suntzu1963, this article burned me up when I read it first thing this morning. My feelings are mixed when it comes to reparations. I do agree that we (descendents of slaves) should be repayed for slavery. I just question if this idea of reparations will ever go anywhere. If the government allocates monies (which I doubt Bush will), isn't that like us paying us since our tax dollars are in the pool with everyone elses? The other thing is that, I don't think there is a price, land, or anything else that you could give to make up for the time our ancestors spent as slaves and/or the contribution our slave ancestors made to building this country. Sometimes I think that the focus should not be on reparations because it is too late, I think our focus (including politicians and other public figures like Rev. Jesse Jackson) should continue to concentrate on maintaining programs like Affirmative Action (not the Bush definition), helping our people who have been justly/unjustly jailed with Rehabilitation and transition back into society, and other things like making sure that we (our children included), no matter how rich or how poor, have equal access to education, healthcare, etc. In other words I think we should remember the past but focus on bettering the future and I am not sure reparations is the answer.
Everyone, feel free to discuss and/or comment.
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