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The Question of Reparations

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I hesitate to bring up this topic. Not because I am afraid what the response may be, though that is a concern, but rather because I have a feeling people will willingly misconstrue what I am going to write. With that in mind, I am going to plow headlong into a topic that many people either don't understand or haven't given much thought about. Since people like Elizabeth Warren have brought it up as they run for President I think people really need to think about it and discuss it. Whether you are for reparations to those who are descendents of slaves or not, there are numerous things we as a country need to consider while thinking about this.

      Simply put - the details of paying the descendents of slaves for the pain and hardship of their lives is still not well laid out. Is the government going to pay the descendents of blacks for allowing the institution of slavery? Or as more likely in our country, are the later descendents of those who owned slaves going to have to pay the descendents of their slaves? How much would be required? If people actually do make this payment, will the next generation also ask for their payments? And once you have decided these payments are warranted, will we keep those reparations limited to just descendents of black slaves?

      This is just a small sampling of the questions that arise when anyone talks about this subject. I know plenty of people who outright never want to pay the descendents of slaves for something their ancestors did. After all, they weren't the ones who owned those slaves so why are they being held liable and responsible for actions not their own? Is it fair to ask those who have committed no crime be held responsible like this? On the other hand is it fair to not compensate those whose families were wronged in the past or at least make an attempt to right a wrong we can do something about?

      Personally, I do think something needs to be done, but I am not sure that reparations in the form of cash payment are the right way to go. I'll explain more about this later. First let's discuss who is going to pay. The government is highly unlikely to ever pay a person for the wrongs of slavery. It was legal at the time, and until its eventual abolishment countries all around the world were beginning to end this practice. Sadly America was one of the last places in the world where slavery was still allowed by 1863. With that in mind, I am not sure what people who would like reparations think they should get from the government. How much money would be enough for generations of slavery?

      Let's say though that the government decides those who are descendents of slave owners need to pay something. Does that mean only white slave owners, or do we include the Native Americans and Blacks who also owned slaves? Not a lot of people know that whites weren't the only people to own slaves in this country. Do we include those people whose ancestors were indentured slaves for the duration of their life? After all, they also worked without getting the recompense they were supposed to attain. That may seem like a frivolous question, but it isn't as we need to decide how much slavery by ancestors is too much. After that do we make the descendents of slave owners who are now destitute also pay? Are their wages going to be garnished until the total required payment is made?

      Here is another important question, what about the next generation? Are they also going to be allowed to sue for reparations? Why wouldn't they if their family is not significantly better off than they were in the last generation? I am assuming that most plans would stipulate that whatever payments are made will be one time thing, but who's to say that the issue won't be brought to court for that reason. If we allow reparations once, there is precedent for later children to ask for it too.

      Okay outside of the questions I have already brought up, we have to think about something else that isn't at all the same topic but would immediately be relevant. Say the government says reparations must be paid, and they are going to be the ones paying. This is going to be done on the grounds of righting a wrong committed to a people. If we go there, why shouldn't the Native Americans ask for reparations too? We stole the vast majority of their land and decimated their people. I'd say that was as bad as slavery, especially when even some of them were kept as slaves. What will stop the Japanese descendents of those incarcerated during WWII from then asking for those reparations themselves? Would that be warranted when you consider we removed all of their rights and took a lot of their stuff?

      Now, I said I would give my opinion, so here it is. Something should be done. We can correct something everyone knows was wrong. However, I am not completely in favor of monetary reparations, mostly because of some of the questions I have raised above. After all, just because a group of people are paid for the wrongs in the past doesn't mean their life will immediately become better when you consider all the racism and hate they get now by just bringing this topic up. If people are force to pay for the wrongs of their forbearers how much more hate and anger do think that will engender? In my mind the best way we can make up for the wrong of the past is to make today as fair and equal as possible.

      Blacks shouldn't feel demonized or actually face the loss of life so much more often than whites when dealing with the police. Education all across the board should be made equitable. Those in the inner cities should get just as good an education as some right kid out in the suburbs. If anyone is accused of a crime their sentence and chance of being let off should be equal. Blacks shouldn't lose their court cases at a higher rate or be coerced to take a plea that will put them in prison longer than the average white man who committed the same offense.

      There are concrete things that can be done to make our society more just and alleviate the problems for the descendents of slaves. Once all people are afforded the same opportunities and treated fairly in all things we become a more just society. Feel free to agree or disagree with me. If you can think of something I might have missed or enlighten me about some concrete suggestions brought up on this topic, I am willing to listen.


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