Having never refrained from an argument that might get me labelled with a bad word, I'm once again going to wade into the issue of reparations. My position, which I have laid out before, and will again shortly, will most likely end up with my being labelled as a racist. Nothing could be further from the truth, but I suppose that is the label one is saddled with when one vehemently disagrees with the African-American community. So be it.
The public drum-beating for reparations has reached deafening volumes of late, and the fact that so many African-Americans are so serious about this is baffling to me.
WASHINGTON - Raising red, black and green flags and clenched fists, thousands of African-American activists descended on the Mall on Saturday, demanding reparations from the U.S. government for centuries of slavery and racism against Black people.
The assembly for Millions for Reparations was modest by Washington standards. But organizers called it an important moment for a largely grass-roots movement that has gained momentum, with prominent lawyers and professors calling for compensation to the descendants of slaves for free labor and decades of Jim Crow laws that they say are responsible for the economic and social ills in the Black community.
I would agree with the protesters raise some interesting points. Nevertheless, why in this day and age are poor African-Americans more deserving of public assistance than poor Whites or poor Hispanics or poor Anyone Else? The sense of entitlement that permeates throughout the African-American community is something I find difficult to comprehend, and yes, I also find it offensive.
I would agree that there are segments of the African-American community in need of a helping hand. That is true of any community of any color, however. Granted, African-Americans suffered as slaves in ways that no other community has, but the last slave was freed over 130 years ago.
My argument, as it has been all along- and will remain- is simple. IF any victims of slavery were still alive, then they should without question be compensated for their losses, pain, and suffering. Given that all former slaves are long-since dead, reparations paid to descendants of slaves qualify as little more than lifestyle upgrades balanced on the back of White collective guilt. That, in my way of thinking, is an unacceptable and reprehensible use of public funds.
This morning I read what is perhaps the most reasoned and lucid argument for reparations that I've run across. Charles Ogletree Jr., a law professor at Harvard, and a member of the Reparations Coordinating Committee, lays out a well-reasoned and well-intentioned argument. Unfortunately, like any argument for reparations, there are numerous holes, and in the end, the center simply cannot hold.
- "Now a number of events indicate the government's willingness to acknowledge and remedy past wrongs." Given that over 130 years has elapsed since Emancipation, why are "acknowledging" and "remedying" past wrongs linked? There is nothing wrong with admitting to and perhaps even apologizing for past mistakes. There is, however, something profoundly misguided about paying taxpayer dollars to a group that WAS NOT DIRECTLY OPPRESSED BY SLAVERY.
- Ogletree refers to settlements reached with Japanese-American survivors of WWII interment camps. He also raises a consent decree covering 20,000 African-American farmers to compensate for years of discrimination by the Department of Agriculture. Again, both of these cases deal with those who were injured DIRECTLY by the actions of the US government, NOT their descendants. A crucial difference, no?
- "The root of the word "reparations" is "repair", and it is without question that damage has been done. Of course, African slaves and their descendants are not the only group to suffer in our nation; the Native American, Irish, Italian, Mexican- almost every minority has been singled out, wronged, or discriminated against." Exactly. So why is it that African-Americans feel that they deserve what amounts to a handout? Is it simply that they are the best organized minority group, and therefore able to make the most noise?
- "Bring the government into litigation will generate a long overdue national debate about slavery." In whose mind is this national debate long overdue? Am I missing something here, or did I just sleepwalk through the Civil Rights movement? What were we discussing? Segregation was birthed by and rooted in the attitudes that made slavery possible. Given that, how can Ogletree say with any seriousness that a national debate on slavery is needed yet again?
- "A few years ago, the 'Chris Rock Show' did a segment on reparations.... He asked blacks in Harlem if African-Americans should receive reparations. They answered yes- and in the millions of dollars. The attitudes of whites in Midtown could be summed up with the phrase 'Kiss my white butt'.... This vignette...presents an accurate picture of what people seem to think about African-Americans are about: blacks asking any and all whites for a handout, and whites telling them where to go." While I might not be quite so prosaic about the issue, my response is not altogether different from most whites. My position is based on a simple two-question test. Question #1: Were you ever a slave to a white master? Question #2: Have you suffered DIRECTLY from slavery? If your answers to both questions are "NO" (and after 130 years, they will be), you are not eligible for reparations. Period. End of story.
Ogletree does make an argument that I think heads in the right direction, although it is still flawed.
My own view is compensation shouldn't be in the form of individual checks. It's not designed to benefit the Tiger Woodses and Oprah Winfreys or so many others who have overcome the barriers of institutional discrimination. Instead, a trust fund should administer money received through claims, and an independent commission should distribute those funds to the poorest members of the black community, where damage has been most severe.
But the reparations effort is not solely focused on money. Underlying this movement is a unifying principle we can't continue to ignore: This is about making America better, by helping the truly disadvantaged.
Any reparations money that goes directly to individuals will be money wasted. Should the Congress pass a reparations bill (though it would still be a mistake, in my estimation), any money allocated should be directed towards the COMMUNITY- and not just the African-American community. Make the money available as scholarships, community development grants, small business loans, support to charitable organizations...in ANY poor community, regardless of color, creed, or origin. If this really is about making America better, let's make ALL of America better, not just the segment that is the most organized and can make the most noise.
To those in the African-American community who would paint me as a racist, I would ask you to holster the rhetoric. Speaking as a lone voice in the wilderness, I am tired of minorities using the past to justify the continuation of the politics of division and rivalry. Minority communities, and in particular the African-American community, are too often guilty of keeping both eyes glued firmly on the past. How are you going to move forward if you are busy looking backward? You cannot change the past, but you CAN effect a positive future if you choose to do so. Campaigning for reparations will not accomplish this.
It's your choice.
