Reply #100: Decent Post

[Rez]

But let me point out a few things I mentioned on another post...

You said, "I'm not AGAINST reparations in concept."

If you are not philosophically opposed to reparations as it relates to modern African Americans...then the question becomes how to you move this dialog to a public debate and discourse...if you are for reparations that means you agree to certain assumptions...primarily these:

1. America as a Nation State is culpable for crimes comitted during slavery. This is the reason not even Bill Clinton would apologize...because apology implies cupability...think about that...

2. That because the Nation State is culpable...that a redress against the wrongs should occur...

3. That the political climate as it was pre-civil rights would not have allowed for reparations to freed slaves...or the immediate descendants of the slaves...therefore redress in a more "civilly right" climate should provide redress to the descendants of slaves...

You also stated, "My questions relate to the feasibility of assessing for them. For instance, a black American family which immigrated to the US 5 years ago, and a white family which immigrated to the US, also 5 years ago - should they participate? How about 25 years ago. Does one draw a line, and, if so, where should that line be drawn? When we are talking about more than 50 years, or so, we are no longer dealing with pure immigrants, we are dealing with descendants of recent immigrants and of previous slaves in an increasingly confusing mixture"

This is irrelevant to the philosophy of reparations to slave descendents being the correct and appropriate thing to do, which you conceded...

As I said before...you can not argue against the validity of a philosophical concept (Reparations) by arguing against the pracitcal problems of implementing the philosophical concept in the real world...