Does the United States Owe Reparations to African

[Alex]

I simply want to list the Best Reasons on both sides of the Issue of "Reparations for African Americans" that I have heard, and let HostBoard browsers who read BOTH the pro's and cons give their opinion. (please read both pro's and con's before responding)

Please place no special significance on the order of Pro and Cons as they are presented by me on the issue of Reparations for African Americans.

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Here is a list of "No to Reparations for African Americans" comments I have heard or thought of........(to be followed by a "Yes" list)

.......The real victims have long since passed on....they are the only ones truly eligible for reparations.

......All African Americans who currently reside in the United States ARE SIGNIFICANTLY BETTER OFF than if they had never come to the United States at all. ...since it is pretty obvious that African Americans are better off in the United States than if they had stayed in Africa and never come over, African Americans deserve no financial reparations since they are already better off than if they had stayed in Africa.

.......If African Americans want to go back to Africa, they can be eligible for Reparations. However, if African Amercans want to stay in America, because they like it better in America, than they are NOT eligible for Reparations because "They Can't Have their Cake and Eat it too"...

If African Americans get Reparations, then you open up a "Pandora's Box" and every group will be asking for money for events that have long since past.

Why don't the Rich African American Elite do more to help other African Americans?

Calling any a group a victim further victimizes them...and in the end diminishes African Americans in the eyes of others, and will ironically hinder their growth in the future even more so than the check they receive.

The giving of Reparation checks will be viewed as a form of Welfare or as a "Shakedown" by African American Leaders such as Jessie Jackson and Johnny Cochrane.

It was the African Leaders 200 years ago who profited by the completely voluntary action of selling their own people into slavery. If Any Reparations are to go to African Americans, it should come from Africa itself for the despicable act they committed by selling their own people into slavery.

If African Americans are owed Reparations, then we might as well return the whole continent of America back to the American Indian, perhaps the biggest Victim of all in the Issue of Reparations.

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Here is a list of "Yes to Reparations for African Americans" comments I have heard or thought of ....

Blacks created Wealth for every other group in the United States while they received less than scraps for their own hard work.

As Blacks continued to be denied their own legitimate opportunities to economically grow, they fell further and further behind other cultures economically, and could not fairly compete to improve their own lot in life...

Ongoing familial instability endemic in the African-American Community was caused by poor economic conditions and civil rights violations dating back 200 years ago. Familial and Economic instability, lack of voting rights, and minimal educational opportunities created by the early enslavement of African-Americans in America resulted in each successive generation of African-Americans being unfairly held back from developing their own businesses and culture.

African Americans never were given the freedom to establish a "Safe-Harbor" in the United States from which to grow and prosper.

African Americans are THE ONLY SLAVE GROUP in the History of the World that were taken to a different continent than the one they grew up in...this type of "handicap" can never be fully understood since it cannot be compared to anything else. Other cultures carefully planned their voyages to America, had help from relatives in their original homeland, and once established in America, (with the help of Black Slavery) sent money back to their homelands, AND ensured that any family member from their own homeland who wanted to come to America would immediately be immersed into America with Constitutional, Voting and Educational Rights, all rights denied to African American Slaves. Not only did African Americans not receive any of the benefits other cultures received once in they arrived in the United States, African Americans created wealth for others thus making it even harder for them to ever compete against the very people they helped get wealthy.

The loss of wealth early on meant very little in the way of inheritances was ever passed on, further sealing the fate of each successive generation of African Americans.

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Proposed Solutions for the Reparations issue.....

.........Do nothing now, it's too late, and frankly, in the 21st century, anyone who wants to work and "make it" in America can....and that is the most important issue of all.

.........If Reparations are to be made, they should be in the form of Increased Educational opportunities for African-Americans, (perhaps free college to any African American wanting it for the next decade. Increased Health-Care Coverage should also be considered.

........If Reparations are to be made, they should go to the Continent of Africa, and not African Americans, since the continent of Africa was the one harmed by the loss of their own Able bodied Citizens and the Destruction of the Family Unit and Culture.

.........Make a Check payable to ........ every African American living in the United States and lets move on.

........Reparations to African Americans in the United States and in Africa are mutually exclusive, what ever one faction gets has no bearing on what the other faction gets.

.......More important than the issue of Reparations to African-Americans now living is the issue of GIVING THE PROPER CREDIT to the history of African-Americans who have now passed on without ever being properly credited for their tremendous inventions and innovations throughout American History. Spend the money slated for Reparations on Repairing and creating a detailed and accurate Historical account of African-Americans since their arrival in the United States over 200 hundred years ago.

To do nothing is unacceptable!

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Wow, what an explosive issue.

-Alex


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[This message has been edited by Alex (edited September 10, 2001).]

[Alex]

I watch this topic post go unresponded to, and it saddens me.

As I wrote it, I felt like I was transported back in time to High School or College and was writing a report.

Sadly, the teacher never came to grade it or simply share their feedback.


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-Alex

[Beta-Decay]

I think that is an issue that an will never be decided upon, thus being no by default.
If people want reparations they should do something aout it. But since the majority of people do nothing, nothing will happen.

How does one decide about such a thing anyway?
Even IF it was decided to give reparations, who would get it, and how much would they get?
Would you get more if you were more black?

I think it would be more trouble than it is worth.


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[Alex]

Just thought I'd kick this back up to the top.

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Alex

[SHATOUSHKA]

what a scary decision.

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[TastinGood]

They should get nothing.

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"Lopedog dont ride for no trickass bitches" -Lopedog from "Frezno Smooth"

[SHATOUSHKA]

of course, couldn't this issue also apply to the 'survivors' of the holocaust--i mean, isn't the offspring of the survivors suing the big governments on the same issue?

should they be included?

i have thought a while on this. even waaaaaay before this thread came to be.
like tastingood, i do not understand restitution for 'situational circumstances' as this, and i feel that they deserve nothing.

my answer is more detailed than what i posted. but i thought i'd just get the big points down first.

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~~share some greased tea with me~~
General Philosophy
Discuss This...
The Acropolis

[A Lurker]

I'd have to say that I agree with the "no reparations" side of the argument.

One thing that hasn't been brought up is that none of the white people in America, nor the current people in the government are in any way, shape, or form responsible for slavery. I'm surprised this isn't raised as an argument.

Speaking from personal experience, I've never treated an African American as though they were "below" me, so I really have to say that I don't feel like I owe anyone anything. Maybe this is selfish, but the way I was raised was to treat people equally, and so I feel no other personal obligation to the comfort of others.

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[Alex]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by A Lurker:
I'd have to say that I agree with the "no reparations" side of the argument.

One thing that hasn't been brought up is that none of the white people in America, nor the current people in the government are in any way, shape, or form responsible for slavery. I'm surprised this isn't raised as an argument.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Actually, I believe it was brought up.



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Alex

[A Lurker]

ooops, sorry, I meant explicitly. Yeah, I agree, it's implied where you state that all the victims have passed on. All I meant was that so have the perpetrators.

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