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A recent poll (Reuters/Ipsos) asked this question: Should the US use “taxpayer money to pay damages to descendants of enslaved people in the US.
20% yes. 80% no.
GOP 80 percent against
Dem 33% for
Whites 10% for
Blacks 50% for.
One of the problems I think is the general nature of the question. I don’t know for example what the term “descendants“ means. Is it direct descendants? In other words if you can show a straight line to a great great great grandfather/grandmother that to me would be direct. On the other hand if we’re talking cousins second cousins etc. then it really goes on forever. How far down the Table of Consanguinity does this go?
Would there be means testing? If this is truly going to help – it seems to me that the money should be paid to those descendants who are (and whose families have historically been) economically hurting.
There’s also this – let’s say reparations are paid what does that mean for race relations moving forward. Does this count as a major shift towards a more just society. Is this a major “cleansing”. Do we come closer as a result?
Finally I thought about this the other day – in all the discussions about reparations I’ve never seen anyone make the following suggestion: if in fact the US pays reparations, why shouldn’t we demand major contributions from Portugal, the Netherlands, and England?
These are just a few of the questions. But if there is a way to compensate direct descendants that are below some defined economic means tests without destroying the economy (which hurts everyone) that is worth looking at.
But I fear that we can’t engage in a civil discussion on reparations. So that the result just leads to more division.
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It would be hard to be civil because looking at reparations means having to also look at existing programs and subsidies. It means looking not only at means but also at existing benefits.
the “what next” is the real burner. My belief is that reparations would only benefit this generation and maybe one more, so we would be right back where we are in 25 years or so.
the real question is whether reparations should actually be in the form of free education through college for successive generations or some equalizing investment in bringing black people into stem careers over time. For me, they would need to make it less of a windfall for one generation and more of an investment in many.
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Sic transit gloria mundi (so shut up and get back to work) -
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[quote quote=857]I am willing to listen, but as you both point out, we need to solve for the long term. By the way, with some whites, there could be an unintended consequence of having washed the sins off and not wanting to deal with racism anymore.[/quote]
What sins? My forefathers fought to free the slaves and one was held as a POW. My grandfather wasn’t a racist, nor was my dad. I think I’ve been pretty fair throughout my life. Again, what sins need to be washed off and why should my tax dollars pay for it?
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Cc that’s an important question. What sins? The new orthodox view is your sin is getting the benefit of the doubt for being white. Whiteness, they will say, is both the biggest benefit and the biggest source of ignorance there is.
there are many, many questions to ask and answer when it relates to reparations. Alaska was not even part of the Union during slavery. Is it exempted? Same with Hawaii and other territories.
What about people who immigrated to the US since 1865? A LOT of the population isn’t traced to ancestors of a slave government in the US. The Irish have experienced prejudice at least on the spectrum of what the black man has faced. Ditto the Chinese. Do they need to pay reparations for slavery? If so, why? By what logic does a descendent of a coolie brought over from China to work the railroad need to pay the descendent of a slave who was freed by a fantastically costly war?
these are very hard questions. If it just comes down to money, any kind of reparations will be a disaster for African Americans, who face a culture issue that is probably as big as the economic issue that dollar reparations would purportedly cover.
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Sic transit gloria mundi (so shut up and get back to work)
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Legend sir, I’d be careful about saying things like your last sentence which delve into cultural issues as a reason why giving someone money is a poor idea. That reads a lot like something I don’t think you intended. I could be wrong.
I’ll keep this brief…reparations are an interesting thing to talk about and that is about it.
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[quote quote=865]Legend sir, I’d be careful about saying things like your last sentence which delve into cultural issues as a reason why giving someone money is a poor idea. That reads a lot like something I don’t think you intended. I could be wrong. I’ll keep this brief…reparations are an interesting thing to talk about and that is about it.[/quote]
If you mean my last sentence reads as bringing a focus on elements of African American culture as root issues that we all should be talking about beyond economic disparities , I intended that. I wish we all would. Dan P Moynihan said it too. I think handing a check And washing our collective hands of the concern for the plight of African Americans would be a disaster.
If you mean my last sentence read as “they can’t handle money,” I didn’t intend that at all. I can see that you could have read that in the words.
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Sic transit gloria mundi (so shut up and get back to work) -
Lots of questions. No doubt. This is going to be a big issue moving forward. I was actually surprised at the poll numbers I posted. Figured it would be higher percentage in favor than 20%.
Figuring out mechanically how to do reparations, if we go that route is going to be very difficult.
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