Reparations....peiople having been using this as a cop-out for years. Me, I'm not going to go o war over something that happened 150 years ago. I nor my grandfather's grandfacter was around for it.
Pople want to honor that past....fine. But using this as an excuse to get money....pathetic. And it makes us ALL look bad.
I agree with the article, however to counter that argument I just want to pose a question. Why is it that it makes Blacks look bad to ask for reparations but when the Jews asked and received reparations, everything was ok? Yes, I know most of them were actual survivors but in other instances the decendants received the profits also.
This is a very interesting and yet such a loaded topic.
First, reparations do not have to come in the form of money. Secondly, I know that there are negative, modern day effects that resulted from the institution of slavery.
A reparation is defined as a repayment for a past wrong. Not many would disagree that the US institution of slavery was diabolic and wrong (to say the least) but some do agree that descendants of slaves should not receive this repayment. The most pervasive argument that I have come across is "there are no slaves alive therefore, there should be no reparations."
I disagree with this argument, there should be reparations, but it should not come in the form of a check.
I feel that Blacks should be given some type of government grant that would help them pay for education. For 250+ years, it was a federal offense to educate a **** -- almost everyone knows how nasty federal offense charges can turn out for those convicted. Aside from that fact, slaves and free slaves did not have legal documents such as birth certificates, wills, or deeds. Nothing could be passed down -- family names, money, property, etc. -- to subsequent generations but word of mouth. Of course the disenfranchised status of slaves did not stop there, but from what I mentioned, one could ponder the negative effects on later generations, free or not.
The fact is, Blacks in the United States are severely marginalized because of slavery. Whites and other people of color in the United States, in most cases, are 250+ years ahead of Blacks. Total refusal to allow a race to be educated for that long is mental ****.
Publishers Audrey Edwards and Craig K. Polite say "if southern whites found the prospect of an educated **** so threatening, education must hold the promise of liberation."
If we use reparations as a tool to take advantage of acquiring an adequate education (from the pre- through post-secondary), then that will make a vast majority of us top competitors in society. This will become a cyclical system from generation to generation as communal standards and expectations rise for our more prepared Black youth. Once this cycle is in place, I believe that the need for reparations, affirmative action, and other societal competition levelers will become immensely less necessary for Blacks in America.
YES TO REPARATIONS! LOOK BEYOND SURFACE VALUED ANSWERS WHAT YOU HEAR CONSERVATIVES SAY.
Interesting point.
I for one am against reparations. Mainly because it causes us to go back instead of move forward. We need to stop begging for money and start mobilizing our selves in this country.
Was slavery wrong? sure. Immoral? You bet it was, but I hardly think monetary compensation will make up for the 200 years of Black slavery in this country.
If anything, I believe that the Federal government offer an apology to Africa for its wrong doings. That's the least they can do.
I hate to sound cynical, but Blacks need to stop bringing this up...we will NEVER see reparations! I'm not trying to ask for anything besides an apology and admittance that slavery was wrong...we have much more to worry about and be concerned with than getting reparations...and we're not even talking monetary value...and I agree with Metal, we need to get up off our butts and do something ourselves instead of expecting the government to do something...because waiting on the government...well, you know how that ends...just ask the people of New Orleans...
the heck with reparations...I'm getting my degree (like my ancestors fought for) and making money out of respect for my many predeccessors who had dreams of becoming something more than sharecroppers, but due to lack of education, their options were limited...for me? The sky is the limit...so I'm going to take advantage of that!
Excuse my french, but forget the damn reparations and MOVE ON...
Looks like English to me! 
Anywho!
