The event I attended was the Oxford style debate sponsored by the Department of Philosophy and Religion, which considered the question: Should the U.S. Government pay reparations for the atrocity of African slavery? Each of the three debaters took a distinct position regarding this question: first, the United States government has a moral obligation to compensate for harm it inflicted on others through legally sanctioned slavery and its aftermath, and thus should pay reparations to African Americans in order to ameliorate this wrong; second, the United States should not pay reparations for slavery, not because reparations aren’t warranted, but because of the logistical and practical impossibility of doing so, and rather, the U.S. should continue to decrease the negative impact of slavery on African Americans through affirmative action policy; and third, the U.S. should not pay reparations for slavery due to logistical and practical realities, but should issue a formal apology and pay reparations, in a manner sanctioned by international law via rules regarding genocide, for the oppression during pre-civil rights era, and paid only to those individuals born prior to the passage of civil rights legislation who are still living.
This was a very interesting debate, but I’m incredibly grateful for the participation of Dr. Gunderson, a political scientist, without whom the debate would have likely been a dry philosophical analysis of a very real and material problem for the millions of African Americans in the United States. Without his input regarding the practicality of reparations, I fear that the event would have been more focused on logic and the construction of arguments, than on the real issue of the massive inequality that still exists between black and white Americans: an inequality which can be clearly traced back to its origins in African slavery. Despite the different positions taken, by the end of the debate it became clear that all the panelists agreed that some form of reparations should be provided to African Americans by the United States government as compensation for the more than 400 years of slavery, segregation, and racial inequality.
I can understand where you are coming from and how the debate went. It sounds like it would have been a great debate to go to.
ReplyDeleteBut I take a completely different stance on this issue. I see reparations as a vicious cycle. My stance on this issue is the fact that they get reparations through the affirmative action policies, and that is all that they need. My problem with paying them reparations is that it is slightly unneeded. America should also look at the treatment of the Native Americans as well. If you are going to pay reparations to the African Americans, you should also pay it for the Native Americans, women (in general), Chinese immigrants, Mexicans, Jews, Eastern European peoples, and the white indentured servants in the early colonial times. African Americans are not the only ones that should have reparations paid to them. If reparations were put into place, everyone would need to be owed something because of our past.
Furthermore, I also feel as though this is unnecessary because this was in the past. Everyone has their freedoms now and can do whatever they want (under the Constitution, of course). Everyone was, in history, a victim at some point, and reparations are unnecessary in regards to their victimization. In this case, everyone should be owed something because of our ancestors past treatments on each other as a whole. It was just a different time back then but now, we all have our freedoms to do as we please, to vote, to have a home, to go to the same schools, to work in the same buildings, to live where we want, etc....
Ariana Renfro, you sum up what I was getting ready to post. Reparations for one group would be saying that the other groups that suffered didn't matter. And I would also like to add the Irish to that list and the Japanese-Americans for what they went through during World War II. Besides, I feel that reparations are too late. It might have been within reson during the 1980's but now it would be grossly abused.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure where I stand on the reparations issue. But I will say that the history of Africans in this country is a little different from other groups that might claim some form of group victimhood. The Irish were not enslaved, they could own property, and they were actively recruited into the political system via the Democratic Party -- same for Eastern Europeans. Japanese-Americans have in fact received some form of reparations for their internment in WWII. Native Americans suffered on a similar level, but they were generally not enslaved and therefore didn't have their labor exploited (i.e. allowing capital accumulation in other people's hands) in quite the same way. Meanwhile, I can safely say that my English and German ancestors did not suffer any systematic oppression in the U.S. Reparations might not make a lot sense, but neither does minimizing the economic disabilities incurred by slavery (not to mention the next one hundred years of sharecropping and political exclusion).
ReplyDeleteI do agree with you. A part of me kind of sees where they are coming from, but at the same time, I just do not feel that it needs to happen. I honestly feel as though it would cause racial issues, yet again. For example, people that are completely racist, like a skinhead from the KKK, would see the reparations issue as them owing a 15 year old African American, who never experienced slavery or victimization, money for the past. I think that it would cause issues that do not need to be raised. It may in fact cause further oppression, and different kinds of crimes against them. Here's an interesting article to read http://www.npr.org/programs/specials/racism/010827.reparations.html
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ReplyDeleteI did not attend this event, and I am rather disappointed that I did not. I would like to make a few observations.
ReplyDeleteFirst, I do not agree with reparations. I find them as a blockade to equality. These payments to African Americas would disrupt the foundation of racial equality that so many have died to destroy. It is illogical to combat this injustice with a solution that divides us at racial lines. By seemingly righting a wrong, we are really compensating one injustice for another, and doing more harm then good.
Secondly, who would get the money? The slaves that experienced and agonized through plantation work are no long among us. Would we be paying all their ancestors? What are the costs of doing so? Can we afford it in our current financial situation? More importantly, can money repay the hardships these people endured? Those long dead and gone cannot profit from a government "we're sorry" check. I for one think the only way to compensate for what was done is to continue the fight toward racial equality, and assure no such hardships occur again. We need honor their memory and allow their story to have a positive impact other than dishonoring it by the solution of feel good money.
Lastly, I ask how you justify one unfair act (slavery) by trying to amend it with another unjust act? While there is no doubt that racism still exists towards African Americans, it is vital that we recognize how far we have come. Were you and I lashing whips on those plantations? No, it was our ancestors, and many in America have no traces of ancestors that took part in slavery. Despite the amount of money we pay the African Americans, justice is not brought to those of whom it should rightfully affect.
It is no more justifiable for today's generation (in America) to carry the load of compensating African American than it would be to justify Egyptians paying reparations to Hebrews. The timeline is greatly gaped is it not? But is the reasoning not the same? Are the descendants of slaves owners responsible for the sins of their ancestors? It is simply illogical to place the burden on those who had no responsibility for the injustice of their ancestors. We would be attempting to seek justice by using an unjust solution.
This issue is open and shut in my opinion.
Amen to that one! I completely agree with you, Walter! That's exactly what Nate and I were talking about. It would do more harm than good...most definitely.
DeleteWow! All I can say is "'nuff said". This hits every possible complaint with reparations I have. You sir, have stated your opinion in a very, VERY excellent manner.
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