Hey puffsrule, I largely agree with you on the reparations issue. I'm black, and I don't think black people should get reparations. While I think the government should seriously invest in minority empowerment programs, e.g. putting competent schools in minority neighborhoods, I don't think a one time handout to people several generations removed from the evil issue at hand, as well as a couple generations into a time where legalized discrimination is gone, hence demonstrating the U.S.' willingness to better the situation (no matter how cinical you are, you must admit that). However, I do take issue to a couple of your points, Puffsrule.
Granted it was of their own free will, however, how many African Americans can honestly say that they would be better off today in Africa, if their decendant had not been sold
This statement by some white persons never ceases to amaze me (I don't think you're racist or anything). White people would have been a lot worse off without the exploited labor of blacks than blacks would have been if they were
never been enslaved to begin with. Contrary to Eurocentric racism (but not in concurrance with exterme Afrocentrism), Africa had several thriving civilizations going before the Europeans came. If Africa had remained unbothered by Europeans, do you really think it would be in the terrible state it's in today? Who do you think benefits from the rich natural resources available in the land? Not the natives. White people should be thankng blacks for such a boon. Do you really think America would be exactly as it is today without the work of blacks? Blacks did their fair share of "America building" and got nothing for it. For many years blacks worked, payed taxes, fought for their country, and they got nothing in return. The attitude should not be "blacks owe America a debt of gratitute for allowing them to be in this great country", but rather whites should finally acknowledge that blacks have done much for America, but untill recently did not get much back. So the presence of rancor by blacks toward America is understandable (though not always justified, admittedly). So basically, IMO, that argument of blacks being better of in America than in Africa, while technically true (there's no way in hell I'd move to most places in Africa), is pretty misleading because it portrays blacks as almost being "free loaders", when in reality if anyone is "free loading", it would be whites. If whites had never gone to Africa, then they would have been worse off for it, while blacks better off. Of course, if that had never happened, then the events leading up to my birth most probably would not have happened. So maybe I should be happy
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Oh, and BTW, though blacks did sell other blacks into slavery, a very large number of those selling the blacks into slavery were: 1) Enemies of the one they were selling, hence not selling"their own". 2) Selling the people into a slavery they thought was more humane than it actually was. Eventually, many people stopped selling people when they found out what really happened, but then some fool or very unscrupulous person would take their place in the "chain of selling". However, demanding reparations from those people is pointless, since they reaped few benefits from the system as compared to the white slave owners (but I'm against reparations as stated earlier). Otherwise, very good posts.
