Why I support reparations — and all conservatives should

[Toddsterpatriot]

Before Russian Revolution, Russia was one of the poorest Nations.

GDP per capita, they rank in the mid 70s.
The largest country in the world, so rich in natural resources, that ranking kinda sucks, eh comrade?

 

[Toddsterpatriot]

No one in 1930 could imagine that Russia would be a First World nation.

In the 2020s, it still can't be imagined.

 

[Toddsterpatriot]

Now Russia is a First World Nation.

You're imagining things.

 

[Man of Ethics]

In the 2020s, it still can't be imagined.

Russia is a First World Nation. Russia has 400 automobiles per 1,000 people -- 10 times more then when I left in 1983.

 

[Toddsterpatriot]

Russia is a First World Nation. Russia has 400 automobiles per 1,000 people -- 10 times more then when I left in 1983.

It's a shithole with oil wells.

 

[Man of Ethics]

It's a shithole with oil wells.

No! We lived normal life in Russia even in 1970s and early '80s. Russia is much better off now.

If Russia and China could raise their living standards, definitely African Nations will.

 

[Toddsterpatriot]

No! We lived normal life in Russia even in 1970s and early '80s

Lots of people in third world countries lived normal lives.

If Russia and China could raise their living standards, definitely African Nations will.

What are they waiting for?

 

[DGS49]

Not to complain, but I never inherited anything from my eminently "white" parents or ancestors. They contributed nothing toward my education, game me no significant gifts when I got married, graduated college, graduated law school, or got confirmed.

When my father turned 65 my wife and I brought him in to live with us (Mom had passed away).

While I agree that Blacks have had few of the intergenerational wealth transfers that many whites enjoy, these benefits - and "white privilege" in general - are not uniformly enjoyed by all white people. What do I get?

My wife and I have achieved a modicum of financial success, but none of it came from either set of parents. I employed the Army and GI Bill, a small college loan, a small college grant ($1,000), contributions from employers, and my own savings to fund my education. ALL OF THESE THINGS are available to everyone, including Black folks. One might argue that much of it is MORE available to Blacks than it is to whites these days.

The wretched state of many Blacks in this country is mainly the result of genetic deficiency and a culture that disdains the behavior traits and habits that breed financial success. Even Blacks who pursue higher education largely study subjects that have essentially no economic value. What sane employer values a degree in Ethnic Studies or communications? Racial prejudice exists, certainly, but it is not a major factor in many Black folks present condition.

If all racial prejudice were eradicated tomorrow, the academic "achievement gap," and great "inequality" would still prevail. Giving Black a pile of money today would have no lasting benefit. Witness all of the Black and poor white lottery winners who drop back to the gutter within a few years.

 

[Man of Ethics]

If Russia and China could raise their living standards, definitely African Nations will.

What are they waiting for?

It was extremely difficult for USSR. But they did it!

I wish Africa best luck!

Had European nations been honest, they would help Africa overcome the legacy of colonial exploitation. After all, Europeans harmed Africa through colonialism.

German Nazism is responsible for Holocaust and enormous losses in Russia as well.

 

[Indeependent]

It was extremely difficult for USSR. But they did it!

I wish Africa best luck!

Had European nations been honest, they would help Africa overcome the legacy of colonial exploitation. After all, Europeans harmed Africa through colonialism.

German Nazism is responsible for Holocaust and enormous losses in Russia as well.

Jews turned a malaria ridden land into a superpower in 70 years.
What's Africa's excuse?

 

[Man of Ethics]

Jews turned a malaria ridden land into a superpower in 70 years.
What's Africa's excuse?

I can never speak for other nations.

But I wish Africa best luck!

 

[Indeependent]

I can never speak for other nations.

But I wish Africa best luck!

I wish lots of nations luck, but...back to reality.

 

[Toddsterpatriot]

It was extremely difficult for USSR. But they did it!

I wish Africa best luck!

Had European nations been honest, they would help Africa overcome the legacy of colonial exploitation. After all, Europeans harmed Africa through colonialism.

German Nazism is responsible for Holocaust and enormous losses in Russia as well.

It was extremely difficult for USSR. But they did it!

They did!!!

All the way up to 76th in the world.

Great job!!!!

After all, Europeans harmed Africa through colonialism.

That's why Africa has done so well since colonialism ended......right? Hello....hello???

German Nazism is responsible for Holocaust and enormous losses in Russia as well.

Stalin killed a lot more Russians than the Nazis did.

 

[Godboy]

This speaks for itself.

Why I support reparations — and all conservatives should

Like most conservatives, I’ve scoffed at the idea of reparations or a formal apology for slavery. I did not own slaves, so why would I support my government using my tax dollars for reparations or issuing an apology? Further, no one in the United States has been legally enslaved since 1865, so why are Black people today owed anything more than the same freedoms and opportunities that I enjoy?

I remain unconvinced that an apology would have much real value, but the more substantive notion of reparations is worth discussing. In fact, it could be argued that the idea fits within the conservative philosophy. We’ll come back to that. But it is undeniable that White people have disproportionately benefitted from both the labor and the legacy of slavery, and — crucially — will continue to do so for generations to come.

When slavery was abolished after a bloody civil war, African Americans were dispersed into a world that was overtly hostile to them. Reconstruction efforts were bitterly resisted by most Southern Whites, and attempts to educate and employ former slaves happened only in fits and starts. The government even reneged on its “40 acres and a mule” pledge. After slavery, prejudice and indifference continued to fuel social and economic disparity.

The result is unsurprising. As noted by scholars A. Kirsten Mullen and William A. Darity Jr., co-authors of “From Here to Equality: Reparations for Black Americans in the Twenty-First Century,” data from the 2016 Survey of Consumer Finances showed that median Black household net worth averaged $17,600 — a little more than one-tenth of median White net worth. As Mullen and Darity write, “white parents, on average, can provide their children with wealth-related intergenerational advantages to a far greater degree than black parents. When parents offer gifts to help children buy a home, avoid student debt, or start a business, those children are more able to retain and build on their wealth over their own lifetimes.”

Black author and activist Randall Robinson has argued that even laws such as those on affirmative action “will never close the economic gap. This gap is structural. … blacks, even middle-class blacks, have no paper assets to speak of. They may be salaried, but they’re only a few months away from poverty if they should lose those jobs, because … they’ve had nothing to hand down from generation to generation because of the ravages of discrimination and segregation, which were based in law until recently.”

In addition to the discrepancy in inherited wealth, even conservatives should be able to acknowledge that Whites enjoy generational associations in the business world, where who you know often counts more than what you know — a reality based not so much on overt racism as on employment and promotion

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/04/22/why-i-support-reparations-all-conservatives-should/

Quit begging for money like a fucking bum and get a job.

 

[AZrailwhale]

No! We lived normal life in Russia even in 1970s and early '80s. Russia is much better off now.

If Russia and China could raise their living standards, definitely African Nations will.

Russia is a kleptocracy. Your normal life was far below even that of South American countries. Your “leaders” steal hundreds of millions of dollars from the citizens and stash it in Swiss and other banking sanctuary country banks. If Russia had been a decent place, you and your parents wouldn’t have abandoned it to move to the USA. At its best Russia was a third world country with a second to first world military. It’s not even that any more.

 

[justinacolmena]

Further, no one in the United States has been legally enslaved since 1865, so why are Black people today owed anything more than the same freedoms and opportunities that I enjoy?

I think it's mistake to assume slavery as such was legal before 1865, when even the Fifth Amendment of the original Bill of Rights has always held among other things that "No person shall ... be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law, nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation."

That's why the Finns always abhorred slavery: those people have been working in a gold mine and you owe them a lot of money.

That "just compensation" is in other words reparations.

If someone is pressed into labor and denied wages for working, or has been deprived of property or freedom without the due process of law then that person has a claim for just compensation or reparations for that reason under the due process of law — but not solely on basis of Black skin and curly hair.

 

[AZrailwhale]

I think it's mistake to assume slavery as such was legal before 1865, when even the Fifth Amendment of the original Bill of Rights has always held among other things that "No person shall ... be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law, nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation."

That's why the Finns always abhorred slavery: those people have been working in a gold mine and you owe them a lot of money.

That "just compensation" is in other words reparations.

If someone is pressed into labor and denied wages for working, or has been deprived of property or freedom without the due process of law then that person has a claim for just compensation or reparations for that reason under the due process of law — but not solely on basis of Black skin and curly hair.

You can keep repeating that wrong legal theory forever. It doesn’t change the FACT that slavery was legal in at least thirteen states up until the 13th and 14th Amendments were passed and ratified. You are wrong and need to let your misconception rest.

 

[justinacolmena]

You can keep repeating that wrong legal theory forever. It doesn’t change the FACT that slavery was legal in at least thirteen states up until the 13th and 14th Amendments were passed and ratified. You are wrong and need to let your misconception rest.

Many of the state governments of course — in defiance of the United States Constitution — did permit slavery, but that does mean it was ever legal, since it was not in accordance with the Bill of Rights or within the lawful authority of state governments to enforce slavery.

There is of course a false doctrine of "Incorporation" with respect to the Bill of Rights, and numerous other excuses why the plain word of the law, as it is laid down in the Constitution, has never come into effect within an irredeemably corrupt and dishonest court system to protect and defend our human, civil, and Constitutional rights.

 

[AZrailwhale]

Many of the state governments of course — in defiance of the United States Constitution — did permit slavery, but that does mean it was ever legal, since it was not in accordance with the Bill of Rights or within the lawful authority of state governments to enforce slavery.

Your theory is wrong and has been denied by the courts. The Bill of Rights didn’t apply to slaves. Slaves weren’t legally people, they were property. You need to stop wasting time on this.

 

[justinacolmena]

Your theory is wrong and has been denied by the courts. The Bill of Rights didn’t apply to slaves. Slaves weren’t legally people, they were property. You need to stop wasting time on this.

I don't have a "theory" or a pack of lies or twisted and crooked interpretations of law. And I'm not going to stop until those who have been violating my rights begin suffering their eternal punishment.