Why do some black people want reparations for slavery?

Question

Before someone starts to complain i am racist i am not but i do not understand why SOME i stress the word SOME black people want reparations for slavery, they have not personally suffered or been caused hurt as a direct result of this have they, i mean they would most likely not be in America today. Also who is supposed to pay for this the ancestors of the people who were responsible, they did not do anything no body now can control what happened... if that is so, is it not fair to pay the families of the white men who fought for the abolition of slavery?

I mean look at this website not the slogan at the bottom 'They stole us, they sold us, they owe us'
millionsforreparations.com

Answer 1

I would say FREE Money. Why not? I could use some free money. They expect the government to do it I would think. But the Government had nothing to do with it, well maybe some in the South. It was the slave owners. So I would say the Families, but like you say they have done nothing of the sort since and don't believe they should be held responsible for their ancestors. But going even further, how about the African Government seeing as the black tribes of Africa were the first to sell slaves to the Dutch for the odd trinket or tool. The tribes always took slaves from other tribes during war and sold them to others. The white man just took adantage of the easy money. Buy a slave for a couple dollars worth of tools and sell it to another for $100. It's a tricky question and still a sensitive one. We'll have to see what happens.

The Syko Ward

Answer 2

The political motivation for this is simple; There is a large push in the black caucus to preach the belief system of inherited guilt which is a concept as old as original sin. Reparations advocates claim that if I inherited guilty wealth I inherited at least some of the guilt, because I derived the benefit of the wealth. That would mean that if inherited wealth came from slavery, the inheritors of it would be inheriting guilt.

This is because they are too selfish to acknowledge where the road of inherited guilt or original sin takes us. It takes us back thousands of years of progress. Back past woman's suffrage to a time when woman was considered inferior for Eve's sin. Back to a time when we were all held accountable for the status of our fathers. During the Classical Period if a father commited murder then died, the son could be executed. Is this really where we want to go?

Another cog in their theory of guilt is that not all whites are decendants of slave owners. Should a person suffer for no other fact than their race? That would be taking us back past the civil rights movement.

This vicious cycle could go around and around doing nothing but damage. One could also say that whites can't pay reparations to the descendents of slaves until we've collected reparations from the English, for forcing our ancestors to leave the British Isles and make new homes in an untamed wilderness.

Furthermore, Any perceived debt owed to the descendants of slaves is more than offset by the cost incurred upon the north in terms of lives lost in the Civil War, the war effort and the cost of rebuilding the south.

Compound that with decades of social welfare and Medicaid payments, the US (northern states at least) could be owed a HUGE debt by blacks under inherited guilt.

It's pretty simple. They like to play the victim for the sole purpose of getting something for nothing. They want reparations in the form of cash, tax breaks, status, etc. because they are angry and the persons fanning the anger are none other than Sharpton and his cronies. By telling blacks that they are being held down they are disimpowering their own people. If I tell you repeatedly that someone else controls your destiny, how much personal power are you going to own? No American black today was owned as a slave and no American black today is owed a single thing for it.

Answer 3

Should a person honor a contract they made? Should a person keep their word? Blacks were promised reparations because of the many injustices done against them. If you are promised a raise because of the work you've done, do you expect to receive that raise?

As far as the ancestors of the people responsible paying, don't those people benefit from all of the profits of their fathers? They have inherited wealth from their father sins. Shouldn't we receive the inheritance from our fathers?

Those who fought for the abolition of slavery did so because of moral obligation. They were not forced to aid, though it is much appreciated. The slaves were forced to work. Does not the child deserve what his parents left him?

Read the letter from Willie Lynch and ask yourself: Is this happening to the black youth today? He made promises that if they conducted their slavery in such a way, their slaves would be damaged for hundreds if not thousands of years. Today, we still see the effects of what was promised to the slave-masters.

To repeat, it is only right that the government keep their word and uphold their side of the resolution. Do you disagree that a government should do the things they said they would do? I mean, isn't keeping your end of a deal, bargain, contract, etc. basic morality. They are obligated by our laws to keep their end, though they don't. And why shouldn't we inherit the wages due and promised to our fathers hard work, when the children of slave masters have inherited from their parents thievery?

Is it because we're black that we don't deserve what our parents left behind? Japanese, Natives, and Jews (who are still getting reparations) received theirs, why are we faulted if we feel like, we should receive ours? Why do you think it's unfair for blacks to get what other people have received for their hardships?

And to (Nationalist), who seems to think that guilt and getting something for nothing are the driving forces, mostly whites receive welfare and medical aid. It is about doing what is right. Don't get mad because some people don't like being conned and cheated. Maybe you wouldn't sue someone for a breach of contract. I bet you wouldn't call that wanting something for nothing. If you would sue, you're an hypocrite.

Answer 4

Many people, companies, and our very government have profited from slave labor. When slaves were freed, they were given nothing but a life of grief. Not only did the people refuse to give blacks land (after all, they did work for generations without pay) but they refuse to give them rights as a citizen. The people did everything in their power to keep blacks in the negative from denying the citizenship, to Jim Crow segregation laws - keeping them out of schools, businesses, etc. This government allowed its people to brutalize and kill blacks for the sole reason of skin color.

This government could at least issue a formal statement, museum, or something to acknowledge and apologies for the wrong that was done and to acknowledge the contributions that slave labor gave to making this one of the greatest nations in the world. The corporations that benefited should do the same. It should be made know that blacks have become what they are today because of the stripping away of their spirit and soul that was done by American people - some of whom are still alive today (remember the civil rights movement). As long as this government tries to poo poo it, it will be guilty of continuing the hatred and racism that exist today.

Answer 5

I'm black and i think the solution would be not to just hand out money to people because their black, but for the government to fund more college scholarships and improve schools in African American neighborhoods, this would make up for the set backs we had to suffer through resulting from slavery.

i think we do deserve something because the success of this country was partially caused by the sweat and brow of black people.

Answer 6

Because everyone wants a free handout. That's it. There is 0 logic to the claim. If a person wants reperations, they need to prove they have 100% African DNA. If they have any white DNA from Europeans of that period, they would need to prove it was not from somebody involved in the slave trade, otherwise they are as much heirs to criminals as to the victims. Their desire to identify with 1 over the other is understandable, but immaterial. They are the offspring of both.

And any AMerican blacks who want reperations should ask how much their life is worth. If they are stting in AMerica, and not in West Africa dieing of inter tribal genocide, malaria, dysentary or AIDS, consider it fortuitious your ancestor bought you your luxeries and you did not have to pay for them at all, so stop feeling victimized.

Also, it was AMerica and England which forcibly ended the African slave trade with a Naval blockade in 1804. American troops liberated the slaves in 1865. If reperations means Repairing What Was Done, there are 100s of thousands of AMericans who died to repair the crime.

Answer 7

This is a black Islamic movement and they want land in America to call their own as payment. Many millions are being spent to proselyte the black young men to Islam.

Answer 8

Maybe the ones who are complaining should go to Africa to see for themselves how it really was/is, how they do have a better life here.

What bothers me is that they blame every white person for being here. even the ones that immigrated here in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. (they even blame the Native Americans which had nothing to do with them)

Answer 9

That's a loaded topic, but I can understand where each side is coming from.

Answer 10

The slaves did more than just pick cotton, we actually built up America and made America rich without getting paid and we were treated harshly. so I know God is going to bomb and set this country on fire because we did not get are reparations. By the way, where the hell is my 40acres and mule