JamesVI

Avicoh1, I sympathize with your reasoning. But it's important to take note of the fact that people living today in the U.S. are directly affected by the legacy of slavery. This is the entire premise of the reparations movement.

Just consider the vast difference between whites and blacks in this country, on almost every socioeconomic indicator. Why, for instance, do blacks, on average, have so much less wealth than whites? The answer is simple: when slavery ended, the slaves were dumped into society with almost nothing. They then endured a century of official discrimination, violence, bigotry, and "Jim Crow" laws. This explains why blacks had roughly 1% of the nation's wealth after slavery, and have roughtly 1% of the wealth now. There has been little opportunity for progress, and as each generation of blacks inherits less of what it takes to succeed in this society (wealth, housing, education, etc.) than whites do, the rate of progress continues to be glacial.

It defies logic to explain the differences between blacks and whites today on any basis that doesn't start with slavery and its aftermath, and as long as the consequences of that historical evil haven't been eroded with time, reparations will at least have some merit as an idea.

Avicoh1, I sympathize with your reasoning. But it's important to take note of the fact that people living today in the U.S. are directly affected by the legacy of slavery. This is the entire premise of the reparations movement.

Just consider the vast difference between whites and blacks in this country, on almost every socioeconomic indicator. Why, for instance, do blacks, on average, have so much less wealth than whites? The answer is simple: when slavery ended, the slaves were dumped into society with almost nothing. They then endured a century of official discrimination, violence, bigotry, and "Jim Crow" laws. This explains why blacks had roughly 1% of the nation's wealth after slavery, and have roughtly 1% of the wealth now. There has been little opportunity for progress, and as each generation of blacks inherits less of what it takes to succeed in this society (wealth, housing, education, etc.) than whites do, the rate of progress continues to be glacial.

It defies logic to explain the differences between blacks and whites today on any basis that doesn't start with slavery and its aftermath, and as long as the consequences of that historical evil haven't been eroded with time, reparations will at least have some merit as an idea.