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The Aborigines are black. They did not come from Africa. Parts of India and southern Egypt are predominantly black, as I understand it, and these people do not have African roots either.

I can not speak to the origins of Australian Aborigines but the blacks in India are the result of centuries of Arab slave trade between the continents. Egypt is in Africa so naturally the people there would tend to be black. The Carribbean is predominantly black and they are non-native. The Tainos Indians were wiped out before the slaves were brought to the islands.

Does this mean they'll be going after the Arabs for reparations too? And what about other slaves? Historically, not all slaves have been black. As I understand it, they came to be preferred for their heartiness, their ability to tolerate prolonged exposure to sunlight, and their resistance to many diseases that plagued other racial types. And it is interesting to me that so little mention is ever made of the large number of black slavetraders in Africa.

Oh well, it is an interesting study, but does nothing more, in my opinion, than reinforce the fact that the entire racial argument based on history is flawed and is arbitrary at best. It has nothing to do with justice or fairness and everything to do with political power and financial gain. It would certainly be wrong for you to be sent to prison for a murder committed by your great-grandfather, and it is just as wrong for an entire society to have to pay for injustices they had no part of. Even those who are direct descendents of slaveholders, a minuscule number in proportion to the population anyway, are not themselves slaveholders and never have been. Neither are those who demand special treatment slaves nor have they ever been. They once had the opportunity to return to their native Africa and they declined, having discovered abundance here and the promise of a new life. They have enjoyed the fruit of the nation's labors as much as anybody and it simply cannot in any way be justified giving them special consideration just because their ancestors happened to choose to stay in this country and breed. It is a slap in the face to the entire society, and most of all to those blacks who hold to the American ideal of freedom and equality, who believe in earning what you have and taking pride in your accomplishments. Academic opportunity and access to jobs should not exclude anyone, but they should be based on merit, regardless of race. What is the motivation for a black man or woman to strive for excellence in his chosen field of study or career when another black man or woman can come along and achieve the same thing for simply existing in a black skin? It's ludicrous.

And what about those who are post-war immigrants from African nations? Why should they also come under the banner of the historically poor, wronged blacks? I suspect even many of them see their "brothers in skin only" as a bunch of spoiled ne'er do wells who would rather be parasites on a society rather than actually have to strive to succeed on their own merit like everybody else.