I really thought we’d been through this already, but some maroons apparently didn’t get the memo. My feelings about the idea of paying reparations to the descendants of slaves should be no secret to anyone who has hung ‘round these parts for any length of time. I’m not going to revisit those feelings here, other than to wonder where it’s all going to stop? What’s next; reparations for Cubs and Red Sox fans? Hey, it’s not like these folks haven’t suffered for many, many years….
Steve brings us the story of a reconciliation march. And you wonder why so many Conservatives succeed in painting Progressives as clueless bleeding hearts….
Whites wore T-shirts that said “So Sorry” and armbands labeled “Penitent.” Blacks displayed bands that said “Forgiver.” They converged yesterday on what is now the Annapolis City Dock, a spot where slaves were once bought and sold.
About 400 people joined what organizers described as a “reconciliation march” through downtown Annapolis, ending at the Maryland State House, where descendants of the slave Kunta Kinte and of auctioneer John Ridout, the man who sold him into bondage in 1767, embraced.
When the march ended, everyone gathered in the Annapolis town square to sing “Kumbaya” and make s’mores….
I’ve never owned slaves, nor has any member of my family. I cannot change history, and I refuse to feel guilty for something I had no involvement in or control over. If memory serves, Lincoln freed the slaves in, what, 1865?? Now, 139 years later, African-Americans are trying to convince us that the way to assuage our collect guilt is to pay them large sums of money? It really IS all about the Benjamins, eh?
It’s not easy being a member of The Oppressing Class. I’d feel guilty, but I no longer need to because now I have my pardon:
Whereas, Europeans kept my forebears in bondage some three centuries toiling without pay,
Whereas, Europeans ignored the human rights pledges of the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution,
Whereas, the Emancipation Proclamation, the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments meant little more than empty words,
Therefore, Americans of European ancestry are guilty of great crimes against my ancestors and their progeny.
But, in the recognition Europeans themselves have been victims of various and sundry human rights violations to wit: the Norman Conquest, the Irish Potato Famine, Decline of the Hapsburg Dynasty, Napoleonic and Czarist adventurism, and gratuitous insults and speculations about the intelligence of Europeans of Polish descent,
I, Walter E. Williams, do declare full and general amnesty and pardon to all persons of European ancestry, for both their own grievances, and those of their forebears, against my people.
Therefore, from this day forward Americans of European ancestry can stand straight and proud knowing they are without guilt and thus obliged not to act like damn fools in their relationships with Americans of African ancestry.
- Walter E. Williams, Gracious and Generous Grantor
OK, I’m safe. Can we FINALLY get on with the business of dealing with HERE and NOW? Nothing that we do or do not do today can change what happened almost 150 years ago. Yes, slavery was reprehensible, and yes, it is a chapter of our history that no reasonable American can claim to be proud of. Still, it’s time for African-Americans to stop demanding payment for something they themselves never had to endure. The victims of slavery are all long since dead. Reparations are designed to compensate victims, not upgrade the lifestyles of their descendents.
If we want to make a difference, how about setting up scholarship funds or creating programs that will benefit the many instead of upgrading the lifestyles of a few?
Enough already….
