Posted on 06/04/2015 11:01:47 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
The questions around reparations to descendants of slaves in America often trigger strident conversations. These discussions lay bare how race continues to affect the nation - despite the unfounded protestations by Americans that race holds little relevance to their lives. The "coded racial appeals" that Ian Haney Lopez has written in his informative book, "Dog Whistle Politics: How Coded Racial Appeals Have Reinvented Racism & Wrecked The Middle Class," is must reading for all Americans and provides a foundation for how racism endures and evolves.
In this week's guest blog, Michael Holzman provides additional thought suggesting the moral debt America owes to African Americans. Some may read his piece and dismiss the argument as absurd. Many thoughtful pieces have been written on the topic. One salient essay was written by Ta-Nehisi Coates of "The Atlantic" for their 2014 cover story.
I concur that a discussion of reparations would open the nation to a deeper understanding of the vestiges of racism, which affect our institutions and for that matter the soul of America. It has been said that beauty is born of suffering and wisdom is the child of grief. The wisdom of our shared American culture emerges from the common struggles of the past, present and future.
The beauty of the nation lies in the diverse fabrics which when woven carefully create a splendid mosaic of cultures, races and beliefs. This mosaic can only be strengthened by a deeper understanding of how yesterday and today's structural racism hinder progress for us all tomorrow....
(Excerpt) Read more at huffingtonpost.com ...
I was thinking the same thing. They’ll just spend it on cars, houses, and whatever else in a spending binge. We get it all back. Then no more complaining about reparations.
“Welfare and reverse discrimination are more reparations than they deserve.”
Automatic diplomas and degrees as well; a black co-worker used to brag about her daughter going to law school, but in the years since she has failed many attempts at the bar exam. I believe she has accepted now that she had no business being in law school to begin with, and took some unrelated government job instead (workfare instead of welfare).
The term originated (with your definition) when the NYC Central Park jogger rape case was in the news years ago; for the bonus points, can you tell me what is “whirlpooling” (which also made its debut during the Dinkins administration in NYC)?
OK, fine. Every living slave owner should pay every living slave 10 billion dollars. Oh wait, the only living slave owners now are blacks who live in Africa.
FReepers have described the “aggrieved” look of many blacks they’ve encountered in the workforce; while people harp on education as being viewed by many blacks as “acting white”, they don’t realize that many blacks view any work for less than $1 million per year as slavery.
Many years ago I was promoted (involuntarily) to a supervisory position (that required a financial background); a black part-time file clerk who was looking for a full-time position later told me that he was initially upset that they hadn’t offered the position to him (he was barely literate, never mind math skills). He (and many like him) have no idea what we do for a living, and assume higher pay and positions are assigned for being white. BTW, the position was horrible and made life miserable for years (which is why I originally declined it); they made me an offer I couldn’t refuse (take it or leave), and they’ve been paying for that ever since. Over the years I’ve gotten accustomed to it, and haven’t worked a minute of unpaid overtime in years (slowly accruing more & more vacation time each year, as well as raises).
I even get to take some of my kids to school during time that a few years ago I would have been in the office for two hours already, and can take them to soccer practice as well afterwards; I never miss lunch, and a cellphone alarm tells me when I’m not getting paid anymore each day...
To indulge myself by being a nit pick
Mosaics are not woven from fabric. They are made from artfully arranged pieces of stone or glass. Tapestries are woven
Where do I sign up? If Jenner can be a woman, I can be black. :)
“Reparations Would Help Close Wealth Gap in America”
And unicorns will dance across the plains.
This is a bribe, nothing more.
Remember the immortal words of LBJ at the signing of The Civil Rights Act of 1964, “after we sign this into law, we’ll have them niggers voting for us for the next 100 years”.
What is never mentioned is that the Republicans passed the Bill, the Democrats fought it, and tried to kill it.
This is just the next chapter.
Of course, the history of the world is many people doing the same thing as the Sioux. And everybody can sue everybody else for wrongs that might have happened thousands of years in the past.
Actually, reparations would NOT “help close the wealth gap”.
The $20 trillion in reparations which have already been paid since 1965 are GONE, with ZERO produced as a result. If $100 trillion were paid out tomorrow, it would be gone in six months.
I don't think so Mr Cooper.
Some pot for every chicken and 40 mules and an acre of land ! sounds fair a lot of them already act like jackasses
No living American is responsible for slavery as "a wrong one has done", and no living American has "been wronged" by slavery. End of reparations discussion.
The parasites agitating and begging for reparations should get a real job instead and solve their own problems for real.
There is absolutely no evidence that would happen. Black neighborhoods would be filled with home-owners and still be plagued by gangs, drugs, violence, lack of respect for education, unemployment, and all the other ills that a lack of strong family units help promote.
Oh, brother.
PING!
I’m 1/16th Indian. I suppose I should get Andrew Jackson’s descendants to give me some money, since he marched all those Cherokees out west.
I find that “white privilege” often means “white competence.”
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