[cookcounty]

Let’s see, the British brought African slavery to the North American continent, so...thta’s the first place that reparations should begin.

[whitedog57]

Agree, start with the Brits.

But I am of Welsh heritage and my ancestors (along with the Irish) suffered in the coals mines of eastern Pennsylvania. Do I get reparations?

Nobody from the civil war is alive and my ancestors arrived on shore after the civil war. So why do I have to pay reparations?

Sure, let’s give each black gang banger, murderer, rapist and welfare deadbeat reparations. Do successful black actors, athletes, lawyers, doctors, etc. also get reparations?

This is insane.

[YellowRoseofTx]

Let’s see, the British brought African slavery to the North American continent

So did the Dutch. But slavery began in the Middle East where they sold their own people into slavery, not to mention they kept slaves themselves up until slavery in the Middle East wasn't outlawed some time in the 1970s if my information is correct.

[VRWCmember]

America owes Blacks $700 billion to $1.9 trillion for unpaid labor that built the country’s infrastructure, including the U.S. Capitol. While Obama dodges the issue, his “old church, Trinity United Church of Christ, lists “The Debt: What America Owes To Blacks, by Randall Robinson (Penguin Putman Inc., 2000) as recommended reading”.

I wonder if Randall calculated the debt that the former slaves owed for transportation to a new country and free housing and meals. Obviously, that is a ludicrous thing to claim they owe; but then again the claim that the country now owes descendents of the slave billions of dollars for the slaves' labors is also ludicrous, especially in light of the tremendous benefit these descendants have in living in the US as opposed to Africa.

[mathluv]

That is what I was coming on to say. To listen to the pundits today, Americans are the only ones who ever held slaves. That just shows the remarkable lack of knowledge (or acknowledgement of) history. Slavery is mentioned in the Bible. In history, the Middle East and North Africa held Europeans as slaves long before America was founded.

[VRWCmember]

Let’s see, the British brought African slavery to the North American continent, so...thta’s the first place that reparations should begin.

Actually, while I agree with your premise the British would be the SECOND place reparationis should begin. The first place reparations should begin is with the descendants of the BLACK Africans that captured other black Africans and sold them to the British.

[puroresu]

Let’s see, the British brought African slavery to the North American continent, so...thta’s the first place that reparations should begin.

No, the place to begin is with blacks. Everyone practiced slavery in older times. Slavery was simply an institution that was taken for granted as part of every society. Whites were the first to get rid of it, slowly, over a period of many centuries. Meanwhile, African blacks never even considered getting rid of it.

When the New World was being colonized, the idea of slavery, which had been dying in the white world, made an unfortunate comeback. The new lands seemed so vast that some felt slave labor was needed to develop such a huge land mass. But where could they get slaves? They had banned slavery in their own lands.

Africa turned out to be the place where slaves were a dime a dozen. Why? Because the Africans had never even considered getting rid of slavery. They practiced it with impunity, and it had never crossed their minds that there was anything wrong with it. So we bought slaves from there and brought them to America.

Eventually we realized our error and abolished slavery for good, but Africans would still be practicing slavery today if the European colonial powers hadn't stopped it. In fact, slavery is still practiced today, under the radar, in many African nations.

And, of course, black Americans today are net beneficiaries of slavery because they have the highest standard of living of any blacks on earth, thanks to the fact that they were brought here.

So just say no to reparations. Everyone on earth surely has both slaves and slave owners among their ancestors. It's ironic that the race that was the last to abolish slavery, and which would still be practicing it had others not forced them to abolish it, is the one demanding reparations for the practice.

[Cletus.D.Yokel]

Actually, it was the Muslim slave traders that were “allowed” (by the power of their swords) to set-up shop in Africa that started slavery. They sold to the colonial Europeans.

It is highly likely that such activity is part of Opossum’s heritage from his Kenyan-Muslim father.

[massgopguy]

From 1440 to 1660 the Portuguese had the monopoly on the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. They even continues that peculiar institution up until the 1880’s. 75% of all Slaves were brought to the west by the Portuguese.

[FreedomPoster]

I believe the Dutch were heavily involved as well.

[enough_idiocy]

Africa sold its people to the British (some, not all), so perhaps it should start there.

[Brunanburh]

Hey, we were invaded and ruled by the Normans, the French should pay!

Mind you, the Romans should bear some responsibility too.

[Publius6961]

Let’s see, the British brought African slavery to the North American continent, so...thta’s the first place that reparations should begin.

Actually, the Portuguese began the whole thing with Spaniard ships being the "wholesalers" and transporters.*

The british were Johnny-come-latelies.

Presumably the existing American oppressed blacks have already filed claims in Portugal and Spain, and perhaps Belgium...
Oooops!
Or perhaps not.

*The Slave Trade, Hugh Thomas, Simon and Schuster, 1997