Reparations discussion

Historically, discrimination and racism operated on the one drop rule. So I'd say 1 slave ancestor would suffice, plus being able to prove you've identified as black on a verifiable document (tax return, census records, etc). If you have black slave ancestors yet did not identify as black for any reason, avoiding the disadvantages being black in America held, then you would not be eligible. Devil's in the details of course.

Whoa Vicky is in the details, you mean.
 
Like I said, 90 percent of the ghettos are black Americans. Target them. And also the trailer homes.

What does that have to do with this thread?

Reparations are a punishment not a social program. There's a big difference.

Reparations are only a punishment in the sense that being forced to return stolen goods is a punishment. And that's what this is. It's compensating for the theft of body and property and rights, a lot of which can be quantified. None of this is meant to be punitive in a "feck you" sense.

I mean, you just about nailed it right here. The US government is entirely culpable for what happened. What gives the government the right to download their fiscal responsibility for this onto taxpayers who have little to no culpability?

Is the government not representative of it's citizens? The government is not some abstract object floating in Washington, it was and is the direct result of the wishes of the empowered populace, and until recent, that populace (white people) used the government to impose their racist wishes on blacks, Native Americans (we seriously need another thread for that), Asians, and Latinos. They don't get to now detach from that and say, "oh, it wasn't me".

But again, as a pragmatist, I'm ok with the revenue to pay for this coming from wherever. Not set on taxing the entire populace, although as a citizen I would gladly have some of my tax go towards this before an F-35 fighter.
 
It's such a convoluted situation per usual when the US government is involved with societal issues, let alone trying to repair/compensate for slavery.

For one thing, this is technically a federal/country issue because slavery impacted the nation (i.e. Civil War, civil rights movement, etc.)...however slavery was 'isolated' (probably not sure on this, so feel free to correct) in the Southern states where slavery was legal. But then as someone who pays, local, state and federal taxes in the US...why should I have to theoretically pay/support for reparations that occurred well before so many states became part of the United States (i.e. California became part of the Union way, way after slavery was abolished and last time I checked, California is not geographically close to slave states).

In other words, why should I have to be accountable for 'new' reparations or the government's failure to compensate these communities? Why now?

The 13 state governments that actively participated in slavery (i.e. the Southern states, as far as I know or whichever states in addition to that - but there were slave states loyal/sided with the Union), through the federal government...should be the ones who have to pay for reparations through better funding, resources, etc..

And providing monetary aid to those who have been impacted by slavery can get extremely messy. Who benefits, how much, for how long, in what way (cash, credit, resources, land, etc.). And what geographic locations would benefit? Descendants of slaves from Africa or wherever that are still living in the United States are all over the country. I don't think the reparations, especially in monetary form, will make a big impact. I agree with the funding going towards programs and building systems that can increase/elevate African-American communities who have been at a disadvantage since slavery...but then majority of this was in the South?

And who is going to be in control of these benefits and how they get allocated to the descendants? The government of the US...already an example of how not to allocate or just use public funds for a greater good.

Overall, descendants from slaves should be supported. Who should be responsible for the reparations shouldn't be placed on the entire US population...that's more of a societal issue(s). But in terms of reparations, payments, compensation...I think that should come from the federal government and the states that actively, openly participated in slavery.
California was admitted to the Union in 1850, so it existed before the abolition of slavery.

There’s also an issue with “13 slave States”. In 1790, New York and New Jersey were also slave states. In 1858, Oklahoma Territory (called Indian Territory), and the New Mexico Territory (encompassing NM, Arizona, Nevada, and part of Colorado) also had legalized slavery. By the time of the Civil War, 11 slave states rebelled, but 4 remained in the Union.
 
Where the estate is still well off and was built on the back of owning slaves it should be charged to repay the taxpayer.

Their ongoing wealth is built at least partly on a crime. How much so can be debated in a hearing.

It's not that localized. All of America profited off slavery. The North took cotton that grew in the South, processed it and exported it to the likes of the UK (who the Confederates courted to enter the Civil War). That wealth generated was the basis for a lot of subsequent economic growth. Going after a few plantations miss the entire point
 
Should descendants from African slave traders pay reparations too?
 
Should descendants from African slave traders pay reparations too?

:lol:

Sure. They can use some of the reparations they receive from the countries that colonized them :smirk:

Also, from an economic point of view, African tribes profited little from the slave trade, compared to the traders in Liverpool and Charleston. They got the short end of the stick, unless you think cowries and antique guns from 1743 are worth much today.
 
It's not just slavery. It's being kept from enjoying in the New Deal, it's being blocked from low cost FHA loans (huge factor into the racial wealth gap), not being able to utilize the GI Bill benefits well into the 70s...

Not saying you're doing this but the biggest opponents of such an initiative are under the impression that everything was kosher after 1865.
While I agree that the extended effects of Jim Crow had massive debilitating effects on the black population of the US, taking away reparations from someone with actual slave ancestors doesn’t seem like a good way to go about granting reparations for the slavery part of the ordeal. That in itself seems discriminatory, as that person’s family at some point suffered from slavery. It’s not their fault their ancestors ended up reproducing with non-black individuals.
Where the estate is still well off and was built on the back of owning slaves it should be charged to repay the taxpayer.

Their ongoing wealth is built at least partly on a crime. How much so can be debated in a hearing.
What if the family estate was devastated by the Civil War, as many were, and the loss of all family wealth with the abolition of slavery and has built itself back up over the last 150+ years through the ranks of sharecroppers, mill workers, military ranks, blue collar jobs, etc.?
 
Reparations are only a punishment in the sense that being forced to return stolen goods is a punishment. And that's what this is. It's compensating for the theft of body and property and rights, a lot of which can be quantified. None of this is meant to be punitive in a "feck you" sense.


Is the government not representative of it's citizens? The government is not some abstract object floating in Washington, it was and is the direct result of the wishes of the empowered populace, and until recent, that populace (white people) used the government to impose their racist wishes on blacks, Native Americans (we seriously need another thread for that), Asians, and Latinos. They don't get to now detach from that and say, "oh, it wasn't me".

But again, as a pragmatist, I'm ok with the revenue to pay for this coming from wherever. Not set on taxing the entire populace, although as a citizen I would gladly have some of my tax go towards this before an F-35 fighter.

That's what I'm getting at, you'll get a lot less resistance if the reparations come from existing wealth not future revenue. The US has plenty of wealth to draw upon for this.

Using tax revenue implicates the current (and future) citizenry in the crimes of slavery. That may not be applicable to everyone and people aren't going to like that insinuation. Using existing wealth limits the culpability to the Government and the past citizens who helped build that wealth.
 
It's not that localized. All of America profited off slavery. The North took cotton that grew in the South, processed it and exported it to the likes of the UK (who the Confederates courted to enter the Civil War). That wealth generated was the basis for a lot of subsequent economic growth. Going after a few plantations miss the entire point
Exactly. Slavery was a national evil that the nation as a whole benefitted from, hence why it lasted so long.

@Drainy
Possibly the largest slave port in the country was New York City. Slave ships were registered to merchants all throughout the north.
 
California was admitted to the Union in 1850, so it existed before the abolition of slavery.

There’s also an issue with “13 slave States”. In 1790, New York and New Jersey were also slave states. In 1858, Oklahoma Territory (called Indian Territory), and the New Mexico Territory (encompassing NM, Arizona, Nevada, and part of Colorado) also had legalized slavery. By the time of the Civil War, 11 slave states rebelled, but 4 remained in the Union.

Awesome, appreciate the clarification as I didn't know the exact facts you just provided. How significant was slavery and repression in those territories compared to the South, which is where the bulk of reparations would show (maybe)?

Such a slippery slope as to how exactly does the country continue to provide reparations. Approximately 4 to 5 million Af-Am people were directly impacted (negatively) from the practice. There are about 40 to 45 million Af-Am currently in the United States...not sure if that would include naturalized citizens or immigrants though.
 
What do yall think about light skin African Americans getting reparations? Like Steph Curry light?
 
Phew. Expected at least one post from an Irish caftard about how the Irish were slaves too (we weren’t). Good on ye for proving me wrong, redcafe.

:lol: I been waiting for it here. Searching for "Irish" and "reparations" on Twitter right now is, eh, interesting.

What do yall think about light skin African Americans getting reparations? Like Steph Curry light?

Hmmm...

merlin_120105290_1856cb44-a53a-4144-8025-8ccc1c55ab7b-articleLarge.jpg
 
Awesome, appreciate the clarification as I didn't know the exact facts you just provided. How significant was slavery and repression in those territories compared to the South, which is where the bulk of reparations would show (maybe)?

Such a slippery slope as to how exactly does the country continue to provide reparations. Approximately 4 to 5 million Af-Am people were directly impacted (negatively) from the practice. There are about 40 to 45 million Af-Am currently in the United States...not sure if that would include naturalized citizens or immigrants though.
It’s really difficult to say about the slave density of the territories, as they weren’t documented nearly as well as the actual states. I also forgot to mention Kansas in there as well. Bleeding Kansas in the 1850s is where the Civil War really started, due to the Kansas-Nebraska Act allowing popular sovereignty to determine the status of slavery there.

Either way, with certainty you could say that the density in the territories was nowhere near what it was in the Deep South.

Now, rewind to the turn of the 18th century, and you’ve got NYC in the Colony of New York having the second highest slave density behind Charleston, SC.

Which raises another question of what do you do about reparations for people enslaved in the American Colonies when they were ruled by Great Britain?
 
:lol: I been waiting for it here. Searching for "Irish" and "reparations" on Twitter right now is, eh, interesting.



Hmmm...

merlin_120105290_1856cb44-a53a-4144-8025-8ccc1c55ab7b-articleLarge.jpg
She gets the opposite of reparations. The black delegation will send her an invoice soon enough.
 
How important is that distinction?
Hugely.

If you want to think of it this way (as flippant as it may be), consider the issue to be about unpaid wages.

Criminals don't owe compensation to their victims. Employers do.

At its most abstract, the case for reparations is about confirming slave owners as employers who failed to pay wages. Since the slave owners are dead, the argument is for the Government which benefitted in GDP to foot the bill (as an accrual) to the next of kin.
 
@Carolina Red when you doing the PHD man? Got a topic in mind?
Hey, thanks for asking!

It’s in the planning stages. I’ve got some programs narrowed down and I’m just waiting on my wife to finish her nurse practitioners and begin practicing so that we can maintain some financial stability while I go back to school.

It’ll be in history, most likely military history. I’d be very interested in doing my dissertation as a people’s history of the War on Terror. That would mean learning Arabic though, so I might turn my focus back to Europe where my undergrad focus was, or to Latin America, where Spanish and Portuguese would be less daunting.
 
Hugely.

If you want to think of it this way (as flippant as it may be), consider the issue to be about unpaid wages.

Criminals don't owe compensation to their victims. Employers do.

At its most abstract, the case for reparations is about confirming slave owners as employers who failed to pay wages. Since the slave owners are dead, the argument is for the Government which benefitted in GDP to foot the bill (as an accrual) to the next of kin.
Well stated.
 
Hey, thanks for asking!

It’s in the planning stages. I’ve got some programs narrowed down and I’m just waiting on my wife to finish her nurse practitioners and begin practicing so that we can maintain some financial stability while I go back to school.

It’ll be in history, most likely military history. I’d be very interested in doing my dissertation as a people’s history of the War on Terror. That would mean learning Arabic though, so I might turn my focus back to Europe where my undergrad focus was, or to Latin America, where Spanish and Portuguese would be less daunting.

When you release the NYT bestseller, can you thank the Caf in the prologue?
 
Considering that racism and the objectification of people still exists throughout the world, any arbitrary time limit similar to a statute of limitations shouldn't have even started to count down. This makes a statement to all of humanity that things can't be made "right" until we can accept that our past is filled with evil deeds that should serve justice.
 
Considering that racism and the objectification of people still exists throughout the world, any arbitrary time limit similar to a statute of limitations shouldn't have even started to count down. This makes a statement to all of humanity that things can't be made "right" until we can accept that our past is filled with evil deeds that should serve justice.
The 'time limit' factor shouldn't even enter the debate.

The case for reparations was brought up soon after abolotition in 1865, when the slave owners and freed slaves were still around and still living within close proximity to each other. Since that time, individuals with a vested interest have been kicking the can down the road for political and financial reasons. You shouldn't let a bent system, led by bent people, be the final word on justice through delaying tactics.

Which is not to say I wholly agree with the idea of reparations. There's the idealist arguement and there's the pragmatic argument. I'm not well versed enough in American law to be able to advocate for either side. But at the very least, the case does deserve to be heard - even if it's thrown out after 10 minutes. The US has effectively been filibustering the idea for over 150 years. That's not a good look.
 
Phew. Expected at least one post from an Irish caftard about how the Irish were slaves too (we weren’t). Good on ye for proving me wrong, redcafe.

:lol: I been waiting for it here. Searching for "Irish" and "reparations" on Twitter right now is, eh, interesting.

Leaving aside the whole Irish in America angle, let's say legislation is passed in respect of reparations. It would certainly set an interesting precedent.
 
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What do you think? I find reparations to be a tough topic. Where do you draw the line? How far do you go back in the timeline? How do you avoid overlooking others who have suffered too?



https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-48665802
The whole idea of reparations over slavery is complete nonsense. 'Reparation' is a term used for compensation for damage suffered by victims of unlawful actions, but slavery was both legal and commonplace (a situation that persisted for well over 90% of human history). It is also generally paid by the wrongdoers who, in the case of slavery, all died many years ago (and weren't actually wrongdoers anyway) to the victims (also long dead).

This is another example of trying to apply the standards of modern times to the events which came before: yet more revisionism and moral tokenism.
 
The whole idea of reparations over slavery is complete nonsense. 'Reparation' is a term used for compensation for damage suffered by victims of unlawful actions, but slavery was both legal and commonplace (a situation that persisted for well over 90% of human history). It is also generally paid by the wrongdoers who, in the case of slavery, all died many years ago (and weren't actually wrongdoers anyway) to the victims (also long dead).

This is another example of trying to apply the standards of modern times to the events which came before: yet more revisionism and moral tokenism.

If it was legal then the most significant wrongdoer is the US government for allowing it by law and the US government still exists.
 
The whole idea of reparations over slavery is complete nonsense. 'Reparation' is a term used for compensation for damage suffered by victims of unlawful actions, but slavery was both legal and commonplace (a situation that persisted for well over 90% of human history). It is also generally paid by the wrongdoers who, in the case of slavery, all died many years ago (and weren't actually wrongdoers anyway) to the victims (also long dead).

This is another example of trying to apply the standards of modern times to the events which came before: yet more revisionism and moral tokenism.
Ah shit

To readers of this thread: keep responses civil please.
 
2013meanwealthrace.png

2013medianwealthrace.png



unless you think that some races are more prone to success than others, its impossible to not read those charts and not realize that this situation came about through an unfair system. tulsa happened in 1921. redlining happened in the lifetime of some posters on here. the 08 global crisis hit blacks disproportionately since most of their wealth was invested in their homes.


there really shouldnt be any debate on whether something should be done. just a matter of how.
 
Just out of interest, is there a table which includes Asian-American?
 
2013meanwealthrace.png

2013medianwealthrace.png



unless you think that some races are more prone to success than others, its impossible to not read those charts and not realize that this situation came about through an unfair system. tulsa happened in 1921. redlining happened in the lifetime of some posters on here. the 08 global crisis hit blacks disproportionately since most of their wealth was invested in their homes.


there really shouldnt be any debate on whether something should be done. just a matter of how.
Have you seen the Vox short documentary series “Explained” on Netflix?

They have an excellent episode explaining this that’s like 15 minutes long.
 
The whole idea of reparations over slavery is complete nonsense. 'Reparation' is a term used for compensation for damage suffered by victims of unlawful actions, but slavery was both legal and commonplace (a situation that persisted for well over 90% of human history). It is also generally paid by the wrongdoers who, in the case of slavery, all died many years ago (and weren't actually wrongdoers anyway) to the victims (also long dead).

This is another example of trying to apply the standards of modern times to the events which came before: yet more revisionism and moral tokenism.

By this logic then I'm guessing you consider large parts of the Nuremberg Trials as 'revisionism and moral tokenism'.
 
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this is the closest i could find

Cheers. There's a number of questions to ask from that. Do the results include immigrants, or is it just for US born citizens? The statistics for Other are very interesting and suggests there is a significant cultural component at play here.
 
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2013meanwealthrace.png

2013medianwealthrace.png



unless you think that some races are more prone to success than others, its impossible to not read those charts and not realize that this situation came about through an unfair system. tulsa happened in 1921. redlining happened in the lifetime of some posters on here. the 08 global crisis hit blacks disproportionately since most of their wealth was invested in their homes.


there really shouldnt be any debate on whether something should be done. just a matter of how.
I know that this is a tangential point, but the discrepancy between mean and median averages is pretty shocking. It tells you a lot about wealth concentration at the top end of society.