A Personal Point of View - Reparations for Slavery

I personally experienced the humiliation and indignity of bigotry, racial discrimination, intolerance and prejudice when I dated a beautiful, gracious woman of color in the mid-1970s. I was called a "nigger lover", and other racial epithets that any decent person would be embarrassed to say.

However, I am strongly, unequivocally opposed to paying reparations for slavery. Yes - you read that correctly - I am opposed to paying reparations for slavery. However, please indulge me the courtesy of an explanation.

Those who have read any, or all, of my prefaces to each of this website’s topics regarding slavery know I loathe slavery and condemn, in the strongest, most forceful terms, those monsters who owned slaves, or condoned and perpetrated slavery,

Unfortunately, since all of those involved in the slavery issue - either as slave, owner, or proponent - are long dead, it would be very difficult to prove that any living person was harmed, or injured, by slavery.

Does anyone really think the Bush Administration would do anything to advance the cause? Bush and his gangster cohorts are not the least bit interested in furthering the cause of fairness, or justice. Bush is spending too much time picking a fight with Iraq and trying to keep his greedy, corrupt corporate buddies, such as Ken Lay (former CEO of Enron), out of jail.

Then, there is the issue of white "guilt". There are far too many whites (Caucasians , if you will) that feel they should not be held accountable for the misdeeds of their ancestors. They don’t object to taking credit for the good deeds of their ancestors, but they will not take responsibility for the bad deeds. . . . . “Hey, don’t blame me. I didn’t do nothin’. It ain’t my fault. I ain't got no slaves", or a reasonable facsimile of same, is a common response.

Quite frankly, how does one determine who qualifies for reparations and who does not? Many qualified folks would not be eligible for reparations because they could not “prove” their ancestors were slaves.

I may have a solution that, I believe, is all-inclusive. There is no doubt a good many of my American compatriots of color have been denied basic freedoms based solely on the hue of their skin. Many have been mistreated, abused and denied basic rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution.

My plan would pay reparations to ANY person of color, whether they be African-American, Native-American, Asian-American, Latino-American - or whatever - that was beaten, lynched, raped, castrated, mutilated, murdered, discriminated against because of their skin color, or denied rights granted to Caucasians but denied persons of color.

For example, reparations would be paid to persons of color who were denied the right to vote; denied the right to eat in the establishment of their choice; denied the right to live in the neighborhood or building of their choice; denied the right to stay in the hotel, motel or room, of their choice; denied the right to attend the school of their choice; denied the right to worship in the church of their choice; denied the right to swim in the pool, lake or other area of their choice; to those who were denied employment or promotions based on the color of their skin; those who were forced to enter buildings via the rear entrance; those who were forced to ride in the back of the bus - or surrender their seat to a Caucasian; those who were denied the right to sit in the seat of their choice - either in a movie theater, concert, play, sports event, or whatever. . . . . in short, those who were discriminated against based solely upon the color of their skin.

My plan would pay additional reparations to those brave, courageous men and women of color who fought and died for freedom and liberty, whether in the military or in the civil rights struggle. I find it unconscionable that people like Martin Luther King, Medgar Evers and Malcolm X, and scores of others, were murdered because they wanted basic civil rights guaranteed to EVERYONE under the United States Constitution.

Many brave, courageous men and women fought, and often died, for freedom in each of this nation’s wars and armed conflicts. I find it unconscionable, shameful, unpatriotic and un-American that these brave folks were denied the same freedoms for which they were fighting in the military, often in far-off lands.

I don’t believe I would have the fortitude, or patriotism, to fight for freedom in a far-off country, knowing that I would be denied basic freedoms and civil rights when I returned to the United States. Those that did, are unquestionably true heroes and patriots.

Finally, those who committed outrageous acts of terrorism, brutality, inhumanity or discrimination against our fellow Americans of color MUST be brought to task for their reprehensible conduct. I consider their conduct to be treason, and crimes against humanity, and should be dealt with, as such. Anyone who would perpetrate, condone or encourage the sort of discrimination and brutality that most people of color have had to endure, to this day, must be dealt with in the most firm, unforgiving manner.

Finally, government representatives at all levels would be required to make public apologies for government participation, either directly, or by ignoring the plight of folks harmed by the injustice of discrimination. In many cases, federal, state and local governments were active participants in denying rights to people of color. All people of color, whether African-American, Native-American, Asian-American, Latino-American, etc., were treated, at one time or another, shamefully and without regard to basic rights guranteed to all, under the U. S. Constitution.

I am quite cognizant the cost of my plan would run into the billions, most likely hundreds of billions, of dollars. To help pay for the tremendous cost of my proposal, any member of any racist group and their family members, or any individual who discriminated against persons of color would be heavily taxed for the rest of their lives.

This would also preclude Caucasians, or at least most of them, from denying responsibility for their ancestors’ misdeeds. It's their own misdeeds for which they would be held accountable. After all, most living Caucasians have been guilty of one or more acts of racism or discrimination, as outlined in my treatise, that would qualify them as co-conspirators.

Lessons of history must not be forgotten or ignored. The Spanish poet and philosopher, George Santayana, is quoted as having said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”. In my plan, we will not forget the past.

I hope my plan would emphasize one of the great lessons of history: we must always, without reservation, treat all of our fellow human beings with dignity and respect, no matter what their ethnic, religious or cultural background.

That's my opinion. What's yours?