Please give me your thoughts on reparations for slavery?

Question

Reparations for slavery is a movement in the United States, which suggests that the government apologize to slave descendants for their hardships, and bestow on them reparations, whether it be in the form of money, land, or other goods. (Wikipedia.org)

Please take some time and give me your thoughts on the subject. I'd love to *hear* your insight.

mixedup...your answer is offensive. Please take a moment and look at my previous questions on yahoo! answers. Most of them are in regards to pregnancy/parenting. I have actually NEVER posted a question in this section. I posted it of PURE curiosity (and I'm certainly not trying to *start* something). There's no need to get nasty.

Amazing. I was as diplomatic as possible with my question. I did not offer my opinion because I wanted people's honest thougts. MOST of you gave me your thoughts on the subject. OTHERS decided to attack me PERSONALLY. How sad. It gives me a pretty good idea on the anger going on in our culture.

Answer 1

I do not believe an apology is warranted unless the offense was directly between the two individuals or between the two peoples. Living individuals, of course.

As far as the slave trade in America, not every white was invovled. There is a little thing called "Ellis Island" and even back in the slave trading days, not all whites were involved. It is silly even by the standards of the ones demanding an apology to ask for an apology from people whose ancestors were not involved.

I do not know of any white today that has enslaved a black. Now, it might be done in some perverted subculture, as are blacks enslaving whites (I have heard of this)... it is illegal and prosecuted by the Law. That merits an apology, and punishment, because that was done to a living individual BY a living individual.

For instance, I am Romani (Gypsy). However, I do not believe that I deserve an apology from any German or the German government for the Holocaust. Today's Germans did not fire the gas chambers and not all Germans did in the first place. The Nazis did.

I also would not expect an apology from the descendents of the Nazis. They did not do it. Of course, if they are Neo Nazis I would not be fond of them.

If apologies are expected for all atrocities between peoples throughout history, that would be quite a task and be, frankly, silly.

There is slavery today, there has always been slavery, and every race has, at some time, been enslaved. Oh, Gypsies have been enslaved numerous times and no, I do not think we need an apology.

Here is a little known fact: Blacks were not the only ones sold into slavery in America. The Scottish were as well. Nobody remembers that and that has been covered up by history. I have a close friend who is Scottish and has done extensive research.

I do not hear the Scots who were sold into slavery in America asking for an apology.

Answer 2

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 3

I don't know any blacks who are serious about a monetary reparation for slavery or segregation.

Personally I agree that the United States should say "sorry" or at least admit they were wrong. I believe that they should do this because when you look at the history of other places where whites exploited minorities, they said 'sorry' and the race relations there are better. For example in South Africa the government apologized for apartheid and made the officers who killed and beat people apologize for their role. Not only did it help the black Africans but the white Africans as well. Now the whites and blacks there get along better than the blacks and whites in the USA.

I think that an official apology couldn't hurt - hopefully it would cause racial tensions to go down.

Think about it, if you lived in a country that have brutally enslaved and then forced your ancestors into poverty, wouldn't you feel better that the government admitted thy were wrong? A lot of people don't agree with apology because they feel like they didn't do anything and have nothing to apologize. This is true they were not slave owners, (but undoubtedly their parents were alive in the 50s and 60s and either did nothing or tormented blacks during this time.) but we are not asking for an apology from white people - its an apology from the government as a whole.

I think of it like the Germans admitting the holocaust did happen and owning up for it, apologizing. It's not the modern day Germans telling the Jews, its a government trying to make up for its past mistakes.

Personally that;s what I think would help, not money or land, and that we live in the moment and fix the problems the past has left us. Remembering the past, but no living in it. Wikipedia isn't a great source for that defintion, by the way.

Answer 4

I'm against it. Why is giving a descendant of a slave money or land going to right the wrong? I agree that slavery was horrible and I am ashamed as an American that we did this, but what's done is done and I don't think that handing someone a check really does anything to make up for the fact that their great, great, great grandfather was a slave. All of the people, to include the members of government and the slaves, are all dead. I think the point is moot after all this time.

Answer 5

I'm sorry, but the descendants of slaves deserve nothing. They have not suffered through slavery. You don't see the Jews asking for reparations, and some of them are still alive! It's rediculous. The former slaves are probably embarrassed and rolling over in their graves over this. It was horrible what happened to them. But it is not something that the "descendants" have ever had to deal with. People can't use something that happened years and years and YEARS ago as an excuse. Anyone has the opportunity to better their life. They are not being held back. Anyone has the opportunity to go to college. College=more money. I wouldn't be sitting on my butt. Make your ancestors proud. Do the best in life that you possibly can!

Answer 6

Lets face it the slaves got screwed just like the indians. Broken promises. I really can't see giving their decendants any kind of reparations other than a sincere apology. There is a statue of limitations in the law and if we give them reparations then what about the indians? And whats this about buisnesses that had slaves should not have the oppurtunity to do buisness with the city? They had no complaint when the got hired by these buisnesses.
I'm really getting tired of hearing blacks cry. Move on for cryin out loud! It's over get past it!

Answer 7

Slaves were promised 40 acres and a mule, which they never received. Any reparations due should have gone to them and their children. We're a long way from those days (in years) so there's no reason today's government should pay us for the suffering of our ancestors. But, I've been working and saving for a long time, and if someone wants to hand out free money, I'm there!

Answer 8

I think this is just another way to waste money. NO one of this generation has suffered from slavery so they shouldnt get money for something they didnt suffer from. If you want reparations then start with the native americans who have suffered a millions times worse that slaves. Also might I add that Africans sold their own people in slavery, so maybe we should look to Africa to give slave descendants money and apologize for selling them in the first place.

Answer 9

No, I hadn't examine this before! even notwithstanding i imagine I examine some thing contained in the previous about an attempt to get an apology going contained in the Senate yet I hadn't examine the bill and that i believe each little thing you suggested about it. Likewise, I doubt maximum persons study about this. i did not. in the adventure that they were truthful it ought to have made important HEADLINES as a stand on my own announcement alongside with a helluva lot of interest paid to it and some type of action to help ameliorate a number of the wonderful/ongoing subject matters of dismiss of community rights. truthful apologies are made after one has made an attempt to rectify any wrongful habit and make amends. i do not imagine we've performed sufficient in this regard for the apology to be huge-spread as truthful. no matter if it really is truthful, it really is going to a minimum of be followed by technique of a few movements for the destiny. If no longer..it really is not any longer some thing more effective than a smokescreen. because you suggested some issues i concept-about so properly..i do not see a reason to repeat them except to agree at the same time with your observations and to rigidity that it does no longer look some thing more effective than an attempt to pacify and keep face a minimum of quickly..and doubtless to deflect from another issues interior the bill. i'm disillusioned with this act of the Senate edit: i'm completely unfamiliar with the topic matters with regards to community tobacco production etc. i'm no longer keen on the tobacco market in any respect or of cigarette smoking, (i'm a former smoker) yet I help the right of First us of a's peoples to have, advance and use tobacco of their personal cultural/non secular/non secular contexts. with the intention to the different project you presented up..i'm too ignorant on the project to remark in the different case.

Answer 10

You can't do it. The people who deserve it are dead and the people who should pay it are dead. Also it would take billions of dollars and years to figure out who had slave ancestors. You can't just give it to all blacks because there are a lot in this country who do not have a slave background. Those who do have a slave ancestry would have to provide valid documentation that their ancestors were slaves. They can't just walk in and claim their ancestors were slaves and expect the government to take their word for it. It would take too much time and money and nobody alive today deserves it.