Should Whites pay reparations to Blacks?

Question

Of course they should. Whites typically disingenuously rspond, "I ddn't do it, so I should not be held accountable." This is a funny rationale given that every stinking bloody White who stands to inherit one million smackaroos will never oppose such a reward. It suddenly matters not in the least that the White never earned the one million dollars.

Yes, Blacks should get reparations. There is no denying this simple fact. No, no, no! You idiotic Whites are thinking they should get money. If you have an ounce of sense, you know that a typical poor family would spend $150 not on books, but on some stinking set of Michael Jordan sneakers.

In Chicago, we have an inexcusable dropout rate for minority high school students. We need to teach them that it is not money that is so important as knowledge. I think that we should give a free encyclopedia set to each Black family in this Nation. How is this for a step in the direction of reparations?

You folks are so freaking stupid. Did I ever say I was anything other than White? Get a brain!

Here's my main point. I saw a Black's posts, which repeatedly blasted Whites in all sorts of ways. I was wondering why the Whites were so upset. I thought that what he said was humerous.

Some of the Whites would say the old, hypocritical line, "We didn't do it, so we shouldn't pay." For one thing, my ancestors and your ancestors may not have held slaves, but White society on the whole did benefit from slavery, and the profits have indeed been handed down from generation to generation.

Furthermore, the just quoted argument suggests that the people who use it assume that one should owe or be owed only according to whether one deserves credit or blame. People are quick to grab unearned rewards, but they are loathe to pay unearned debts.

But "reparations" in the form of money is not the answer. I don't literally mean encyclopedias, but only education. Sometimes I get the feeling we entertain Blacks and refuse to take a hard stand on such matters.

Hammond, stop harassing me. If you post any more replies to my posts, I will request that you be removed from Yahoo. I consider your harassment a very serious matter.

Answer 1

Whites are not the only race to have benefited from the enslavement of Africans in America. Japan, a country that plunged America into World War II got paid! This country was responsible was for the loss of life and property and still got an Uncle Sam helping hand while African Americans who fought in this same war WERE AFRAID TO WEAR THEIR UNIFORMS in their hometowns. What's wrong with this picture? Many people come to this country and benefit from the BLOOD, SWEAT AND TEARS of those African slaves in America. Oh sure we get crumbs off our rightful inheritance, but the whole pie or even a deserving portion...yeah right! Any human would want their father's father heirlooms and/or inheritance and would fight to receive it. I hear the same old song, "Well I was'nt there I was'nt a slave owner." but I will reap the rewards of the INJUSTICES AMERICA HEAPED UPON THOSE PEOPLE!

Answer 2

You make some good arguments - and a few that didn't make any sense to me (especially the part about opposing an inheritance having any connection to the question)

But where would it end?

If this door is cracked open, the Indians certainly would, and should, be the first in line. We certainly treated them with a lot of respect during the manifest destiny era.

And followed closely by the Chinese and Irish. We paid them next to nothing to build our railroads - over the deserts and through the mountains - with nothing but hand tools. Surely we owe them restitution.

We cannot change the past - only the future.

I don't personally feel too awfully responsible since my ancestors migrated here after the Civil War.

How about we all just pull our own weight, get a job, work hard and enjoy the fruits of our labor - instead of belly aching over something that happened over 150 years ago?

Have a little pride and respect for yourself - there's really a good feeling in being somewhat less dependent on everyone else for your sustenance.

Nice try - but no free lunch this time - sorry.

Answer 3

Speaking as a white person,I don't think I should be held accountable for the acts of my ancestors regardless of any
fictional inheritance. If a relative of mine died and were to
leave me a fortune I would enjoy it,but that's a far cry from holding
my hand out to the government crying about wrongs done before
anyone living was born.

As for giving an encyclopedia set to every black family in the
U.S.,I think it would be better to set up more training programs planned specifically for the nation's blacks. More financial assistance could be given to black businessmen. This would be
done not for reparations,but as a long-term financial investment
that would be good for everyone in the long run. The more money
people have the better it is for the economy,which is a benefit for
all concerned. It's really about self-interest,and you might get better results with that approach with some people rather than
calling them idiots and making demands.

Answer 4

Get over it, they simply won't.... most black people would want the reparation in money rather than 40 acres and a mule anyway. A lot of the people on here answering your question are ignorant asses anyway, don't take what they're saying into account. Especially the ones who say that black people have don't nothing for civilization... that's a HUGE lie. Timbuktu was full of libraries and universities that Europeans in search of knowledge would travel to during the Dark Ages. Sudan has hundreds of more pyramids than Egypt all over the place and its known that both Sudan and Egypt have both been ruled by Black Africans and Semites. Forget them, Human civilization started IN AFRICA... there were many great empires and kingdoms in Africa.... Great Zimbabwe, Nko, Songhai, Mali, Ghana, Egypt, Nubia, Christian Ethiopia, Aksum, Kanem, Wolof, Akan, Kongo, Nok, Fulani and Lunda kingdoms. They're just ignoramuses.

Answer 5

I'm a white guy and I don't agree with everything you say but you make a point. Most whites do not address the 'racism' that still goes on and went on. I understand the reason that we had to start affirmative action is because the hiring practices were so unfair for blacks and minorities that the Government had to step in. I hate it when I hear white people complain about affirmative actions, it is because of our own actions that this happens maybe if we hadn't been so horrible about hiring we wouldn't be getting screwed over every now then. I also agree about the educational points you brought up. Alot of schools lower standards for blacks and " lower income " students and this does nothing but rob them of an education that they can put to good use. See I actually don't see it so much as a race issue but more of a class issue. If you are poor it doesn't matter what color you are, you're screwed.

Answer 6

What makes the AfricanAmerican race think their slavery is so much worse than all the other slaves that have existed from the start of time and still does exist!!! No in no uncertain terms do they deserve one dime from their ancestors slavery!!! No one living today had any part in it except to fight a horriable bloody war with brother pitted against brother to free them! Thats all the repayment they deserve!

Answer 7

No. Who's white and who's black and what about all the others in between? Reparations is not a workable concept. Reparations should have been paid during Reconstruction, which was about 130 years ago or so. Now, it's just too late.
--Michael M.

Answer 8

Get this goods made in China are made with slave labor .
You pay 150$ to buy sneakers that are sometimes made in prisons and you think those people are getting reparations .

Spare us slavery ended almost 140 years ago ,
why should I as a taxpayer pay reparation my family didn't step foot in this country till 1956 .

Answer 9

Please! Stop playing the victim! Many races have been victimized (think: American Indians, Jews, Japanese). Cries of "reparation" are simply whining for free rides for unknown deeds done to ancestors never known or cared about by today's generation. The cycle of which you speak pertains to ALL lower income families, not just black families. Many problems are caused by parental and social influences in TODAY'S society, by people of ALL races.
You want to show kids the importance of education and a great work ethic? Start by practicing it. Demonstrating it. Giving people money for nothing other than their ethnicity is like saying "you can't do any better because someone done your ancestors wrong, and there is no way out of that, it's your destiny."
And how to decide which "Whites" pay the bills, hmm?? I'm "white" - with some native american blood mixed in there.. so do I pay only the percentage of my ancestry that is "white?"

Answer 10

No, you are insane. What happened a long time ago, was bad. The black people alive today didnt get beaten and slaved. If you give them money they will either support their families or buy crack, and thats not a risk I PERSONALLY am willing to give my hard earned money for. The past is the past, the present is now. Slavery isnt around now so the black people around now dont deserve money for the past.