Political Responsibility and the Politics of Memory

[IM2]

An interesting read.

Narrating Historical Injustice: Political Responsibility and the Politics of Memory
David Myer Temi and Adam Dahl

"Memory and justice are intricately linked. To adequately address historical wrongs, liberal democracies must engagethe past. Historical memory provides a connective tissue between past wrongs and present injustices. Yet the questionthat arises with the politics of memory and its usefulness for addressing historical injustice resides precisely in theprocess by which we create historical memory. More than just an acknowledgment of past events, collective memoryis constructed through narrative and memorial practices that impart meaning to past events. This paper amends thepolitics of memory by attending to the complex relationship between the narrative figuration of historical wrongs andpresent attributions of collective responsibility. By viewing memory of historical wrongs as narrative constructions ofthe past, we argue that the narrative form of historical injustice shapes contemporary notions of political responsibility.In elaborating this claim, we examine how different narrative representations of historical injustice engender differentunderstandings of collective responsibility."

Narrating Historical Injustice: Political Responsibility and the Politics of Memory

Memory and justice are intricately linked. In order to adequately address historical wrongs liberal democracies must engage the past. Historical memory provides a connective tissue between past wrongs and present injustices. Yet the question that

www.academia.edu

 

[daveman]

"...collective responsibility."

No such thing.

 

[MarathonMike]

Black people are not owed reparations. Next.

 

[IM2]

Black people are not owed reparations. Next.

You saying that doesn't make it so.

 

[IM2]

"...collective responsibility."

No such thing.

Yes there is.

Try reading the information in the link.

 

[sealybobo]

You saying that doesn't make it so.

Let's say we give every black reparations. You still live in the same place. You still have the same job. How much do you want to get?

Then would your children also get reparations? Is it only everyone alive now or would future generations get reparations? Because if the dollar amount is big enough, this money might be incentive for black women to start pumping out babies. So if we gave you reparations, we need to know how much each of you think you should get and how many generations are we going to have to pay? I say everyone alive now gets it and that's it. Your future kids won't get it.

And they'll still be suffering from the same things you claim you're dealing with as a black man. This money isn't going to change anything.

 

[daveman]

Yes there is.

Try reading the information in the link.

I did. I stopped when I got to the part I quoted.

Do you go up to little Japanese girls and blame them for Pearl Harbor? Because that's exactly the same thing.

 

[Dogmaphobe]

You saying that doesn't make it so.

So true. You deserve compensation for every single bale of cotton you have picked in your lifetime without getting paid.

It's only fair.

 

[daveman]

Weird, innit? No white Americans today have ever owned slaves, and no Black Americans have ever been enslaved.

Yet all white Americans are expected to pay all Black Americans for something NO Americans alive have been involved in.

I think I'll pass.

IM2, stop trying to put a moral face on your desire to commit armed robbery.

 

[Gracie]

IM2, stop trying to put a moral face on your desire to commit armed robbery.

He can't stop. All his miserable life, he has been the token Angry Black Man, blaming everyone else for his failures...and anger. He needs a scapegoat. That would be white people.

 

[IM2]

He can't stop. All his miserable life, he has been the token Angry Black Man, blaming everyone else for his failures...and anger. He needs a scapegoat. That would be white people.

Lol! There are about 40 million like me lady so I ain't no token. My failure? Bitch, you married whatever you have. I am a man, I can't marry into security then talk shit like I accomplished something. I've done better than you and your husband, so if I failed sucess does not exist. So can that dumb ass tactic, because this is not about a scapegoat. Your racism itself is evidence.

 

[IM2]

Weird, innit? No white Americans today have ever owned slaves, and no Black Americans have ever been enslaved.

Yet all white Americans are expected to pay all Black Americans for something NO Americans alive have been involved in.

I think I'll pass.

IM2, stop trying to put a moral face on your desire to commit armed robbery.

The only armed robbery was done by your ancestors and you are living on the interest from the theft.

You know good and well thart whites kept their bullshit going long after slavery and in fact still do it today. So just shut the fuck up about slavery because all that is is your punk ass trying to avoid facing the truth.

 

[IM2]

I did. I stopped when I got to the part I quoted.

Do you go up to little Japanese girls and blame them for Pearl Harbor? Because that's exactly the same thing.

No it isn't. Your ass wasn't alive for a lot of things whites take credit for today, so man the fuck up and face the truth.

 

[AZrailwhale]

You saying that doesn't make it so.

You saying that you do deserve them doesn’t make it so either. The people paying the reparations make the decision. Most of them believe like I do that slaves deserve reparations from their masters, not descendants of slaves from the descendants of people who mostly weren’t their masters. Despite your bullshit, only a very small percentage of people owned slaves or benefitted from them a century and a half ago. Very few modern Americans are descended from that small number. Now you can spout your lies and bullshit about the USA being built on the backs of slaves. I don’t buy it and neither does anyone else.with a brain. The US never offered reparations, “ forty acres and the LOAN of a mule” was the idea of one general, and even he decided it was a bad idea and didn’t propose it to his chain of command.

 

[IM2]

You saying that you do deserve them doesn’t make it so either. The people paying the reparations make the decision decide. Most of them believe like I do that slaves deserve reparations from their masters, not descendants of slaves from the descendants of people who mostly weren’t their masters. Despite your bullshit, only a very small percentage of people owned slaves or benefitted from them a century and a half ago. Very few modern Americans are descended from that small number. Now you can spout your lies and bullshit about the USA being built on the backs of slaves. I don’t buy it and neither does anyone else.with a brain. The zuS never offered reparations, “ forty acres and the LOAN of a mule” was the idea of one general, and even he decided it was a bad idea and didn’t propose it to his chain of command.

Actually it does. And the government makes the decision since the government would be the ones being peritioned. You and other similarly igniorant and racist whites fail to understand that this is not just about slavery and you are not educated enough to understand the basis on which we would be asking for them now. All you guys do is repeat that same dumb ass you didn't own anybody crap, The entire country benefitted from slaverty, and even more benefitted from Jim Crow Apartheid. 99 percent of homestead land went to whites. Whites got the equivslent of 500,000 dollars per family by being given that land. Almost half of the white population in America still live on homestead land. Government guaranteed loans helped whitrs buy homes in the 50's-early 70's which was a source of wealth blacks were esxcluded from. 95 percent of those guaranteed loans went to whites, yet you keep talking about slavery. Whites like you need to be educated about the total losses blacks have endured because of whitre racism.

 

[AZrailwhale]

Actually it does. And the government makes the decision since the government would be the ones being peritioned. You and other similarly igniorant and racist whites fail to understand that this is not just about slavery and you are not educated enough to understand the basis on which we would be asking for them now. All you guys do is repeat that same dumb ass you didn't own anybody crap, The entire country benefitted from slaverty, and even more benefitted from Jim Crow Apartheid. 99 percent of homestead land went to whites. Whites got the equivslent of 500,000 dollars per family by being given that land. Almost half of the white population in America still live on homestead land. Government guaranteed loans helped whitrs buy homes in the 50's-early 70's which was a source of wealth blacks were esxcluded from. 95 percent of those guaranteed loans went to whites, yet you keep talking about slavery. Whites like you need to be educated about the total losses blacks have endured because of whitre racism.

As I said, now you can spout your bullshit. The government will never pay reparations because all the politicians, even the most liberal ones, know that they’d be impeached or recalled immediately if they tried. Their jobs and benefits are far more important to them than the whining of part of a thirteen percent minority who would benefit.

 

[daveman]

The only armed robbery was done by your ancestors and you are living on the interest from the theft.

You know good and well thart whites kept their bullshit going long after slavery and in fact still do it today. So just shut the fuck up about slavery because all that is is your punk ass trying to avoid facing the truth.

Your victimhood fetish is disgusting. No self-respect at all.

You can't simultaneously brag about your success then claim oppression.

No, you can't have my money. Pout and whine about it some more. Maybe if you threaten to hold your breath until you turn blue...?

 

[daveman]

No it isn't. Your ass wasn't alive for a lot of things whites take credit for today, so man the fuck up and face the truth.

Bullshit collectivism is bullshit. I am responsible ONLY for the things I've done.

Your Scary Black Man schtick may work on weak white liberals, but normal people think it's pathetic.