Originally posted by Tourige:How do you play catch up with something that happened 200 years ago that has nothing to do with whats going on now.
And that sentence, my friends, says it all. Every time I hear the call for "reparations" I get so angry I can't see straight. You want reparations? Fine, we'll give you money for taking your ancestors, and hence you, out of the "homeland", but you shouldn't get to stay here and spend it. If you want the money, then you should have to move back to where you say you're so upset about being taken from.
That would put an end to it. I haven't owned slaves any more than any of them have been slaves. Reparations are just one more way to avoid responsibility and bettering ones self. It would be just one more governmental handout that would ultimately serve no purpose whatsoever.
Wow, the thoughts reflected in some of the posts here and throughout this thread are very common throughout the United States and they are a big reason that racism and segregation continue to prosper. Yes, the history did happen 173 years ago but of course it has something to do with today. In the history of things, that is not that long ago, and as someone pointed out, it still took 90 years for segregation to end (legally) after slavery was abolished.
I'm black, Afro-American, or whatever other PC term is currently in use today and I've done very well for myself and my family given my socio-economic status and race coming up. I don't run around waving the race card and I'm not a walking stereotype either. I don't believe in reparations in the least, and I think that Affirmative Action is a nesscessity, but it's also a double-edged sword at the same time. The system sucks, racism still exists, and yes it does hold people of color back. That's a fact. Even the penal system is skewed to take advantage of the lower class poorer citizens. Although whites are included in that class a large portion of that class consists of minorities. For example, why is it that the CEO of the defunct Enron Corporation is still a free man spending some of the MILLIONS of dollars that he defrauded thousands of people out of on his legal defense, when a minority on the street caught with a handful of drugs will most likely face 10-20 years in prison?
Don't get me wrong, a portion of bad race relations, stereotypes, and ignorance is perpetuated by minorities. I understand that is a fact and minorities need to do a better job of presenting ourselves. Dealing with racism and inequality is an uphill battle and it will take another few hundred years to undo but it will require EVERYONE'S help, understanding, and open mindsets. It always bothers me when someone says "I didn't own slaves" "I don't segregate" "I'm not racist" "I didn't do this, I wasn't a part of that, I never did this....." etc. It's not about what you did or didn't do, it's about what you're doing to make it better. Even a small actions help. We all have to live here....
