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The Hackneyed Demand for Reparations Lives On
The Democrats are at it again. It’s election campaign time, and Kamala Harris, for one, is demanding reparations, 150 years after the Civil War, for black Americans who probably know as little about that war as most other Americans:
I think there has to be some form of reparations. We can discuss what that is, but look, we’re looking at more than 200 years of slavery. We’re looking at almost a hundred years of Jim Crow. We’re looking at legalized segregation and, in fact, segregation on so many levels that exists today, based on race. And there has not been any kind of intervention done understanding the harm and the damage that occurred to correct course, and so we are seeing the effects of all of those years play out still today.
No, Senator Harris, let’s not discuss it. Instead, let’s talk about why it is an insulting and ridiculous idea. You say interventions have not been done? Well, there is the disaster of the Great Society which helped no one. And I guess living in the land of liberty is no help at all.
I will not be revisiting all the reasons that paying reparations is nearly impossible and unreasonable to do; if you want an explanation of those reasons, you can go here . Instead, I’d like to use Senator Harris’ comment as a preface to the insightful piece written by Burgess Owens for the Wall Street Journal.
Mr. Owens was the great-great-grandchild of a man named Silas Burgess who came to America on a slave ship, escaped a plantation through the Underground Railroad, and eventually became a successful entrepreneur and a pillar of his community. Based on this history of his great-great-grandfather and his own experience, Mr. Owens explains why the reparations movement is a bad idea:
At the core of the reparation movement is a divisive and demeaning view of both races. It grants to the white race a wicked superiority, treating them as an oppressive people too powerful for black Americans to overcome. It brands blacks as hapless victims devoid of the ability, which every other culture possesses, to assimilate and progress. Neither label is earned.
The reparations movement conveniently forgets the 150 years of legal, social and economic progress attained by millions of American minorities. It also minimizes the sacrifice that hundreds of thousands of white Americans and a Republican president made laying down their lives to eradicate slavery.
Mr. Owens also states that the act of perpetuating the myth that one race is superior to another is “evil racism.”
The Great Society programs were started at the very time when black Americans were making great inroads into the middle class. These government programs led to the break up of the black American family, left male children without fathers, mothers on welfare, and resulted in the prevalence of single parenthood in our black communities.
Mr. Owens points to the current iteration of the need for reparations: socialism is surely the cure, according to the Left. Fortunately, Mr. Owens knows through his own experience that socialism will not help anyone, including blacks. It will only create more divisiveness, perpetuate the lie that blacks cannot help themselves, and that only white society can help them. It’s important to note that Mr. Owens was a Super Bowl champion with the Oakland Raiders. He is the author of Liberalism or How to Turn Good Men into Whiners, Weenies and Wimps.
I’d like to end with one comment that Mr. Owens makes toward the end of his piece, that speaks to blacks and whites alike:
Character cannot be bought and will never allow itself to be diminished by bribery.
You can take that one to the bank.
Published in Culture
You’re right, @henrycastaigne. I also remembering hearing about an American who couldn’t wait to visit his “home,” Africa and he said it was a terrible experience. He learned that he lives in a wonderful country, and wrote a book about it.
As Mohammed Ali said,“Thank God my granddaddy got on that boat.” I sympathize with him, if my grandaddy didn’t get on that boat I’d be in Russia.
I’m all for reparations. Anyone who was held a slave prior to 1865 should receive from the American people their freedom.
I wish I could find the article or a video of the interview on youtube. It was eye-opening for me. A black man said that white people can’t relate to the image of Africa common in the black community. I have to take his word even if what he said sounded, well, stupid, because as a white man I probably can’t understand. He said that in a black American’s consciousness, Africa was an Eden, an almost mythical place, from which they were taken by white slave traders. He wanted to go back to that Eden and did. He described his experiences in various African countries. He found something that made him actually say that he felt he owed a debt to the white people who wrote the Constitution and fought the Revolutionary War, and that he was almost lucky to be the descendant of slaves in America rather than a native African and the descendant of people who never left Africa. I question whether one black man can speak for black America any more than I could speak for the whole of white America, but reading his story was, as I said, eye-opening and touching. I have no idea what he would think of reparations.
What if the original slave owners where punished at the time? What if 42% of the adult males were killed/maimed and their most valuable property was taken from them? Is that enough punishment??
You read my mind. Next time, ask permission first. It’s only polite.
But in all seriousness: Some enterprising GOP Congressman should propose legislation to mandate exactly this. Word it something like “Whereas the Democratic Party defended and promoted slavery, was responsible for drafting, passing and enforcing the Jim Crow laws in the south, was instrumental in founding the KKK, reversed racial progress in federal hiring under the Wilson administration, obstructed de-segregation of schools, fought the 1957 Civil Rights Act, … (add other cases of D perfidy in race relations here, there are more than enough)… this Congress resolves that the Democratic National Committee shall be legally required to pay reparations for its sordid history of slavery, as well as the discrimination, segregation against and exploitation of Americans of African Ancestry in the sum of (twice the current total value of assets and cash held by the DNC).” I would pay money to watch the Democrats react live on the House floor.
There’s a group of young African entrepreneurs here in Germany who have incorporated their businesses here instead of in Tanzania, Uganda, etc. for this very reason. They are of course also working to change the political and business culture back home for the better but they also realize every penny paid in a bribe is one less to reinvest.
Of course, the Jets did do it in 1969, but that’s been a while.
I remember 1969. I had just started following football.
The Bears won a game.
One whole game.
Sorry, Pittsburgh.
I think the Steelers got over it.
Including in the Super Bowl against da Bearsss.
I think you and I are talking about the same man. I heard him interviewed by Dennis Prager, and it was a moving discussion. Thanks for commenting, @django.
Yes!
It just occurred to me that one of the reasons that the reparations discussion makes me angry, is that underneath my anger is my sense of loss. I have always believed in the potential of every human being–even those with obvious limitations and struggles. But the potential is there. And when I see people telling people that they are helpless, or that they have overwhelming burdens holding them back, when I believe that is one huge lie, I feel despair. I am so glad that there are people, especially black people, who will counter those arguments, like Burgess Owens,Tom Sowell, Walter Williams, Jason Riley, Larry Elder, Shelby Steele and others of that generation. But who will fill their shoes when they are gone? Who will be the new truth-tellers, the leaders, who will encourage the future black leaders. Candace Owens comes to mind, thank goodness, and those who follow her.
It seems Willie’s Gal knows her audience well enough.
(Note to Ms. Quinn: Bonus points for use of “hackneyed.” Other uses around here tend to be in quotes from nearly 200 years ago. I like it.)
Is hackneyed not used nowadays? (Oops–is nowadays another old term?) I’m glad you liked it.
Out of America by Keith Richburg
85.
It is hopeless for many blacks. The average IQ of black Americans is 85. (Shhh, but if you say that, you’ll be labeled a racist. Heck, if you say anything or don’t say anything, you’re racist just because you’re white and there’s nothing you can do about it, so why pussy foot around the issue?) That means that there are a whole lot of blacks that are below 85 and once you get under 70 you’re really getting close to retarded (shhhh, you’re not allowed to say that word either).
Yes, there are smart blacks, and even 85 IQ blacks can be nice people and can lead very successful lives. Just look at Maxine Waters. Except she’s not very nice. Successful, yes. But such successes are not the norm for below average intelligence. Usually, mental acuity does affect in some way an individual’s income level. Having a large population of indigent black people is therefore not surprising and won’t really change.
So reparations will not change the facts. I’ve nothing against black people, but I’m not going to pretend that those that aren’t very smart should be given my money just because of my skin color.
Is this supposed to be satire, @skyler?
the most terrifying statistic.
https://www.blackenterprise.com/black-immigrants-in-u-s-earning-30-more-than-u-s-born-blacks/
The Clintons controlled the DNC checkbook and they took all the money in 2016. I guess Mueller missed those crimes.
Give to them or force it on them, whether they wanted it or not? There’s a difference – a very important one.
Are you referring to the Great Society plan, @weeping? If so, do you feel that was forced on them? Or were you referring to something else.
I think Weeping is referring to Jim Crow laws.
It is not satire, Susan. It is a fact. Long-established and durable against all critics. Every serious scientific attempt to show that it is due to some form of racism has crashed and burned in abject failure. Those serious studies also show that it is in fact largely genetic, with parents’ genes accounting for 40% to 80% of it.
Go read The Bell Curve.
This is why Charles Murray is persona-non-grata in any forum where identity politics is pushed.
Psychology is not my field, but I took a class or two back in the late 1960s. This was common knowledge. By that I mean the disparity in scores on standard IQ tests. Every effort was made to find a means of explaining it that was environmental rather than hereditary. I neither know nor care if those efforts were scientifically based or just early forms of political correctness.
But assume for a minute that the results are correct and also that the average IQ for “non-white Hispanics” is 87, as has been claimed. Then, take into account Jordan Peterson’s video. He said that no one knows what to do about this problem, i.e., that one in ten is at a hopeless disadvantage through no direct fault of his own. I think Peterson is making a mistake that most people make by confusing problems and burdens. I make a distinction that is not widely acknowledged: A problem has at least a potential solution, while a burden does not have a solution and is something to be carried for as long as one is able or required to. We’re talking about a societal burden here, and the racial disparity, if real, implies that while one white person in ten is a burden, the ratio for blacks and non-white Hispanics is more like four-in-ten.
I don’t think I want to take this to its logical conclusion.
Couple the measured results with the strong correlation between IQ and success and you have an explanation for success that doesn’t involve white privilege and an explanation for failure that doesn’t involve racism. No wonder Murray is hated.
It’s why William Shockley was castigated.
When I was in law school in the early 70’s, Shockley was scheduled to speak at UT (the real UT; Tennessee). The liberals were all up in arms and wanted to prevent it. The controversy brought about my first real understanding of the liberal mindset: We’re all in favor of free speech as long as we agree with what you say.
@philturmel and @django, I’m recalling (and I don’t know if Murray, whom I greatly respect, covered this) that IQ is only one measure of intelligence, in that there are many factors that contribute to creativity, success, reasoning, and other measure of smarts. Am I recalling those ideas correctly?