Keith wrote:Reparations. Again, I stated a "token" of "acknowledgement", not the present day equivalent of 40 acres and a mule in 1865. However, fact is, the reparations were promised..as a political device, yes...but still promised. People should not act as if Black people are crazy for wanting reparations. It is not unprecedented. Did you know that the Japanese families that were interned during WWII got reparations from the US? The Allied powers rebuilt Germany and Japan after WWII. The Chinese workers that were indentured to build the American railroads got reparations. Look it up. The native Americans are tax exempt, and get free college tuition. Does this make up for atrocities? Heck no. But is an acknowledgement of wrong-doing by the US. Blacks folks simply want the same treatment. Given the precedents, it is offensive that we haven't gotten anything. That is why Black people get all upset. It is not a guilt trip. It is just fair and equitable treatment. People try to dismiss it as a guilt trip b/c they don't want to deal with it. This is a great country. Blacks are as responsible for its greatness as any group. Living here and benefitting from America's greatness does not mean there is not a reckoning necessary. Black people deserve all the good America has to offer b/c we helped build it. Reparations are the acknowledgement of the wrongs committed against Blacks while they were doing the building.
Any race aside I find it absolutely hypocritical that we go through so much to bring equality to all of the races yet these same people bitch about special treatment.
Make up your mind. Do you want to be equal or unequal? Reparations makes you unequal. The government shouldn't have any fiscal or legislative obligation to any group of people besides American citizens in general and I disagree with the steps taken in the past to satiate groups of people. A public apology is fine and dandy but anything else is preferential treatment which shatters the illusion of equality between groups/races.
You can cry all you want about the past and how horrible this or that was but I don't think there's any excuse for the type of "reverse inequality" you demand. Reparations? The deaths of 366,222 Union soldiers aren't enough to satisfy you? Or doesn't their sacrifice count?
Keith wrote:Did you know that Black people still do not have the right to vote? Black people's right to vote is granted by an ACT, not a law, that is reviewed and extended every 25 years.
This is one of the most ignorant statements I've ever seen on this board. The act you're referring to is the "Voting Rights Act" of 1965.
It includes absolutely no mention of a specific race. The only thing this act does is outlaw literacy tests and provide federal registration of voters in areas where less than 50% of the eligible minority voters are registered.
The black vote was actually ensured in the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and is protected by the 14th Amendment which includes due process and equal protection to freed slaves.
On top of the provisions of the 14th Amendment you have the 15th Amendment which was explicitly written and ratified to ensure that the governments in the United States can not prevent or interfere with any citizen from voting because of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
Now, switching back to the 14th Amendment we have a clear definition of citizenship and its qualification as it overturned the Supreme Court ruling in the Dredd Scott case. We adopted a
juris soli rule of citizenship which is basically stating that if you're born on American soil you are automatically a citizen. The only exception to
juris soli is the territory of American Samoa.
You aren't very educated about this my friend.
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