on it like you do

[doopayo]

The fact that Y’all both are proving everything I just said….

[doopayo]

@Juxtapose clear example of how you have no idea what slavery is, all you keep doing is trying to deflect slavery and how it effected African Americans bye trying to use other examples of slavery? Nobody was even talking about Romans and as far as I’m concerned Romans are an ethnicity not a fucking race

[doopayo]

Whenever I engage in conversations about racism with white people like y’all you never truly want to learn or be educated. You just want to accuse black people of having a victim mentality, puff your chest and think you did something.

It’s the definition of ignorance, if you don’t want to be educated than don’t talk to me. Black people aren’t the only ones talking about our struggle, we’re just the most vocal cause we tend to start all the movements and be at the forefront of them all.

I’m talking about war crimes. Do your research before you want to be on my replies saying anything. Than again your confirmation bias wouldn’t let you do that

[Juxtapose]

It's always funny when somebody less than half my age tells me I am not educated because I disagree with them politically xD

[doopayo]

This isn’t about politics, this is about history. That you continue to try your hardest to forget about

[BlackBeauty90]

@doopayo - Why not? Because he was trash. In & out of prisons, cult leader, depending on who you ask Marxist, encourager of social unrest / inability to be good upstanding citizens (just whine like little whores), etc. Go back to school & **try** (I empathize the try) to educate yourself before making a good for nothing criminal a martyr.

[BlackBeauty90]

@doopayo - you said > Africans didn’t dehumanize their slaves in the way slaves were dehumanized by whites during slavery < you ever been to Africa?

I am from Africa and let me be blunt you stupid useless cunt African slavery is horrific. In Africa the poor SELL their OWN CHILDREN into slavery. In Africa women are SOLD AS SEX SLAVES you fool. In Africa slaves HAVE LESS VALUE THAN CATTLE. And in areas where slavery is illegal it is NOT the slavers who are put in jail, IT IS PEOPLE WHO PROTEST.

European slavers merely took advantage of tribal strife & prisoners of war being sold, of people selling their poorer relatives for profit, etc. Nobody else is to blame. So WHY DO YOU NOT TRY AND EDUCATE YOURSELF

[doopayo]

My intentions weren’t to anger anyone. I wasn’t trying to downplay African slavery. I was just explaining that the difference is that Africans were dehumanized because of their skin color and such during the trans Atlantic slave trade.

I also never even said anything mean to you so you calling me a stupid worthless cunt was uncalled for, you could’ve explained that to me respectfully.

And no Africans were there during the whole conference when they divided up Africa?

[BlackBeauty90]

@doopayo - are you really THIS dimwitted? The trans Atlantic slave trade only existed because Africans WERE DEHUMANIZED BY THEIR BRETHERN. Poor relatives were sold, children were sold, rivals were sold. THEY HAD LESS VALUE THAN CATTLE. As said. THEY STILL ARE.

TRY to READ and more importantly COMPREHEND what I said. And let's be real... or better yet EDUCATE yourself... Chinese immigrants were treated the same, they were given fucking sticks of dynamite with shortened wicks so the people in charge of building the railways COULD LAUGH at them running away.

[BlackBeauty90]

@doopayo - you said > And no Africans were there during the whole conference when they divided up Africa?

Africa has been DIVIDED by tribes and family alliances for longer than the highest you can likely count sweetheart. As is the same in other countries like the middle east, China, etc. Kindly STOP putting other countries under the same label as Americas... maybe you'll learn something.

[Shamiah02]

The people against it are people who could care less what our ancestors, hell even my parents and grandparents faced. So allowing reparations admits our suffering and how we helpee to create America.

They want all the horrible dirty things done by the government, and racist people kept a secret.

Admitting that even after slavery ended it wasn't until 1865 that it was officially ended.

They don't wanna talk about the black wallstreet which happened 1921 where they bombed an entire town because it was a black owned town that ran successfully without help from white people.

It wasn't till 1964 when jim crow laws were passed restricting us from having the same common freedoms as whites.

Fair housing rights in 1968.

So truth be told we only truly became free in 1968, but like you said it wasn't till the 90's it was enforced and to this day its still not 100% enforced, Not when slavery was ended. Our history up till this day is still covered in dirt that shames Americans for how dirty they treated us and they don't want it getting out how many of our inventions were stolen.

Henretta lacks cells stolen and used to create vaccines and medicine that treats most major health problems.

How many of us were murdered because a white person deemed us guilty of a crime we didn't commit.

So yeah i wonder why more black people suffer from poverty than white people when until 1968 just 52 years ago we were secret slaves instead of true slaves. These are atrocities that deserves to be repaid.

Even still people try to convince us we can't do what white people can. It's the secret brainwashing to try to keep us in place.

Many black people still are recovering from poverty because only 30 years ago we were allowed to be free to get an education.

This generation is standing up because it's the first generation to be able to get the education to see the wrongs and given a chance to speak out about it. They gave us a handicap for 4hundred years and pretend it's not true

[ODC2112]

First of all the responsibility is personal, if anyone has to pay for any responsibility it is the people who enslaved the Africans.
But let's say the responsibility is not personal and that it is a hereditary thing.
Did the Africans enslave us? The answer is very simple, the Arabs of North Africa and other Africans. The Arabs have been responsible for the African (and not only African) slave trade, long before America was discovered. In addition to the Arabs, the Kingdom of Congo and the African states that bordered the Gulf of Guinea were selling these slaves to Europeans.

So dear Afro-Americans you have to go to Morocco, Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria or the Congo, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, São Tomé and Príncipe, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon to ask for money. I can already hear the sound of their raspberries when you do.

Who brought Africans from Africa to America? First among them are the Dutch, followed by the Portuguese and the British, then the Spanish and the French arrived. In all Catholic states, slavery was forbidden for Christians, but blacks were not Christians so they could trade them. Mentyre for the Protestants there was no obligation they could treat slaves as commodities who were Christian or not. Now go to France, UK, Spain, and the Netherlands to ask for money, I hear the roar of more raspberries.

Well the end of the slave trade is due only to the European colonial powers, first of all UK and France. So you have to pay them a refund for that too. Naval wars are very expensive.

Then you will have to pay compensation to all the heirs of the unionists who fought during the American Revolution, with reimbursements that vary for combatants, wounded and dead. Considering that the unionist forces had 2200000 effective of which 360000 dead and 275200, at the time they were about half the size of the black population.

Then you have to pay for not being expelled and sent back to Africa. You have been back to the African countries where former African American slaves come from. They. I'm certainly not heaven on earth. In fact, I'm a shitty place, where survival is difficult. Since you hate White Americans, you can always come back after paying for the intergenerational stay, with living standards that Africans dream of.

If you now wanted to ask the Americans for a refund, you would have to eliminate the descendants of all those who arrived after 1865, then all the Italians, all the Poles, all the Irish, all the Eastern Europeans, most of the Germans, of the Northern Europeans and all other immigrant disappear. Because they don't have anything to do with slavery. In the end I think you would go and ask some whitetrash for money who don't have money.

[XSea-Sonic]

America’s undereducated, and most whites don’t understand that blacks still suffer from slavery. When we look at the timeline of slavery, blacks have been free for such a short time in America’s history. They’ve had a flash of time to recover, and yet “conservatives” are saying “durrrrrr racism doesn’t exist hurrrrrrr” and “blacks have every opportunity as us” as blacks are being gunned down, unarmed in every city USA.
Wealthy whites through history in the USA have benefitted massively off of black forced labor. Naturally, whites nor the US Govt want to pay back what they owe, and as I stated earlier, white America circa 2020 are anti-education and thus tremendously low-IQ (and poverty-ridden).

The right’s overplayed its hand in the US, the GOP will be recovering for decades. I believe some reparation will come. Sadly, blacks will never get what they’re owed. Nor will Native Americans, whose numbers were decimated. Chinese-Americans are certainly another group who were enslaved in another capacity on the transcontinental railroad.

[haphazard]

(This message was brought to you by a Chinese sweatshop assembled laptop. Hurry up and kill each other, America, so we can take over your country!) Privileged douchebag.

[MrOracle]

"as blacks are being gunned down, unarmed in every city USA."

[citation needed]

[BlackBeauty90]

@normalice - ROFL. You ever been to Africa, boy?

You soft-kneed uneducated/ignoramuses of other cultures leftists/liberals whine about the US and the "bad" things African-Americans have gone through when, reality is, many would be jackal food in Africa. As my Nigerian colleagues - disgusted with African Americans sitting on the curb drunk or stoned & on welfare - have said many times we came here to better ourselves not become leeches.

Slavery has been going on in Africa for centuries - it was warring tribes that captured their rivals or poor families selling off bodies for money / food - that fueled colonial slave trading. European slavers - with limited weaponry against wildlife, limited to no knowledge of tribal areas and where to find people, etc - would've caught & sold butterflies if that hadn't been the case.

Slavery is still common in some areas of Africa and in fact in some regions though it's illegal if locals protest it... it's not the slavers who are put in jail, it's the protestors.

So why don't you liberal/leftists do something - anything - that is even slightly useful with yourselves and stop bitching about... things such as this... and try bettering the world for people who actually need help like those in Africa who are still enslaved and who are sent to prison if they protest it (though as said it's illegal).

[KrakenAttackin]

@BlackBeauty90. Well said. When I was in the hospital after spinal surgery, the two best nurses who took care of me were Nigerian (one make one female) and they both felt so lucky to have been able to come to the U. S., get an education, have opportunity, and live their dream. They were so appreciative of the U. S. and I was very appreciative of them.

[BlackBeauty90]

@KrakenAttackin Thank you. I am seriously tired of people whining about "poor African Americans". Only an idiot would think other minorities are not discriminated against, are not racially profiled, etc. And then I look at the thousands to millions of minorities who do something with themselves. A former classmate he went from the slums of NYC to working in the upper management of a huge international corporation. If he (as a black man) can do it (single mother, father more in jail than out) what's wrong with others?

[Avicenna]

As usual, your arguments are both naive and illogical.

The only thing that will stop ever-escalating demands for more is a big fat NO. And whatever the amount paid, there will still be the same leftist race hustlers with their hands out for more, attempting to guilt whites. Why give up what has successfully worked so far?

But as the demographics of the US continue to change, there will be less and less support for huge handouts to blacks, especially as the US's black population gains more African immigrants and the share of Hispanics, Middle Easterners, and Asians grows. What will happen is that leftists will try to opt for the South Africa/Zimbabwe model of seizing white-owned assets.

There really isn't a good case for race-based reparations. A better solution would be to come up with reasonable targeted solutions to help the poor of all races than also handing over money to well-off and wealthy blacks. But there's nothing in doing anything race-neutral for the race hustlers and their allies. And there have arguably already been race-based reparations in federal spending and corporate donations (the Biden Administration has been slapped down by the courts for its racist payments to farmers and restauranteurs that specifically excluded whites).

Guilty white leftists can always make donations to the charities or individuals of their choice is they need to assuage their guilt. Better yet, hand everything over you have now and leave the rest in your will.

[humpbackjack]

So what should be paid I personally feel that any amount short of at least a few hundred thousand is an insult or should they be given what they were promised 1 acre of land and a mule I believe was what was promised or do they get an equivalent amount to what the land and mule would come to and do we use amounts from back then and add interest what is a fair amount that isn’t an insult I do feel they should get the debt from what they were promised no matter what but I don’t know that it’s fees able to be able too pay a dollar amount for what their ancestors were forced to go through how can a dollar amount be given without insulting plus paying a fair am uninsulting amount would more than likely completely ruin the country they live in and that wouldn’t do anyone any good. Do they deserve something I would ultimately say yes but what or how to pull it off I wouldn’t even know where to start. Saying all this yes it’s terrible what their ancestors went through but that was way before any of us were born so being mad at me because I’m white is just keeping the hate alive and doesn’t do anyone any good hold me accountable for my actions not for the actions of people of the same color that I don’t even know if were my actual ancestors also the logistics of figuring out who actually had ancestors that where slaves would probably be pretty near impossible since I’m sure escaped slaves weren’t signing up for anything to put them on blast and not every region were targeted for slaves I mean someone way smarter than me will be needed to solve this one

[MrOracle]

The world, and the country, and white people, don't owe you anything. The world is full of people - many of them black people - who would give anything to take your place in the US, and that's because, despite the problems, the US is still the country with the most freedom and opportunity.

But you have to do the work, and you have to make smart, responsible decisions if you want to get ahead. Most immigrants come here, work like crazy, pinch pennies, and in 20 years, they are middle class and still moving upwards.

They succeed because they take personal responsibility for their future - they aren't waiting for a handout, despite being much less privileged when they arrive here - many can't even speak the language.

It is handouts, more than any other thing, that has held back the poor, especially black folks in the US. In the early 60s, over 80% of adults were married and had jobs. Then LBJ passed his Great Society welfare bill, and now only 15% of black people are married and less than half of black men have a job. Being given money DESTROYED the black family, and also made them easily controlled by the people giving them the money: the Democrats. Now black people vote Democrat even though Democrats do everything they can to prevent blacks from being independently successful, and they convince them that it's in their best interest. But the results speak for themselves.

[normalice]

ah, I see. So you're using the fact that it is technically possible for anyone to rise above their station to ignore the fact that those born above it have an enormous advantage is that pursuit.

It is weird how no one tries to say handouts destroyed poor white people. Is there something about black people that makes them less smart about how to handle handouts? Is it because they are lazy? Or maybe some other thing in there genes? I'd be delighted to hear which of these "not racist" theories you subscribe to.

[MrOracle]

"It is weird how no one tries to say handouts destroyed poor white people."

No, I say that all the time. There's HUGE numbers of white people - in raw numbers, more than black people - who are equally ruined by handouts. Are you familiar with the term "trailer trash"? That's kind of the white, suburban/rural version of the ghetto. Hell, nearly half of England, which is nearly all white, is ruined by handouts. But, as a percentage of the overall (US) population, this affects blacks more, and certain aspects of it were intentionally targeted at blacks more - LBJ spoke about that specifically, except he was selling it as a good thing.

Of course being born into the middle or upper class is an advantage. I never said otherwise. I said the world isn't fair, and that you aren't owed anything. But in America - unlike many other places in the world - you absolutely have the OPPORTUNITY to improve your situation. And tons of immigrants, who arrive with NOTHING, manage to work their way into the middle class within a generation (20 years). Yet, we have families in the US - both black and white - where no one in the family has EVER had a legitimate job or business for GENERATIONS. There are people who are so used to living on government assistance of some form that they don't even realize that most people don't - because everyone THEY know are on assistance.

I'm not denying that there are always going to be a small percentage of people who cannot survive without assistance - they're old, injured, sick, or have physical or mental limitations that prevent them from working. But there are a LOT of people who are perfectly physically capable of earning a living for themselves, but who just don't WANT to have to work, and so they want other people to pay their way. That, in my opinion, is not only morally wrong, but it makes that person's life worse instead of better in the long run, and certainly harms subsequent generations.

[normalice]

Right, everyone has the opportunity and we let the fact that it is technically possible for everyone to rise above their station give us an excuse to ignore the fact that it is absolutely impossible for "everyone" to rise above their station. This means those born with an advantage will perpetuate it, and since those advantages started out among racial divides (and other things), the fact that we have been calling black people lazy for 400 years is still the cause of calling them lazy today - not because of actual laziness.

And just saying life isn't fair is a cop out. The whole point of civilization is to transcend "life" as a species. If we're going to just accept that we are animals and eat each other, then those who have benefited from civilization the most should say as much so we can eat them. Which, of course, is why they won't. They will sing the praises of civilization publicly but then privately fund propaganda and infotainment that pushes for a survival of the fittest economy, such as what you describe.

[MrOracle]

You're going great lengths to avoid holding people accountable for themselves and their decisions. Nearly anyone can reach the middle class in the US if they are willing to work and follow the rules - but too many simply aren't willing to do that. Many believe they "deserve" better for no other reason than they want it and they see other people who have it. That's not how life works, though.

As long as you are relying on other people to provide for you, you are, to some degree, under their control and influence - a slave of a sort. Freedom comes from creating your own destiny, but you can't do that until you can accept personal responsibility and quit blaming others and expecting others to provide for you.

[jasco]

Well where would these reparations come from? Taxs is where the government gets most of its money other exports and imports. And as you know black people or people of colored are pretty damn vast in terms of population. A couple million more than likely would be good but would it be enough for each and every single black person ( not counting the ones in prison) tho? I don't know As for why I am against reparations. Its because most of the people from ages 50 and up are dying out which is when a lot of racism was still around in black and white. However most of the younger generations such as myself do not need that because we werent around to experience the devastating affects that were in the 1900s and beyond. Not saying we don't deal with racism today but its not nearly as bad in the 1900s. So in short I do think we should put more money and more studies into school to help kids in general become better off. Another reason why I am against reparations is because most black people wouldn't know what to do it. Most of us haven't been rich or know anyone who is rich and therefore we more than likely go broke because were trying to live a life completely different than what were used. Maybe if we were given training on what ways it would be best to spend millions of dallors would i consider reparations. Again most of the people who had experience such horrors are much older and therefore they do deserve something but not the younger generation.

[GoldenAxer]

One of the problems I have with it is who pays. There aren't slave owners around anymore. If it's white people, then there are many white people whose ancestry had nothing to do with the transatlantic slave trade (ex: Irish immigrants who emigrated to the US during the Great Famine). If it's everyone but African Americans, then take my Japanese side of the family of whom the ones in the US had to lose many of their livelihoods and jobs spending their time in internment camps during WW2 and had nothing to do with slavery.

If there's a wealth redistribution then I think many of the same benefits can be had without having to raise such questions by simply seeking to help those in poverty regardless of their race or whatever oppressions their ancestors suffered in the country.

[GoldenAxer]

The problem I see is that the people guilty of the grievances are long gone and dead. The proper time for reparations by those guilty of wrongdoing has long passed, and I cannot see how it is moral to hold the descendants of such people accountable for the deeds of their ancestors. If we can find productive ways to help those in need, I'm all for that, but I think the time window for what we call reparations has long gone.

[GoldenAxer]

As another example, take those white people whose ancestors fought on the side of the north with so many of them bleeding and dying in a war that ultimately ended slavery. Should they receive reparations from those whose ancestors belonged to the south? Should they have to pay reparations associated with slavery when they fought and bled on the side that ended it? There are too many questions to me like this to say that one group of people should pay reparations for another group of people for sins committed by their ancestors.

[GoldenAxer]

One of the things that I think could help is to end the war on drugs and adopt similar policies as Portugal offering rehabilitation for users rather than bars. The drug war has claimed so many lives and livelihoods, including innocent people who had nothing to do with drugs but got caught in the crossfire of gang wars. And people like Harry Anslinger specifically targeted minorities with his drug war, and police still tend to target low-income neighborhoods which tend to predominantly consist of minorities as well as developing itchy trigger fingers against those suspected of using or dealing drugs in the massive underground economy. I'm not pro-drugs, but I think the drug war often inadvertently and sometimes even advertently targets minorities while destroying their neighborhoods which turn into gang turfs covered in graffiti.

[hahahmm]

Liberals claim to know the answers to every problem and yet in communities where they have total control, everything is going to hell. Just because they claim reparations will fix something doesn't make it so. Wishful thinking and wanting to feel good isn't how to make sound decisions.

I'm sure there's some greedy community organizers and politicians just licking their lips thinking of the huge bureaucracy that would have to be created to pay trillions of dollars and how easy it would be to skim cash off the top.

[Qdbrown]

Because life is not fair. Everyone has a cross to bare. Everyone has misery and bad things that happen to them all throughout history.

And then all these blacks go on about how they were discriminated against. Well, I didn't do it. And most of the successful blacks became successful. It's just people try to get more free, and a number of blacks were never slaves. They came in later from Canada or immigrated after the Civil War. When they start giving money away, everyone will be from slaves.

[Oigit]

"Of course, reparations would stop it in its tracks, and permanently" Not even remotely. Both slavery and forcing poverty where not new issues when they took place in early America. Both are world wide issues that in one form or another are continuing to happen today. They are also both alive and well in the America today. The illegal drug and human trafficking are full of both. These two issues will not be fixed so long as people are so focused on debating or fixing part of two issues that are much larger and complex then what most think.

[rcljr]

The Citizens of this country have NOT forced poverty on black folks, EVER ! Black folks were given the right to vote and they vote STUPIDLY, like lemmings, EVERY TIME for the POLITICAL PARTY that keeps them in poverty with their social programs. Do NOT blame white America for black America’s stubborn stupid choices, it like repeatedly throwing jello at a window, hoping one day it will stick. As America is fully aware in 2021 electing stupid people brings stupid “ leadership” so please, take your “ woe is me” blame game and shove it.

[cjmtherfcker]

So your saying Redlining didn't happen?

[Sargentcaptain]

"Forever and finally cutting the legs out of all arguments that racism is the cause of any future problems of signifcance."

Nope, we've been here, done that, right around a hundred times already. People will never stop bitching about the past. Look at where the Balkans are if you don't believe me. You can personally turn over a new page, that don't mean that other people will follow and people will always want more anyway.

But to your question, 'why are people against advantaging a race at the cost of another', oh it do be a Scooby Dooby mystery. Even aside from the million logistical issues, why in the fuck should we punish people who did nothing wrong and reward people who did nothing right? The 'sins of my fathers', or in this case the 'sins of my great grandfather's fathers', is terrible way to view the world. And people today are disadvantaged because of a million reasons, this is only one of them.

[b5fan]

1 man died for every 6 slaves freed. That cost was paid in blood. Nothing more precious than that.
As for civil rights issues, affirmative action was in place for 20 years before it was deemed unconstitutional. That price has also been paid.

My problem with repartitions is that it seeks to establish a permanent privilege upon black people for the sins of 3 generations past. I do not buy that the latest request will be the last one.

If you go back in history every tribe of people has equivalent claims on other tribes but the cycle must end for peace to prevail. Otherwise you have endless war and death.

[Miristheiss]

Pay them if you want.
I don't owe any "race group" anything.
Evil people want those guilty of nothing... to pay those who were never enslaved based solely along racial lines.
Evil people are obsessed with peoples' race, gender and ethnic groups.
It is evil to judge people solely by that.

[Miristheiss]

PS
To the OP.

If reparations were EVER going to happen it would have needed to happen in 1870-1880. Somewhere in that ballpark of time. Slaves were still living, we knew who all the slaves were.

Slavery was ended 160 years ago. This country is full of immigrants from Africa, there are endless mixed race couples and children. Mixed kids who have had their own mixed kids.

No way to try reparations now...160 years later. All of the slaves are long ago dead. Slave owners (who were very few) are long ago dead.

[haphazard]

Reparations already happened with affirmative action and welfare. It obviously didn't help much. Redlining was addressed with the Fair Housing Act of 1968, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act of 1974, and the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977. All the mega-corporations that are promoting "social justice" for blacks should pay from their own pockets, instead of exploiting legal loopholes to avoid paying taxes. It becomes obvious they want the middle class to pay for the laziness and incompetence of the poor so that the rich can become richer and continue screwing over the population.

[normalice]

We have a 400 year history of calling black people lazy.

Any way, most of the laziness and incompetence is among rich people who inherited their wealth.

[haphazard]

Maybe you have a history of calling them lazy but I would appreciate if you stop pretending to speak on my behalf. The rich are hardly lazy when their hunger for power approaches god-like levels. If they really wanted reparations, they would have paid it themselves. What they actually want is to divide and conquer so they can have absolute control over everyone.

[rcljr]

Don’t forget the hundreds of thousands of white lives lost for black freedom in the civil war… oh, but y’all wouldn’t know about that because our socialist commie schools quit teaching it, and the punk crybabies are all busy tearing down statues…

[SmokinAces2000]

The welfare excuse is so tired at this point. That is not reparations, first of all anyone can get welfare and second not all black people have it, my family has never been on welfare

[rcljr]

I wouldn’t call them lazy, just selective about how they expend energy. They won’t get off their ass to find a job, but you ought to see them sprint to the ATM for that welfare and unemployment money.

[haphazard]

If you're tired of hearing about welfare, imagine how tired people are of paying it. Welfare was increased in the 1960s for the specific reason of paying the disproportionate amount of blacks that use it. The Great Society program of 1965 and the National Welfare Rights Organization that aimed specifically to increase the amount of blacks receiving welfare.

[rcljr]

Exactly correct

[SmokinAces2000]

That still doesn’t mean anything I’ve never been on welfare so it has no affect on me and the reason a lot of black people used it starting in 1960 is because they had too, jobs wouldn’t hire black people and some would pay them very little

[Celtero]

Bitch, anyone who feels the way you do can donate their own money.

But nooo. You lefties are all about forcing other people to give up their money unwillingly.

And your shitbrain can't fathom the fact that there are more impoverished white people than black people.

[Dragonpurple]

I am actually for reparations, but I myself have never owned any slaves, in fact some of many ancestors were actually slaves.

The way it should work, is to take the people that owned slaves and make them pay the reparations to the actual slaves.

No reason to make people who've never owned slaves pay money to people who've never been slaves.

[cjmtherfcker]

America is the culpable entity not you.

[Dragonpurple]

@cjmtherfcker Yeah but America gets its money from people like me... so technically it means me paying it out to others.

[cjmtherfcker]

How much would your life change? would you lose your house, your car, your job? Your savings account?

[Dragonpurple]

@cjmtherfcker If they got extra money sitting around for reparations, then how about just giving everyone a tax break... I would support it if, they would cut my taxes by say 5% for federal income taxes, then sure... lets give some reparations.

This also includes not raising taxes on businesses to offset it, cause businesses pay no taxes, they just raise costs to make customers pay the taxes... so cut taxes and spending, then sure lets go for it... but taxes are too high as it is right now.

[FunkyMonkee]

My white ancestors were slaves LONG before blacks were! Who's going to pay ME reparations for that? If blacks want to get paid reparations, let them get it from the BLACK slave traders that sold them to us in the first place!! If they won't do it, just keep telling them, "black lives matter"! They might relent... in maybe a few hundred years.