Another wedge issue designed to separate us and divert our attention. I George Bush or anyone for that matter was really interested in halting immigration just prosecute businesses hiring undocumented workers. The revenues would undoubtedly pay for the costs, and it would be very easy, if you've ever worked in the food industry you know business aren't try to hide their illegals. Most talk about their status openly. Now to the issue of should it be stopped? No there's plenty of room and the Mexican culture as a whole seems to be very hard working and willing to integrate into the American Dream, with a few exceptions. It would be nice if they could pay taxes and health care though but that will come.
I posted my immigration argument here on accident but here is reparations. They are dumb and generally do more harm than good. If you don't have the desire to participate in the system no amount of money will ever make you successful. Anyone who takes pride in there genetic makeup is not thinking clearly. All races struggle at first and in comparison African Americans have it better than their African brothers and sisters. So the summary is this is just another wedge issue I don't really care about. Just as it is a peoples job to overcome, it is my job to make sure I don't become a victim of affirmative action. Even though my ancestors immigrated here after slavery.
I am an African ancestor and I do believe that slavery of course was wrong, but I also believe that we need to let all that go, and move on, as long as every single person of any color has equal rights. For me I would rather keep my dignity and my pride of who I am and where I come from, than accept sympathetic gestures such as money or public apologies. I think if it is deserved then a people that was held down by discrimination deserve some type of monetary retribution, however I think those days are long gone. Plus right now instead of giving any type of reparation to anybody lets make more jobs opportunity available, with this whole economy crisis happening a lot of our people has lost their jobs, lets worry about that first.
Another sensative subject, I think I would feel different if I was an individual who deserved to get reparations.
I have mixed emotions on this issue. In a sense i feel like reperations is simply free money being given away. As a society we have to better ourselves and not categorize ourselves as victims. We need to learn how to improve as individuals and prosper. Im not sure if it's reasonable to blame people today for what our ancestors did. We can't still be stuck in the past and think how much someone owes someone else for their wrong doings.
Being a minority, I've experienced racism on many occassions, but I don't blame and hold a grudge and expect compensation from the Caucasian race just because a few of them are ignorant and closed minded.
The subject of reparations is something I feel strongly against. I hope I dont piss anyone off but I feel this is the most pointless waste of time and money. Someone should not be given rediculous amounts of money for something that they have never had to experience. Yes, racism still happens, and if it does. You avoid that place, just as if you are given bad service. You tend to avoid that place. By doing so, anyone who treats those of different color or religion differently will suffer in thier own way.
As I said, racism is still very evident everywhere you go. And I am not discrediting it in the slightest. My fiance' is Asian and some of the looks I get from older more "Traditional" Asians is just jaw dropping. They look at us as if we are breaking 11 of the 10 commandments. Sometimes its so ovbious that I am ready to say... yes we are dating, And if you can believe it..... We are getting married so grow the FUCK up and deal with a change in customs. You are not in asia, You dont have the right to judge.
the topic of reparations is understandable, i mean come on we all like free money right? so why is it that people want free money for something that happened 200 years ago? President obama recently stated, "I have said in the past _ and I'll repeat again _ that the best reparations we can provide are good schools in the inner city and jobs for people who are unemployed,"
lets ask The NAACP. they say reparations could take the form of government programs to help struggling people of all races. Efforts to improve schools in the inner city could also aid students in the mountains of West Virginia, said Hilary Shelton, director of the NAACP's Washington bureau.
"The solution could be broad and sweeping," Shelton said. In a 2004 questionnaire, Obama told the NAACP, "I fear that reparations would be an excuse for some to say, 'We've paid our debt,' and to avoid the much harder work." Obama said he was more interested in taking action to help people struggling to get by. Because many of them are minorities, he said, that would help the same people who would stand to benefit from reparations.
so i think reparations should not be made, i dont even think this whole bail out should be happening!!
this topic didn't really spark my interest, im a minority but never experianced racism for the reason i look more american than mexican. as for the african decendents of today they don't need money slavery was back then and over with its not in todays everyday life anymore, if anything they would spend the money on unneccesary material things anyways. i think there is a kind of reparations going on in the world today. there is certain scholorships out there for african american students trying to expand there education and future. plus if you open this door for one you have to open it for everyone, in that case where is my free money and my appologies for the racism my mexican ancestors suffering racism. but im not crying because it happened in the past and occationally happens today.
Reparations, well since I think I'm the one "black" person in class I guess my opinion is necessary. I didn’t get a chance to see whatever we watched but I know enough about the topic. To be honest with all you people the amount of blacks that really want reparations are a small minority. And a lot of black people, me included, are so mixed raced and might have had half great great great cousin that might have been a slave. Not to say there aren’t people that can’t trace their roots back directly because there are.
I don’t want any money from the government or whoever. I think a lot of older blacks are bitter about how they were treated ONLY JUST 30 YEARS AGO. SEGRATION WAS RULED ILLIGAL BY THE SUPREME COURT IN 1970…LOL that was not that long ago. So don’t pass judgment on people because YOU and even I will never understand what they went through.
It’s not just about slavery but about hundreds of years of prejudice after that has cripple black people and only recently with young people like myself, are new generations of blacks doing well and getting proper educations to better ourselves. I don’t want shit from anyone. All I ask is not to be held down by prejudice when I try to progress. I want the same chance as everyone else, nothing more nothing less
I think racism still around every where see and feel. It's not completely gone. but, we are just not talk, and mentions about it. It is depending on the culture, demographic, political status religious and society of each countries. This real life, if I'm be to bold. We fights against our brothers and sisters. Sometime people joke around and be funny. It is not funny at all! Who in heaven said this race is more supremer then me? This is none sense! Time is on our side for us to liberate humanity toward the common goal.
while I don't believe in reperations that isn't because I think it's wrong, it's because I want to keep as much of my money from the government as possible. Because I am fairly/very greedy. While slavery did end along time ago other acts of blatant racism still happen and for those maybe reperations may be in order, but not out of my pocket. Find someone else to pay for it, like the people who did it. That isn't to say the descendants should have to pay, they shouldn't but if the people to blame are dead then just say they paid for it with their lives.
Racism is the idea which already exist in our minds. It will never go away, unless there's only one culture, one nation, and one language left to this mixed world. Reparations, just like parents done something wrong, and their children or generations need to pay for them, kind of weird though; such as the Jews got it from Germany for the Nazi crime of World War II. The reparations of slavery of the US is an unfinished business, all those peoples who lived through slavery period are dead, but the shadow just won't go away. Reparations are the ways to make you feel better, instead to take revenge. But you need to be in power or someone with power behind your back to do it. Of course, if those slave generation want to get reparations, it will still be difficult because those people who are responsible for all these pain are still composed over half of the population in the country. Perhaps the victims of racism can make that guilty nation pay, by get the power of their government, they will feel regret after all.
Reparation is fine in my book especially in the cases of Native Americans, everyone else are just immigrants here really. I mean we initially took away their rightful lands. Just imagine it this way -if their land weren't taken away and the land passed down generation to generations, how much money would they have made in real estate sale huh? since they did pretty much owned the whole US.
For the most part we don't even notice this reparation to the Indians or anyone else, unless it's brought up by a greedy son a bitch! Plus who the fuck knows where all of our tax money goes to nowadays, now that we're already trillions in debt anyways!
I think we suck. Look at the past crimes we have committed. We have come to this country and kicked others out by force and then we take a people less fortunate than us and use them to do all of our work. We stereo type a certain person because of their back ground and force them to be in internment camps. We hate, judge and fear all middle easterners. We suck... The proposed solution by the movie was that if it happened to the person directly, then fix it. I agree with that. But what about the son of that person who had to grow up in a horrible environment because they did not have the opportunity because of the treatment? How hard would it be for that person to get back on top? I don’t know the solution, all I know is we suck and we should learn from our past mistakes to not make the same ones again so no future reparations are needed.
Reparations, would cause the race issue to become an even bigger problem if we were to do what that funny African American man wants us to do. It will only bring more hatred, and discrimination among the races, which is not needed as there is already enough racism floating around the world. However, I can not understand what situation they are since I am a Caucasian , and was not alive during the whole slavery issue. I do think that with how people were treated though they would be very angry, however, I feel Martin Luther King Jr. would be very against the reparations idea, because he was able to bring about the change tha the thought was worth dying for, which was equality. I don't think there is a way you can repay those who suffered during that time period other than keep moving forward. We must continue to move forward and not look in the past. To move forward is the reparation, it makes the harm that was done in the past be the past, and help to make the future better for all.
The whole reparations deal should be limited to those who were directly involved. Such as the actual people who were slaves themselves; not the crazy black guy who wants a dollar amount attached to his--acceptable--apology. The atrocities committed by--possibly my ancestors--the ancestry of the white nation were not handled with any thought other than personal gain. It was a misfortunate event in history. The Native Americans and black slaves were very mistreated and I'm sorry for what happened; but that doesn't make me responsible for it today.
I think its just a way for people to manipulate the system to get money. I don't think that Dr. King could have been bought out for his suffering and the notion that money fixes everything is bullshit!
Wow I didn't really know that reparations were used in this day and age. I believe that it is a complete waste of money. There is no person now living that comes close to really deserving an enormous amount of money for something they don't even understand or even come close to comprehending. I know that there are people out there that are complete racists but they are idiots and seriously need to grow up and realize that every person is equal no matter what color or race they are. It's these kind of people that cause serious problems for our society! People like that just piss me off.
I dont think reparation is a good idea. I think that everyone should be treated equal no matter the race they are. This is a new generation that has put racism in our past. We all need to move on. There should be no question about reparation. We are all human beings and should all be treated the same. Yes I do think that certain individuals still have a problem with racism but those people are just idiots. Obviously they aren't educated enough to know that we are all the same. I say thumbs down to reparation.
Reparations are ridiculous in my opinion...in most cases. There is no doubt that slavery was awful and that families have suffered for years because of it. But within the last fifty years the forward momentum that has been experience in the equal rights movement has been tremendous. People in almost all instances are able to have the opportunity to do better. Schools and jobs will allow people into programs and employ people of different races to help kids get out of the slums. Reparations are a lazy persons hope for an easy fix.
I think looking at the Mormon church has an example is fitting. Whether you like mormons or not you know that they had a hard time finding a place to settle. Forced out of their homes they were tarred and feathered and forced to walk across the plains many freezing to death or dying of starvation. Clearly there were wrongs there. But you wouldn't expect to give ancestors of the pioneers reparations because they had to change lifestyles. No you need to find a way to adapt and make the best of the situation. Many of us, here in Utah are descendants of the pioneers and we have found are footing thanks to our parents, grandparents and many other brave souls before us.
In order to receive reparations I think Penn & Teller hit this one right on. No one should be able to get reparations because someones ancestors got treated like shit. If the government directly screwed you over then yes they should compensate you for it. All of us would like to get money without having to put forth any effort. You only deserve the money though if the atrocities happened directly to you.
Reparations, sounds like a cool deal. Of course it is but unfortunately, it's not. A lot of people expect compensation for all the wrong reasons. We can't expect to get paid for something that happened to someone else or a group of people a long time ago. We all know the story, many suffered, many killed, many gave their lives trying to make it right, and many still are going through it even today, but our country is moving forward and making great progress with positive results. We just can't expect to get paid for what others suffered through. Let's move forward. Work for what we want and need and be proud of what our forefathers built and left for all of us to enjoy. No freebees around here. Land of the free, Home of the brave.
I say give them there reparations. Our government spends billions and trillions, unimaginable amounts of money on things the majority of the public do not see direct benefit from. Why not give a couple billion dollars to those deserving of these reparations. At least we know this money would be used by everyday people like you and me. On the other side of the debate I find it kind of narrow minded to pay people money for years of inhumane treatment. Giving people money will not make everything better, you cant buy or pay off years of abuse.
As for the subject of reparations I thing they are ridicules. The fact that some ancestors a century ago wronged a group of people and now their descendant’s generations later want free money. The first thing hate about that is that they expect every taxpayer to pay them. Second no one has wrong them personally. Now if it is a group of people that are still alive that where wronged then I could see them being compensated but not someone just wanting free money.
When it comes to reparations, I am generally for it and against it in some aspects. I am for it in the sense that it was something that has happened and should never be forgotten or put aside as something that happened so long ago that it does not matter. It should be seen as a lesson of what we have done wrong in the past, so that we never repeat it again. Having said that, I also do feel that as terrible as slavery was, we can not single out an individual group to receive special treatment over others, all this does is continue a cycle of classification and socialization. It acknowledges that we are different and we get treated different because of it and that to me is the biggest bullshit still going on today. Once, we overcome this vicious cycle, the world will be a better place. However it may never happen in my lifetime, so hopefully my children or their children get to see it in theirs.
I have always been proud of the way our country was founded but when it comes to slavery I am ashamed. That time was teriible and awful. Also included was the way we terrorized the indians and wiped them out as we do a plague. I do not support that kind of behavior but I do think it is absurd to demand reparations centuries later. These peoples ancestors were treated unfairly but they would never take money from the government as pay back. They were too proud. They wanted to earn their money like everyone else did. For people that were born in this time of equality to demand money is simply ridiculous!
However, I think that if some money would be expected it should go to the various organizations supporting the races and nationalities that were treated so poorly. Make monuments, help pay for scholarships, that kind of stuff... not individual payoffs.
I think that reparations are redicilous. I haven't ever participated in anything to descriminate so why should I pay reparations for what people dod before me hundreds of years ago? can't we just apoligize and for get about it. well I mean of course it isn't that easy but do people really need to be paid for what happened to a distant relative?
reparations should only be paid to the direct victims of the crime, like the japanese that recieved reparations. no one should be paid reparations for something that did not even happen to them. i beleive that the FEW people still trying to recieve reparations should move on with there lives like the rest of society has.
In some cases Reparations may be justifiable. But I think those cases should be very limited and well thought out. I am of white European heritage (as far as I can trace back) and I have thought about this subject before. I have wondered how I might feel if I had suffered, or had recent ancestors that had suffered at the hands of a racist group. I say recent because if we go back far enough I am pretty sure every race has suffered at the hands of another race at some point. If this had happened to me or a recent relative I may not be as well off as I am now, so it seems to me that in certain situations some form of compensation should be made. Like Pen and Teller mentioned in this segment, if they were to smash someone’s TV, the person who’s TV got destroyed should receive some just compensation. I can see how an African Americans’ position in this country could be affected in a significant way based upon their ancestors’ mistreatment. But how far do we go back and do we place a blanket blame on all white folk? I mean, a lot of white people opposed and fought with their lives against slavery back in the time of it here in America. Should they have to pay for their bigoted counterparts? We now have a black president and many, many other highly successful black citizens in this nation. Plenty of evidence shows that when the effort is made, anybody can succeed in America today. That’s not to say racism doesn’t exist today and I hate it!!!!!! Racism in my opinion is all about fear and insecurity. Anyone who is racist is probably one or the other of these and most likely both.
I feel bad with what happened with slavery, I really do. I also feel horrible for how they were treated, not just back then, but ever since then and even now. I made a point in one of my other posts that I don't believe in discriminating against anyone. But we have now come to a day in age where anyone can be discriminated against, the color of your skin is sort of obsolete. There are so many other things to discriminate against. That having been said, I do not agree with reparations. I think they made a great point in the video that if we do that, then everyone will be able to come up with a reason to get some reparations. Slavery as the main issue is a thing of the past, there is nothing we can do about it, nothing can be changed. The argument may still stand that money can be given to help change what happened, it won't! I think that if you are always worried about the past and this shoulda coulda woulda crap then you will miss the important things that are happening in your life right now.
I can see paying reparations to people that have been wronged, but to pay a race of people for what their ancestors went through, come on. How can anyone expect to be payed for something they didn't even really experience? If it were my ancestors that had been wronged by our government, I would want to honor them by making the most of the opportunities today that they never had. It is time to look for the future and not dwell on the past.
When it comes to reparations I disagree with the idea. I mean, i do understand that what happened in the past was horrible and an embarrasement to our country but since then we have been improving in ways by giving equal rights to all as it should be. And as for that crazy guy barking about the fact that he believes he deserves an apology for slavery well guess what....you yourself were not directly enslaved and you live with equal rights and for him to push on that idea is ridculous. We have so many scholarships and great opportunites for people of other ethnicities so what else could one possibly need? The government is doing the best it can with things like that set up. does no one realize that?
This one is a really tough topic for me. Personally I think we have given back everything for the african americans. They are now taking over the sports world, king james, kobe, kg, they all are making a name for themselves. If you look at things now the african americans have been paid back on what they once lost. Look who our president is now!! People who are complaining about not getting paid back is just lazy!! They just don't want to work and wants everything to come to them so they want the government to pay for everything they do. Everyone is equal no matter what color you are so just like everyone else, we all need to work to support ourselves. Anyone can work too. People who say they can't are liars. Mcdonalds is always hiring!!!
How is it that Penn & Teller find these characters?! It's fantastic! They must have a sweet secretary who gives them files on crack-heads, and then they just build a story around that person.
Slavery was really, really bad. "Amistad" pointed that out. However, I think reparations are ridiculous bull-shit. No one's back still hurts from our ancestors whips. Everybody from when the shit went down are all dead, and rolling in their graves because some of their descendants are so damn dumb.
Reparations are ridiculous. Getting money back just because someone's ancestor did something to your ancestor? Give me a break. I agree that slavery was a horrible blot on our history, and should have never happened, as a person should never be degraded in that way, but with these reparations, it just makes that even harder to go away! If everyone is equal, it shouldn't matter. Do Jewish people ask descendants of nazis to pay them?
This subject is definitely a little sensitive for some. But to actually think we should pay reparations to the African American community is ridiculous. At some point, we must move on from the past. I understand, enslaving the African American race was not a high point in American History. But to believe you should still be getting reparations for stuff which occurred no where in my life time is absurd. The best everyone needs to do is close that chapter of American History and move forward. Those who feel they should get reparations are the people who have no one else to blame for there problems. Instead, they blame the white man. What those people need to be doing is taking responsibility for there lives and stop pointing the finer at everyone else.
i don't believe african americans should get reperations, it was so long ago, and if they really had a problem with us still they would just move back to africa... the japanese/asain americans do on the other hand, they're are still living with the camps we forced them into homes taken away and just trying to get back to a normal lifestyle. also there are people still alive from the japanese camps where all the people of slavery have long since passed.
I don't agree with reperations. Slavery was an awful thing, and what was done can never be made up. I can see if we were part of slavery but that fact that it happened way before our time is out of our hands. I think it is a situtaions where people think that they can try to get some income. There are different races out there that don't get treated right, it might not be as a big as slavery. So if we pay for slavery then other races will try to get payed as well.
i am not trying to be racist here but that is bullshit. So what if your ancestors were slaves i didn't enslave them or you so im not paying shit. that is like me tracing my ancestory back and finding out that we were once the bottom of the class in england and were treated like crap our whole lives and now i want something in the form of money for their suffering. go to hell. one thing this reminds me of is the scholorships that are only available to black people. because they are trying to not be racist. you cannot not be racist in this world so just stop trying.
i really haven't looked in the deeper to this subject. I know it was bad that african americans were treated the way they were. What i don't get is how is the constitution was made saying that all people are treated equal but yet in the south you had slavery. I don't know how you can fix the problem that has already happened. I defintily don't think money could reslove the issue. Come on money is always the problem.
I don't know where I stand on this. I had a friend would was 1/4 Native American and because of what happened years ago to his ancestors he got a lot of money from the government when he turned 18. That I think would be amazing and I was happy for him. But I agree that money doesn't buy happiness and that my friend wasn't really affected by what went on back then but yet he was getting a lot of money that he said he didn't even think he deserved.
I think that reparations are good if they are with in a certain time period of the event or they are significant like an apology. The black people that still want money for what happened and still is happening all over the world are plan stupid. They need to do there home work. There own people put them into slavery be for they were traded to the white folk. I agree with giving the Asian people an apology for what happened and some money. We took every thing they had and gave them nothing once the war was over.
I believe in certain reparations for those that need it most such as the younger children of our generation and those with income that struggle not for money but investment into things such as schools, better environment for communities, and housing. Even if we are able to compensate everyone that is for reparations it is nearly impossible because if you look at it what if an African American marries into a white persons family there bloodline totally changes and how about those that weren't owners of a slave they well be giving up tax money to a cause they did not commit. There is no legitimate way to compensate everyone from a descendant from an African American Slave. The world has changed and people need to look back and think about the present and future what we as a nation can do better for everyone and not just a specific race. We've come a long way these past decades we shouldn't be selfish we should be One.
I think reparations are bullshit! I'm sure someone down the line did something bad to my family and were not asking for reps. You dont hear the Jews asking for reparations from the Germans do you. These people need to just get over and become an full working part of this society or they can get out. I hate how reparations is largely an American issue. American actually did very little slavery in comparison to all the other countries that took slaves in that era and yet only the African Americans are asking for reparations curious isn't it.
Slavery was a terrible idea and was misery for thousands of black slaves. But giving black people money for it two hundred years later? really? I just think that would be insulting to black people in general. Besides that, nobody alive today had anything to do with slavery! Should we have to fork out money for something that some people did back then? I don't think so. Giving out money isn't going to fix anything. It will just be embarrassing for everyone in America.
Slavery in itself was a horrible event that happened but what's done is done. I think reparation is an even more horrible idea. Why? It would a be little too late for that wouldn't it? If that's the case, it should be the exact same for the Jews, the Mormons, every single Native American. Every single person who has had an experience that has treated them in that way. Nothing against African-Americans but if it ever came to this, people would take advantage of it and the people that would take advantage of it would make the rest of them look bad. If it were a DIRECT relative, someone who is STILL suffering from it, then I can see it happening and seeing it as fair. But just to say "I'm Black and because of slavery a long time ago I'm getting some money." It is wrong. They wouldn't deserve it and they would know it. My ancestors have also fought, suffered and blood has been shed. I'm not complaining about it. My family is doing good and we don't blame something that happened many years ago for our misfortunes. Even if we were doing bad or still doing poorly, I wouldn't and I know my family wouldn't blame our ancestors for it.
Even in the states now there are still places where things are segregated, like in the south. To me it's ridiculous to have this still and I feel bad for the people that live there and don't have the means to get out. For those kind of places, I would say maybe changing the laws FIRST. To have more equal rights like the rest of the United States and quit acting like slavery will come back because that is in the mind of some of the dumb people who run the segregated places. All in all, reparation is a ridiculous idea and nobody that is living would rightfully deserve the money. It's bullshit.
I think that the idea of reparations is ridiculous. It's like people are putting a price tag on their ancestor's suffering. This idea in and of itself is wrong. Enough said.
I believe slavery is wrong, but I don't think the government should have to "repay" for what happened many many years ago to their ancestors. First off, its thier ancestors, not them... secondly, its always going to be like this.. something is going to happen but later one we are gonna think it is super wrong. its life, we just need to worry about what is happening now and try to make the best of it. i was born in america and grew up with many people of different color skin. all of them are just as good and have the same great mindset of a "normal" american. i think everyone should have equal rights, because everyone is unique and great in their own way.
Reparations are a bunch of crap...or B.S.! Yes, it is no question that slavery is and was wrong. I can't think of any reason why it would ever be right. It is a moment in history that is not a good one. But, how does paying money to African-Americans today make up for the atrocity that happened many many years ago? It doesn't. It can't. And it won't. People who want reparations are lazy people who are trying to take advantage of the system in a way to get "free" money. The only reparation that is worth anything has already been paid, when slavery was ended and everyone was given the opportunity to flourish in this country.
i think that every race here today has things that they have done to other races that have been horribly wrong, but to try to get the descendants of race A to pay the descendants of race B several generations later is BS. i agree with penn and teller that paying someone that has personally been grievously wronged is perfectly OK. on the other hand how many people here in America have been slaves? how many people would blame the person that sold them into slavery as much as the person using them as a slave? i personally think that if my neighbor sold me to slavery i would hate that person more than the person that is my "master." learn from the past, but please don't force everyone to live it. use the opportunities that you have now to help your country and people not to continue the same hurts and harms that have been inflicted in the past.
Now this is just ridiculous. We try and try to give back to the african american culture for making them work for us. We gave them freedom and though it took some time to actually become completly equal with the caucasions they have the same opportunities we do. They can get jobs, earn money, and get their own land like we do. it happened over a hundred years ago. That is plenty of time for these poorly treated people to get their feet on the ground and start having the same equality. Really if our own president is African American now doesn't that show you we are past all that? they can rise above. They need to stop crying get their asses off the couch and off the streets and into a job that will pay for their own house. We shouldn't have to spoon feed them.
Reparations for long past wrongs can only truly be effected when the party wronged is still living and the effects of the oppression or wrongdoing is still in place, rather than cultural vestiges and holdovers as you find with the African-American community. Not only are the wronged long dead in nearly all cases, but the wrong-doers are as well (in all but one of the cases discussed.) The idea that affirmative action was undertaken as a part of reparations is based upon incorrect assumptions. Justice Stephens addressed this issue: That is, Brown and the 14th Amendment were not responses to an abstract principle of equality, but efforts to redress a historical injustice inflicted on one race by another. You don’t redress that injustice by barring attempts to mitigate its consequences.
Simply put, should slave descendents, tribal peoples and Japanese internment survivors receive reparations? Respectively: No. Sometimes in limited capacity (i.e. some lands under specific instances) Absolutely yes.
Another wedge issue designed to separate us and divert our attention. I George Bush or anyone for that matter was really interested in halting immigration just prosecute businesses hiring undocumented workers. The revenues would undoubtedly pay for the costs, and it would be very easy, if you've ever worked in the food industry you know business aren't try to hide their illegals. Most talk about their status openly. Now to the issue of should it be stopped? No there's plenty of room and the Mexican culture as a whole seems to be very hard working and willing to integrate into the American Dream, with a few exceptions. It would be nice if they could pay taxes and health care though but that will come.
ReplyDeleteI posted my immigration argument here on accident but here is reparations. They are dumb and generally do more harm than good. If you don't have the desire to participate in the system no amount of money will ever make you successful. Anyone who takes pride in there genetic makeup is not thinking clearly. All races struggle at first and in comparison African Americans have it better than their African brothers and sisters. So the summary is this is just another wedge issue I don't really care about. Just as it is a peoples job to overcome, it is my job to make sure I don't become a victim of affirmative action. Even though my ancestors immigrated here after slavery.
ReplyDeleteI am an African ancestor and I do believe that slavery of course was wrong, but I also believe that we need to let all that go, and move on, as long as every single person of any color has equal rights. For me I would rather keep my dignity and my pride of who I am and where I come from, than accept sympathetic gestures such as money or public apologies. I think if it is deserved then a people that was held down by discrimination deserve some type of monetary retribution, however I think those days are long gone.
ReplyDeletePlus right now instead of giving any type of reparation to anybody lets make more jobs opportunity available, with this whole economy crisis happening a lot of our people has lost their jobs, lets worry about that first.
Another sensative subject, I think I would feel different if I was an individual who deserved to get reparations.
ReplyDeleteI have mixed emotions on this issue. In a sense i feel like reperations is simply free money being given away. As a society we have to better ourselves and not categorize ourselves as victims. We need to learn how to improve as individuals and prosper. Im not sure if it's reasonable to blame people today for what our ancestors did. We can't still be stuck in the past and think how much someone owes someone else for their wrong doings.
Being a minority, I've experienced racism on many occassions, but I don't blame and hold a grudge and expect compensation from the Caucasian race just because a few of them are ignorant and closed minded.
The subject of reparations is something I feel strongly against. I hope I dont piss anyone off but I feel this is the most pointless waste of time and money. Someone should not be given rediculous amounts of money for something that they have never had to experience. Yes, racism still happens, and if it does. You avoid that place, just as if you are given bad service. You tend to avoid that place. By doing so, anyone who treats those of different color or religion differently will suffer in thier own way.
ReplyDeleteAs I said, racism is still very evident everywhere you go. And I am not discrediting it in the slightest. My fiance' is Asian and some of the looks I get from older more
"Traditional" Asians is just jaw dropping. They look at us as if we are breaking 11 of the 10 commandments. Sometimes its so ovbious that I am ready to say... yes we are dating, And if you can believe it..... We are getting married so grow the FUCK up and deal with a change in customs. You are not in asia, You dont have the right to judge.
the topic of reparations is understandable, i mean come on we all like free money right? so why is it that people want free money for something that happened 200 years ago? President obama recently stated, "I have said in the past _ and I'll repeat again _ that the best reparations we can provide are good schools in the inner city and jobs for people who are unemployed,"
ReplyDeletelets ask The NAACP. they say reparations could take the form of government programs to help struggling people of all races. Efforts to improve schools in the inner city could also aid students in the mountains of West Virginia, said Hilary Shelton, director of the NAACP's Washington bureau.
"The solution could be broad and sweeping," Shelton said. In a 2004 questionnaire, Obama told the NAACP, "I fear that reparations would be an excuse for some to say, 'We've paid our debt,' and to avoid the much harder work." Obama said he was more interested in taking action to help people struggling to get by. Because many of them are minorities, he said, that would help the same people who would stand to benefit from reparations.
so i think reparations should not be made, i dont even think this whole bail out should be happening!!
this topic didn't really spark my interest, im a minority but never experianced racism for the reason i look more american than mexican. as for the african decendents of today they don't need money slavery was back then and over with its not in todays everyday life anymore, if anything they would spend the money on unneccesary material things anyways. i think there is a kind of reparations going on in the world today. there is certain scholorships out there for african american students trying to expand there education and future.
ReplyDeleteplus if you open this door for one you have to open it for everyone, in that case where is my free money and my appologies for the racism my mexican ancestors suffering racism. but im not crying because it happened in the past and occationally happens today.
Reparations, well since I think I'm the one "black" person in class I guess my opinion is necessary. I didn’t get a chance to see whatever we watched but I know enough about the topic. To be honest with all you people the amount of blacks that really want reparations are a small minority. And a lot of black people, me included, are so mixed raced and might have had half great great great cousin that might have been a slave. Not to say there aren’t people that can’t trace their roots back directly because there are.
ReplyDeleteI don’t want any money from the government or whoever. I think a lot of older blacks are bitter about how they were treated ONLY JUST 30 YEARS AGO. SEGRATION WAS RULED ILLIGAL BY THE SUPREME COURT IN 1970…LOL that was not that long ago. So don’t pass judgment on people because YOU and even I will never understand what they went through.
It’s not just about slavery but about hundreds of years of prejudice after that has cripple black people and only recently with young people like myself, are new generations of blacks doing well and getting proper educations to better ourselves. I don’t want shit from anyone. All I ask is not to be held down by prejudice when I try to progress. I want the same chance as everyone else, nothing more nothing less
I think racism still around every where see and feel. It's not completely gone. but, we are just not talk, and mentions about it. It is depending on the culture, demographic, political status religious and society of each countries. This real life, if I'm be to bold. We fights against our brothers and sisters. Sometime people joke around and be funny. It is not funny at all! Who in heaven said this race is more supremer then me? This is none sense!
ReplyDeleteTime is on our side for us to liberate humanity toward the common goal.
while I don't believe in reperations that isn't because I think it's wrong, it's because I want to keep as much of my money from the government as possible. Because I am fairly/very greedy. While slavery did end along time ago other acts of blatant racism still happen and for those maybe reperations may be in order, but not out of my pocket. Find someone else to pay for it, like the people who did it. That isn't to say the descendants should have to pay, they shouldn't but if the people to blame are dead then just say they paid for it with their lives.
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ReplyDeleteRacism is the idea which already exist in our minds. It will never go away, unless there's only one culture, one nation, and one language left to this mixed world. Reparations, just like parents done something wrong, and their children or generations need to pay for them, kind of weird though; such as the Jews got it from Germany for the Nazi crime of World War II. The reparations of slavery of the US is an unfinished business, all those peoples who lived through slavery period are dead, but the shadow just won't go away. Reparations are the ways to make you feel better, instead to take revenge. But you need to be in power or someone with power behind your back to do it.
ReplyDeleteOf course, if those slave generation want to get reparations, it will still be difficult because those people who are responsible for all these pain are still composed over half of the population in the country. Perhaps the victims of racism can make that guilty nation pay, by get the power of their government, they will feel regret after all.
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ReplyDeleteReparation is fine in my book especially in the cases of Native Americans, everyone else are just immigrants here really. I mean we initially took away their rightful lands. Just imagine it this way -if their land weren't taken away and the land passed down generation to generations, how much money would they have made in real estate sale huh? since they did pretty much owned the whole US.
ReplyDeleteFor the most part we don't even notice this reparation to the Indians or anyone else, unless it's brought up by a greedy son a bitch! Plus who the fuck knows where all of our tax money goes to nowadays, now that we're already trillions in debt anyways!
I think we suck. Look at the past crimes we have committed. We have come to this country and kicked others out by force and then we take a people less fortunate than us and use them to do all of our work. We stereo type a certain person because of their back ground and force them to be in internment camps. We hate, judge and fear all middle easterners. We suck...
ReplyDeleteThe proposed solution by the movie was that if it happened to the person directly, then fix it. I agree with that. But what about the son of that person who had to grow up in a horrible environment because they did not have the opportunity because of the treatment? How hard would it be for that person to get back on top?
I don’t know the solution, all I know is we suck and we should learn from our past mistakes to not make the same ones again so no future reparations are needed.
Reparations, would cause the race issue to become an even bigger problem if we were to do what that funny African American man wants us to do. It will only bring more hatred, and discrimination among the races, which is not needed as there is already enough racism floating around the world.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I can not understand what situation they are since I am a Caucasian , and was not alive during the whole slavery issue. I do think that with how people were treated though they would be very angry, however, I feel Martin Luther King Jr. would be very against the reparations idea, because he was able to bring about the change tha the thought was worth dying for, which was equality. I don't think there is a way you can repay those who suffered during that time period other than keep moving forward. We must continue to move forward and not look in the past.
To move forward is the reparation, it makes the harm that was done in the past be the past, and help to make the future better for all.
The whole reparations deal should be limited to those who were directly involved. Such as the actual people who were slaves themselves; not the crazy black guy who wants a dollar amount attached to his--acceptable--apology. The atrocities committed by--possibly my ancestors--the ancestry of the white nation were not handled with any thought other than personal gain. It was a misfortunate event in history. The Native Americans and black slaves were very mistreated and I'm sorry for what happened; but that doesn't make me responsible for it today.
ReplyDeleteI think its just a way for people to manipulate the system to get money. I don't think that Dr. King could have been bought out for his suffering and the notion that money fixes everything is bullshit!
Wow I didn't really know that reparations were used in this day and age. I believe that it is a complete waste of money. There is no person now living that comes close to really deserving an enormous amount of money for something they don't even understand or even come close to comprehending. I know that there are people out there that are complete racists but they are idiots and seriously need to grow up and realize that every person is equal no matter what color or race they are. It's these kind of people that cause serious problems for our society! People like that just piss me off.
ReplyDeleteI dont think reparation is a good idea. I think that everyone should be treated equal no matter the race they are. This is a new generation that has put racism in our past. We all need to move on. There should be no question about reparation. We are all human beings and should all be treated the same. Yes I do think that certain individuals still have a problem with racism but those people are just idiots. Obviously they aren't educated enough to know that we are all the same. I say thumbs down to reparation.
ReplyDeleteReparations are ridiculous in my opinion...in most cases. There is no doubt that slavery was awful and that families have suffered for years because of it. But within the last fifty years the forward momentum that has been experience in the equal rights movement has been tremendous. People in almost all instances are able to have the opportunity to do better. Schools and jobs will allow people into programs and employ people of different races to help kids get out of the slums. Reparations are a lazy persons hope for an easy fix.
ReplyDeleteI think looking at the Mormon church has an example is fitting. Whether you like mormons or not you know that they had a hard time finding a place to settle. Forced out of their homes they were tarred and feathered and forced to walk across the plains many freezing to death or dying of starvation. Clearly there were wrongs there. But you wouldn't expect to give ancestors of the pioneers reparations because they had to change lifestyles. No you need to find a way to adapt and make the best of the situation. Many of us, here in Utah are descendants of the pioneers and we have found are footing thanks to our parents, grandparents and many other brave souls before us.
In order to receive reparations I think Penn & Teller hit this one right on. No one should be able to get reparations because someones ancestors got treated like shit. If the government directly screwed you over then yes they should compensate you for it. All of us would like to get money without having to put forth any effort. You only deserve the money though if the atrocities happened directly to you.
ReplyDeleteReparations, sounds like a cool deal. Of course it is but unfortunately, it's not. A lot of people expect compensation for all the wrong reasons. We can't expect to get paid for something that happened to someone else or a group of people a long time ago. We all know the story, many suffered, many killed, many gave their lives trying to make it right, and many still are going through it even today, but our country is moving forward and making great progress with positive results. We just can't expect to get paid for what others suffered through. Let's move forward. Work for what we want and need and be proud of what our forefathers built and left for all of us to enjoy. No freebees around here. Land of the free, Home of the brave.
ReplyDeleteI say give them there reparations. Our government spends billions and trillions, unimaginable amounts of money on things the majority of the public do not see direct benefit from. Why not give a couple billion dollars to those deserving of these reparations. At least we know this money would be used by everyday people like you and me. On the other side of the debate I find it kind of narrow minded to pay people money for years of inhumane treatment. Giving people money will not make everything better, you cant buy or pay off years of abuse.
ReplyDeleteAs for the subject of reparations I thing they are ridicules. The fact that some ancestors a century ago wronged a group of people and now their descendant’s generations later want free money. The first thing hate about that is that they expect every taxpayer to pay them. Second no one has wrong them personally. Now if it is a group of people that are still alive that where wronged then I could see them being compensated but not someone just wanting free money.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to reparations, I am generally for it and against it in some aspects. I am for it in the sense that it was something that has happened and should never be forgotten or put aside as something that happened so long ago that it does not matter. It should be seen as a lesson of what we have done wrong in the past, so that we never repeat it again. Having said that, I also do feel that as terrible as slavery was, we can not single out an individual group to receive special treatment over others, all this does is continue a cycle of classification and socialization. It acknowledges that we are different and we get treated different because of it and that to me is the biggest bullshit still going on today. Once, we overcome this vicious cycle, the world will be a better place. However it may never happen in my lifetime, so hopefully my children or their children get to see it in theirs.
ReplyDeleteI have always been proud of the way our country was founded but when it comes to slavery I am ashamed. That time was teriible and awful. Also included was the way we terrorized the indians and wiped them out as we do a plague. I do not support that kind of behavior but I do think it is absurd to demand reparations centuries later. These peoples ancestors were treated unfairly but they would never take money from the government as pay back. They were too proud. They wanted to earn their money like everyone else did. For people that were born in this time of equality to demand money is simply ridiculous!
ReplyDeleteHowever, I think that if some money would be expected it should go to the various organizations supporting the races and nationalities that were treated so poorly. Make monuments, help pay for scholarships, that kind of stuff... not individual payoffs.
I think that reparations are redicilous. I haven't ever participated in anything to descriminate so why should I pay reparations for what people dod before me hundreds of years ago? can't we just apoligize and for get about it. well I mean of course it isn't that easy but do people really need to be paid for what happened to a distant relative?
ReplyDeletereparations should only be paid to the direct victims of the crime, like the japanese that recieved reparations. no one should be paid reparations for something that did not even happen to them. i beleive that the FEW people still trying to recieve reparations should move on with there lives like the rest of society has.
ReplyDeleteIn some cases Reparations may be justifiable. But I think those cases should be very limited and well thought out. I am of white European heritage (as far as I can trace back) and I have thought about this subject before. I have wondered how I might feel if I had suffered, or had recent ancestors that had suffered at the hands of a racist group. I say recent because if we go back far enough I am pretty sure every race has suffered at the hands of another race at some point.
ReplyDeleteIf this had happened to me or a recent relative I may not be as well off as I am now, so it seems to me that in certain situations some form of compensation should be made.
Like Pen and Teller mentioned in this segment, if they were to smash someone’s TV, the person who’s TV got destroyed should receive some just compensation.
I can see how an African Americans’ position in this country could be affected in a significant way based upon their ancestors’ mistreatment. But how far do we go back and do we place a blanket blame on all white folk? I mean, a lot of white people opposed and fought with their lives against slavery back in the time of it here in America. Should they have to pay for their bigoted counterparts?
We now have a black president and many, many other highly successful black citizens in this nation. Plenty of evidence shows that when the effort is made, anybody can succeed in America today. That’s not to say racism doesn’t exist today and I hate it!!!!!! Racism in my opinion is all about fear and insecurity. Anyone who is racist is probably one or the other of these and most likely both.
I feel bad with what happened with slavery, I really do. I also feel horrible for how they were treated, not just back then, but ever since then and even now. I made a point in one of my other posts that I don't believe in discriminating against anyone. But we have now come to a day in age where anyone can be discriminated against, the color of your skin is sort of obsolete. There are so many other things to discriminate against. That having been said, I do not agree with reparations. I think they made a great point in the video that if we do that, then everyone will be able to come up with a reason to get some reparations. Slavery as the main issue is a thing of the past, there is nothing we can do about it, nothing can be changed. The argument may still stand that money can be given to help change what happened, it won't! I think that if you are always worried about the past and this shoulda coulda woulda crap then you will miss the important things that are happening in your life right now.
ReplyDeleteI can see paying reparations to people that have been wronged, but to pay a race of people for what their ancestors went through, come on. How can anyone expect to be payed for something they didn't even really experience? If it were my ancestors that had been wronged by our government, I would want to honor them by making the most of the opportunities today that they never had. It is time to look for the future and not dwell on the past.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to reparations I disagree with the idea. I mean, i do understand that what happened in the past was horrible and an embarrasement to our country but since then we have been improving in ways by giving equal rights to all as it should be. And as for that crazy guy barking about the fact that he believes he deserves an apology for slavery well guess what....you yourself were not directly enslaved and you live with equal rights and for him to push on that idea is ridculous. We have so many scholarships and great opportunites for people of other ethnicities so what else could one possibly need? The government is doing the best it can with things like that set up. does no one realize that?
ReplyDeleteThis one is a really tough topic for me. Personally I think we have given back everything for the african americans. They are now taking over the sports world, king james, kobe, kg, they all are making a name for themselves. If you look at things now the african americans have been paid back on what they once lost. Look who our president is now!! People who are complaining about not getting paid back is just lazy!! They just don't want to work and wants everything to come to them so they want the government to pay for everything they do. Everyone is equal no matter what color you are so just like everyone else, we all need to work to support ourselves. Anyone can work too. People who say they can't are liars. Mcdonalds is always hiring!!!
ReplyDeleteHow is it that Penn & Teller find these characters?! It's fantastic! They must have a sweet secretary who gives them files on crack-heads, and then they just build a story around that person.
ReplyDeleteSlavery was really, really bad. "Amistad" pointed that out. However, I think reparations are ridiculous bull-shit. No one's back still hurts from our ancestors whips. Everybody from when the shit went down are all dead, and rolling in their graves because some of their descendants are so damn dumb.
Reparations are ridiculous. Getting money back just because someone's ancestor did something to your ancestor? Give me a break. I agree that slavery was a horrible blot on our history, and should have never happened, as a person should never be degraded in that way, but with these reparations, it just makes that even harder to go away! If everyone is equal, it shouldn't matter. Do Jewish people ask descendants of nazis to pay them?
ReplyDeleteThis subject is definitely a little sensitive for some. But to actually think we should pay reparations to the African American community is ridiculous. At some point, we must move on from the past. I understand, enslaving the African American race was not a high point in American History. But to believe you should still be getting reparations for stuff which occurred no where in my life time is absurd. The best everyone needs to do is close that chapter of American History and move forward. Those who feel they should get reparations are the people who have no one else to blame for there problems. Instead, they blame the white man. What those people need to be doing is taking responsibility for there lives and stop pointing the finer at everyone else.
ReplyDeletei don't believe african americans should get reperations, it was so long ago, and if they really had a problem with us still they would just move back to africa... the japanese/asain americans do on the other hand, they're are still living with the camps we forced them into homes taken away and just trying to get back to a normal lifestyle. also there are people still alive from the japanese camps where all the people of slavery have long since passed.
ReplyDeleteI don't agree with reperations. Slavery was an awful thing, and what was done can never be made up. I can see if we were part of slavery but that fact that it happened way before our time is out of our hands. I think it is a situtaions where people think that they can try to get some income. There are different races out there that don't get treated right, it might not be as a big as slavery. So if we pay for slavery then other races will try to get payed as well.
ReplyDeletei am not trying to be racist here but that is bullshit. So what if your ancestors were slaves i didn't enslave them or you so im not paying shit. that is like me tracing my ancestory back and finding out that we were once the bottom of the class in england and were treated like crap our whole lives and now i want something in the form of money for their suffering. go to hell. one thing this reminds me of is the scholorships that are only available to black people. because they are trying to not be racist. you cannot not be racist in this world so just stop trying.
ReplyDeletei really haven't looked in the deeper to this subject. I know it was bad that african americans were treated the way they were. What i don't get is how is the constitution was made saying that all people are treated equal but yet in the south you had slavery. I don't know how you can fix the problem that has already happened. I defintily don't think money could reslove the issue. Come on money is always the problem.
ReplyDeleteI don't know where I stand on this. I had a friend would was 1/4 Native American and because of what happened years ago to his ancestors he got a lot of money from the government when he turned 18. That I think would be amazing and I was happy for him. But I agree that money doesn't buy happiness and that my friend wasn't really affected by what went on back then but yet he was getting a lot of money that he said he didn't even think he deserved.
ReplyDeleteI think that reparations are good if they are with in a certain time period of the event or they are significant like an apology. The black people that still want money for what happened and still is happening all over the world are plan stupid. They need to do there home work. There own people put them into slavery be for they were traded to the white folk. I agree with giving the Asian people an apology for what happened and some money. We took every thing they had and gave them nothing once the war was over.
ReplyDeleteI believe in certain reparations for those that need it most such as the younger children of our generation and those with income that struggle not for money but investment into things such as schools, better environment for communities, and housing. Even if we are able to compensate everyone that is for reparations it is nearly impossible because if you look at it what if an African American marries into a white persons family there bloodline totally changes and how about those that weren't owners of a slave they well be giving up tax money to a cause they did not commit. There is no legitimate way to compensate everyone from a descendant from an African American Slave. The world has changed and people need to look back and think about the present and future what we as a nation can do better for everyone and not just a specific race. We've come a long way these past decades we shouldn't be selfish we should be One.
ReplyDeleteI think reparations are bullshit! I'm sure someone down the line did something bad to my family and were not asking for reps. You dont hear the Jews asking for reparations from the Germans do you. These people need to just get over and become an full working part of this society or they can get out. I hate how reparations is largely an American issue. American actually did very little slavery in comparison to all the other countries that took slaves in that era and yet only the African Americans are asking for reparations curious isn't it.
ReplyDeleteSlavery was a terrible idea and was misery for thousands of black slaves. But giving black people money for it two hundred years later? really? I just think that would be insulting to black people in general. Besides that, nobody alive today had anything to do with slavery! Should we have to fork out money for something that some people did back then? I don't think so. Giving out money isn't going to fix anything. It will just be embarrassing for everyone in America.
ReplyDeleteSlavery in itself was a horrible event that happened but what's done is done. I think reparation is an even more horrible idea.
ReplyDeleteWhy? It would a be little too late for that wouldn't it? If that's the case, it should be the exact same for the Jews, the Mormons, every single Native American. Every single person who has had an experience that has treated them in that way.
Nothing against African-Americans but if it ever came to this, people would take advantage of it and the people that would take advantage of it would make the rest of them look bad.
If it were a DIRECT relative, someone who is STILL suffering from it, then I can see it happening and seeing it as fair. But just to say "I'm Black and because of slavery a long time ago I'm getting some money."
It is wrong. They wouldn't deserve it and they would know it.
My ancestors have also fought, suffered and blood has been shed. I'm not complaining about it. My family is doing good and we don't blame something that happened many years ago for our misfortunes. Even if we were doing bad or still doing poorly, I wouldn't and I know my family wouldn't blame our ancestors for it.
Even in the states now there are still places where things are segregated, like in the south. To me it's ridiculous to have this still and I feel bad for the people that live there and don't have the means to get out. For those kind of places, I would say maybe changing the laws FIRST. To have more equal rights like the rest of the United States and quit acting like slavery will come back because that is in the mind of some of the dumb people who run the segregated places.
All in all, reparation is a ridiculous idea and nobody that is living would rightfully deserve the money. It's bullshit.
I think that the idea of reparations is ridiculous. It's like people are putting a price tag on their ancestor's suffering. This idea in and of itself is wrong. Enough said.
ReplyDeleteI believe slavery is wrong, but I don't think the government should have to "repay" for what happened many many years ago to their ancestors. First off, its thier ancestors, not them... secondly, its always going to be like this.. something is going to happen but later one we are gonna think it is super wrong. its life, we just need to worry about what is happening now and try to make the best of it. i was born in america and grew up with many people of different color skin. all of them are just as good and have the same great mindset of a "normal" american. i think everyone should have equal rights, because everyone is unique and great in their own way.
ReplyDeleteReparations are a bunch of crap...or B.S.! Yes, it is no question that slavery is and was wrong. I can't think of any reason why it would ever be right. It is a moment in history that is not a good one. But, how does paying money to African-Americans today make up for the atrocity that happened many many years ago? It doesn't. It can't. And it won't. People who want reparations are lazy people who are trying to take advantage of the system in a way to get "free" money. The only reparation that is worth anything has already been paid, when slavery was ended and everyone was given the opportunity to flourish in this country.
ReplyDeletei think that every race here today has things that they have done to other races that have been horribly wrong, but to try to get the descendants of race A to pay the descendants of race B several generations later is BS. i agree with penn and teller that paying someone that has personally been grievously wronged is perfectly OK. on the other hand how many people here in America have been slaves? how many people would blame the person that sold them into slavery as much as the person using them as a slave? i personally think that if my neighbor sold me to slavery i would hate that person more than the person that is my "master." learn from the past, but please don't force everyone to live it. use the opportunities that you have now to help your country and people not to continue the same hurts and harms that have been inflicted in the past.
ReplyDeleteNow this is just ridiculous. We try and try to give back to the african american culture for making them work for us. We gave them freedom and though it took some time to actually become completly equal with the caucasions they have the same opportunities we do. They can get jobs, earn money, and get their own land like we do. it happened over a hundred years ago. That is plenty of time for these poorly treated people to get their feet on the ground and start having the same equality. Really if our own president is African American now doesn't that show you we are past all that? they can rise above. They need to stop crying get their asses off the couch and off the streets and into a job that will pay for their own house. We shouldn't have to spoon feed them.
ReplyDeleteReparations for long past wrongs can only truly be effected when the party wronged is still living and the effects of the oppression or wrongdoing is still in place, rather than cultural vestiges and holdovers as you find with the African-American community. Not only are the wronged long dead in nearly all cases, but the wrong-doers are as well (in all but one of the cases discussed.) The idea that affirmative action was undertaken as a part of reparations is based upon incorrect assumptions. Justice Stephens addressed this issue: That is, Brown and the 14th Amendment were not responses to an abstract principle of equality, but efforts to redress a historical injustice inflicted on one race by another. You don’t redress that injustice by barring attempts to mitigate its consequences.
ReplyDeleteSimply put, should slave descendents, tribal peoples and Japanese internment survivors receive reparations? Respectively:
No.
Sometimes in limited capacity (i.e. some lands under specific instances)
Absolutely yes.