Reparations? Really?

I don't know of any specific reparations proposals being circulated right now, but the concept itself would be unjust unless it could be proven in a court of law that family A defrauded family B of property.

The best reparation possible is not monetary at all. It would be the complete and final repudiation of the embedded racism that has persisted in our society, in our attitudes and in our laws ever since the days of slavery. And guess what? Racism is not over, not by a very long shot.

The time for reparations has past. Of course this is by design. Racists delayed it until it could not pass muster. We can still advocate for programs that benefit the disadvantaged, regardless of race.

Bumble Bee said:

no I agree there are racist people. But policies are not racist anymore.

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So is gerrymandering and voter suppression just an illusion?

We tackled this issue last summer.

I suggested this as a possible solution:

Pommer said:

“No taxes for 125 years!”
None.
No local income (or property) tax, no tax of any kind on business transactions ((with HEAVY penalties, for people paying a black person to “front” to avoid taxes*)), no state sales taxes, no corporate taxes, no federal taxes, though the EITC could still be claimed.

No excise taxes, (so that things like car tires end up being cheaper); no gas taxes, (Federal, state or local); free postage; no transportations costs at all, (show up at the airport, select a flight and get first class accommodations [costs for Real-ID® and/or passport waived], free alcoholic beverages, including champagne)



*this will be a problem, regardless, but say the tax-avoider would pay double taxes on whatever the fraud was foisted, for a set time and the person who fronted has to pay regular taxes for a set amount of time. It’ll be a civil law.

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That said, I find the OP a bit on the acerbic side.

I think the biggest misconception about racism is that it's a binary - you're either 'a racist' or you're not. That's not how it works in real life.

Reparations has already taken place to a certain degree. Remember, President Nixon began affirmative action. This has been an indirect form of reparations. While such has only impacted a relatively small number, it has helped some to climb the economic ladder.

Bumble Bee said:

So how does it work then?

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There are a lot of ideas out there. Free education, grants, loans, housing. A real interesting proposal is not based on race but floods money into economically depressed areas, which ends up benefitting mostly people of color.

Something I’ve started thinking about is starting a voluntary reparations project while we’re waiting on the public support to do it as legislation.

JackRT said:

The best reparation possible is not monetary at all. It would be the complete and final repudiation of the embedded racism that has persisted in our society, in our attitudes and in our laws ever since the days of slavery. And guess what? Racism is not over, not by a very long shot.

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What racism do you know of in our laws?

JackRT said:

So is gerrymandering and voter suppression just an illusion?

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Voter suppression is illegal, gerrymandering is about how people vote, not race.

Strathos said:

I think the biggest misconception about racism is that it's a binary - you're either 'a racist' or you're not. That's not how it works in real life.

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How does it work in real life?

Bumble Bee said:

I meant if it isn’t binary, how does it work?

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Lots of different ways, pretty much as many ways as there are people. It could be in how one views certain people of color (or really, anyone different), misconceptions thought about them or generalizations made about them. Some of these attitudes may be benign and some not so benign, and some attitudes may even be unconscious, to the point where one isn't even aware they have a particular blind spot about some people of color (or are different from them in some way).

Then there is the degree at which acknowledging the differences between us moves from an observation to a judgment. That line can often be subtle, and many are not aware they've crossed it, even after it's been pointed out.

Binary things are simple: either you have a left arm, or you don't. Racism isn't that simple, people aren't either racist or not racist. In some ways, I think anyone and everyone can have a racist attitude or two, even many they are not aware of. The trick isn't to not have these attitudes, but to acknowledge them when you recognize them, and be aware of how these attitudes govern your behavior, and act accordingly.

-- A2SG, now where did I leave that left arm, it was around here somewhere.....

Ken-1122 said:

What racism do you know of in our laws?

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The Laws of the land are not racist.
The society in which those Laws operate in, is racist.

Bumble Bee said:

Uh huh, so all whites are inherently racist no matter what, and thus owe people of color whatever they want?

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Can you please point out where anyone in this thread has said anything anywhere close to that?

Bumble Bee said:

How ridiculous is this? The idea of reparations for racism is idiotic anyway. Why should law abiding, non racist, white people have to pay reparations to people to pay for the actions of racist people? I don’t believe we owe anyone a dime for slavery. It ended over 150 years ago. No one alive today was enslaved. I don’t believe we owe anyone money for segregation. Guess what? We are not a racist country! Now i find out about voter reparations? Are you kidding me? How exactly does that make up for people not having a vote in previous elections? It doesn’t!

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It wouldn't be white people only who paid, but everyone as this was a systemic problem. Who would get paid? I don't know, but I'm open to suggestions.