How do you feel about reparations?

Question

Do you believe that the argument for reparations is warranted? Are the descendants of slaves entitled to any kind financial recompense that was earned by their predecessors?

Who said anything about the descendants of slave owners paying? I am curious about how you all feel regarding the merits of such an action.

Answer 1

Yes, we should ask first.... Was it not America that rob the people they call black of the wealth, land, religion, culture, customs and language? If todays people they call black can't benefit from there own people why should America benefit at all? That's like a thief stealing your money and give you a little back, when it was yours and not his to begin with.

The reason is because people look at it as a white and black issue. There is no such thing, America rob the people whom they call black, the people who did it JUST happen to be light skinned. America is fully guilty of that crime and always will be the reason because the people who run the nation speak for America and are responsible for it.

If John doe fly over Canada and bomb Canada will he be guilty or America? They want say "OH that was a white guy bombing us" they would say "America is bombing us". If Lincoln can end slavery why couldn't the first president do it? If the president the guy running America can give blacks rights to vote why didn't they do it one hundred years earlier? See America had power to do things if they wanted to. I say if any nation commits a crime against others they should pay or be punish for such crimes. America is still here the people may not be who did it but they are still here and can pay.

The question again do America deserves to benefit from it? Any nation that committs any crime do deserve to benefit from it, but rather be punished.

Answer 2

I don't consider that reparations must nonetheless be being passed out to the descendants of slaves. By now the humans who could be receiving the money are no less than two or three generations clear of the man or woman who was once truthfully a slave. If the ex-slave, baby, and even grandchild have been those receiving it, I should not have an difficulty considering the fact that it could be good deserved cash. Those humans could all were straight effected by way of slavery. I do not consider that humans now a days are nonetheless straight effected by way of the slavery that took location, and as such must now not be getting paid for the pain in their ancestors. I consider the money could larger be spent by way of constructing a monument to keep in mind what humans went by way of or making use of it to finish contemporary slavery, if humans desire to spend the money. Yet, I do not consider it's justifiable to provide it out in reparations while our nation is in such a lot debt as it's.

Answer 3

First, there is not a single former slave alive today. If there were they would certainly be due just compensation for their labor, but the ancestors of atrocities do not deserve compensation in any way. As a precedent for this point of view, from the last century, let us look at how the compensation of slave labor during the holocaust of World War II has been handled. The thousands of people that survived that inequity are being compensated by both the government of Germany and by the companies that gained from their forced labor, and rightfully so. But their children have no inherited right to collect for the uncompensated labor of their parents. Certainly the grandchildren and great grandchildren of American slaves never experienced the appalling life of slavery, and therefore, like the children of Jews and others enslaved in Germany 50 years ago, they have no claim for themselves.

Secondly, blacks do not have a monopoly on living in poverty in this country. According to the latest census data approximately 30 percent of blacks and whites live in poverty. Hispanics unfortunately have an even higher percentage living below the poverty line. All this current day poverty can not be attributed to a disgusting institution that was ended 150 years ago. It can however be attributed to present day governmental policy. There should be a monumental effort made by the government, at all levels, to get all Americans out of poverty, but a policy centered on only one race is just as wrong as slavery was.

Thirdly, slavery could not have existed without the complicity of black Africans who supplied most of the unfortunate humans that were sold into this dreadful condition. It was not just whites that kept this retched institution going for over 200 years. In addition, there were over 200,000 white Americans that paid the ultimate retribution during the Civil War, when they gave their lives to end slavery. The reparation debt owed to slaves was paid a long time ago when the North won the Civil War and freed them.

Answer 4

Many men gave their lives to help free the slaves. I would assume that the sacrifice of life would be payment enough.

However, it seems people arent really looking for a settled score, they are looking for the green.

Answer 5

Legally it's ridiculous. Can imagine the amount of "your great-great-great grandfather did this to my great-great-great grandfather lawsuits it would create? We have enough goofy lawsuits already...

The other thing that I think reparations would do would be to further divide blacks and whites (and all ethnic groups) apart. Race relations is so screwed up in this country already...you throw money into it...I can't even imagine the problems it would create.

Answer 6

Well my family came to America after the whole slavery thing. So why should I have to pay??? No I do not believe they are right. Why punish those who had nothing to do with slavery?