K Sig, Optimist Prime...yes, agree with you guys 100%.

I do not agree with reparations...in monetary form anyway. I think Optimist's suggestion was wonderful.

KnowledgeEternal, other ethnicites cannot be compared. Okay, so Native Americans go to state schools for free. Well a vast majority are also confined to reservations where the government refuses to acknowledge them. Did you know that on Indian Reservations, the American criminal justice system holds no authority? So they are often crime-ridden and unsafe. Education there usually doesn't even make it to high school-level, so the whole free state school thing is a joke for them. Gotta know both sides of the coin.

Whoever was posting about all ethnicites being discriminated against... so right. Unfortunately, Blacks are the only group who have remained at the bottom of the hierarchy throughout history.

PM_Mama...all Sicilians/Italians are mafiosi? That would include me, partially. :) I think you are taking the 10 points out of context. It is not saying to free the guilty. They are asking for justice. Check out the demographics of the prison population.

Rudey, I think I am on the same page with you.

Um....

Entertainers DO help "their people." Many entertainers give back to the community. However, the money that entertainers have cannot POSSIBLY feed the vast majority of people living below the poverty level. Come on now.

This argument made me kinda angry, because it absolves the government of their role in creating ghettoes and perpetuating oppression. It is not the ENTERTAINERS responsibility to provide food and healthcare to those in poverty. :rolleyes: Be real.

Perhaps, however, I feel that if Blacks focus on being "at the bottom" in the past vs. being equal now (or trying to become equal if they feel they're not), the only people they are hurting are themselves.

Freed slaves were NEVER PROMISED 40 acres and a mule. An abolitionist Congressman suggested it as a New Dealish way to get the freedmen on their feet. He ended up being assaulted by a Congressman from S. Carolina--with a cane.

Everyone likes to whine about the "benefits" (if that's what you want to call them) that Native Americans receive. Most of these people have probably never been on a reservation, where they can see for themselves the poor conditions our country calls "subsidies" for Native Americans. Alcoholism, domestic violence, illiteracy, and crime are RAMPANT. The same people who complain about Native Americans receiving reduced prices in housing, education, and other social goods (hey, after the HORRIBLE treatment Natives receieved in their OWN LAND, the government almost owes it to them) are no doubt the same people who think that if affirmative action weren't in place, they would have gotten into law school/been hired/gotten that home loan.

And why should Russell Simmons, or any PRIVATE CITIZEN, be obligated to give money to anyone? You don't see Donald Trump doling out funds to Appalachia, do you? :rolleyes: The government created the ghettoes--and it's their responsibility to something about them.

Um, is there an echo? lol

Leslie...that would be a good point except for one thing. If the past gets swept under the rug, how is anyone gonna learn from it? It is one thing to "dwell" on the past, you are right, that is counter-productive...it is a whole 'nother thing to make sure that you are educated and focus on how you can eradicate the results of that past. The only way to do that is study the atrocities that occured and acknowledge that this country wasn't founded by the noblest of people.

Anyway, doesn't it suck that the "American Dream" is all about getting ahead and suceeding...and for Blacks the American Dream is about "getting equal"? Doesn't seem right, does it?

PM_Mama...thank you ;)

Librasoul, I wasn't referring to rug sweeping...I was saying, stand up and be a strong man or woman (and this goes for any race, ethnic group, sexual orientation, etc.). And this could very well be an entirely different topic, but there are plenty of cultural minorities, women, and gays who feel as thought they're trying to "get equal," not ahead...Blacks don't have a monopoly on this.

The issue of blacks in america is a very complexed issue. In regards to getting ahead and beyond the "ghetto" my opinion is that there arent enough role models to show young african-americans how to get ahead. My parents went to college and successful and I am following their path, but some african-americans dont have anyone positive follow, thus we dont get ahead, and the cycle repeats itself. This is not an excuse, or the only reason why blacks seem to stay at the bottom, but this may shed some light on why things are the way they are.

Dislcaimer: THIS IS ONLY MY OPINION AND FROM WHAT I SEE IN DC!!!!!

bah
 

Certain comments to consider:

Does anyone actually deny that work went on uncompensated?
Does anyone actually deny that those benefits are felt even to this day?

However why don't people see the difference between compensation made to other ethnic groups that makes it impossible to compare the situation of blacks in America to other groups? The situation of Jews and Native Americans/Indians (whatever they choose to be called) are not similar in one bit to those of blacks - specially those of black slaves. Anyone that tries is simply trying to piggyback another argument and they will fail hard.

Why isn't consideration given to other ethnic groups? Why not the Japanese who were put in internment camps? How about the Chinese who built the railroads? How about the Italians or the Irish? What about the Mexicans that truly live like slaves in many areas of America??

How can reparations be considered the first step in a series of actions to remedy the current situation of which black America, when none of the other "steps" are even discussed. An "apology" is discussed but that is rarely well thought out enough - even as to provides the apology.

Also is reparations a slavery issue or a black issue? Are there overlaps or are both mutually exclusive? What is it that falls in the overlap that is beyond simple slavery?

If it's simply slavery, why isn't more being done around the world to eliminate it? The slavery which is alive in direct forms such as the Arabs and the Sudanese and the more indirect forms such as sweatshops or strawberry fields?

-Rudey
--With the demographic changes in the coming years, it's not going to be this black vs white situation anymore.

Agreed. But no one is really claiming a monopoly...who would want to? lol

My point is that knowing your history is the key to eradicating the pain of the past. And while I do not condone using it as a crutch, I DO condone using it as a stepping stone.

Really what's the point of getting reparations when you know that you didn't earn them, but rather received them as a "handout"? Doesn't that just further degrade? Besides, as a point to the whole slavery thing....they were brought here because they were sold off by their own people. It's not like a bunch of white English and Dutch people invaded villages on the Western coast of Africa and rounded up a few thousand. No! In fact, the more powerful tribal lords would capture whole villages and march them to the coast where they would be sold for money or some means of barter to white slavers.
And besides, right now look at the plight of all the people in Africa. Ebola, AIDS, poverty, hunger, female genital mutilation, rampant war, lack of health care, abnormally short life span, etc. I know things were bad here, but somehow I think today's African American's have it a hell of a lot better than their African counterparts. And things were done to all groups that came in that weren't WASPs, such as Germans, Jews, Irish Catholics, Arabs, Italians, Russians, Japanese, etc. And not all white families owned slaves, so to expect all whites to pay for something that wasn't necessarily done by all whites is in fact, wrong and unfair. And isn't fairness what they're seeking?

In your post you understand that work was done. That is not questioned. However you question why someone other than the original slave owners should have to pay reparations. The reason is that it wasn't JUST them that benefited. To this day people are benefitting off that work. This wasn't a slave just doing enough work to provide benefits to one family...benefits that never left that family.

-Rudey

I agree with rudey, you have to look at the bigger picture. In that period a lot of the economy was agriculture like cotton, tobacco, rice, I think soy too, amongst other crops. The government sold these crops to other countries. Slaves worked the land by picking cotton and doing other tasks. So thanks to the slaves the slaveowners profited from their labor. The beginning of the economy somewhat depended on slaves. How many slaveowners were out there picking cotton? Not many. I may be wrong here but I dont think many slaves were compensated for their labor.

True, many non wasps were treated differently but, I think you really cannnot compare how these people were treated to how slaves were treated. The only people that were imprisoned against their will were the Japanese during World War II. I believe that they were treated humanely, they were'nt beat with whips, raped or any sort of thing like that. I think most african-americans want to right the wrongs from the past. This doesnt mean with a check to every african-american. It could be with a museum to honor our unique heritage. For example the Smithsonian is building a Museum dedicated to Native American History on the National Mall, it would be cool to have something like that for African-American History, because we have contributed so much to this country.

Cool Fact: Benjamin Banneker a black male finished the very incomplete plans of Wash DC after Pierre Charles L'enfant left. I believe L'enfant quit because he wasnt paid enough. Someone correct me if Im wrong.