I just finished watching a ridiculously racist diatribe from Conrad Worrill, president of the National Black United Front, who was arguing for the payment of reparations to "Africans" for slavery. Tune to CSPAN now for more discussion -- I came to post my thoughts while they were fresh.
A couple things struck me when watching this man. The man is an obvious racist. Speaking of black power and revenge, he railed against the injustice in America, though he was talking about "white America". He said that there's "no question" that reparations should be paid. It's interesting that he says there's no question about it when in reality there is no basis for it at all. I suppose that is an easy way to avoid having to justify your position.
Why should I, through my taxes, be forced to pay money to a black person when a.) my ancestors weren't in this country prior to 1919 or so, b.) there's no guarantee that this person's ancestors were enslaved, and c.) thousands of soldiers died in part to free the slaves (from a Union perspective, that was certainly a central aspect of the war)?
I am tired of hearing about reparations already. Yes, reparations were paid to the Japanese interned at the camps in WWII, but that money was paid directly to those so wronged. No battles were fought to cease that injustice, no Constitutional amendments were passed to outlaw it. Yes, slavery was wrong, but the price this country paid in ending it was very high. Insisting on reparations only opens wounds, prevents the healing of divisions, and exacerbates the tension among the races. All it appears to me is a search for a handout.
A couple things struck me when watching this man. The man is an obvious racist. Speaking of black power and revenge, he railed against the injustice in America, though he was talking about "white America". He said that there's "no question" that reparations should be paid. It's interesting that he says there's no question about it when in reality there is no basis for it at all. I suppose that is an easy way to avoid having to justify your position.
Why should I, through my taxes, be forced to pay money to a black person when a.) my ancestors weren't in this country prior to 1919 or so, b.) there's no guarantee that this person's ancestors were enslaved, and c.) thousands of soldiers died in part to free the slaves (from a Union perspective, that was certainly a central aspect of the war)?
I am tired of hearing about reparations already. Yes, reparations were paid to the Japanese interned at the camps in WWII, but that money was paid directly to those so wronged. No battles were fought to cease that injustice, no Constitutional amendments were passed to outlaw it. Yes, slavery was wrong, but the price this country paid in ending it was very high. Insisting on reparations only opens wounds, prevents the healing of divisions, and exacerbates the tension among the races. All it appears to me is a search for a handout.
