Obama says he opposes slavery reparations, apology »
Posted By Nixie 1 year, 5 months ago in NewsDemocratic presidential candidate Barack Obama opposes offering reparations to the descendants of slaves, putting him at odds with some black groups and leaders.
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Nixie1 year, 5 months ago
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"One reparations advocate, Vernellia Randall, a law professor at the University of Dayton, bluntly responded: "I think he's dead wrong."
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She said aid to the poor in general won't close the gaps — poor blacks would still trail poor whites, and middle-class blacks would still lag behind middle-class whites. Instead, assistance must be aimed directly at the people facing the after-effects of slavery and Jim Crow laws, she said.
"People say he can't run and get elected if he says those kinds of things," Randall said. "I'm like, well does that mean we're really not ready for a black president?""
A lot of Obama's momentum has been because of heavy support from African-Americans. Will this stance errode that support?-
PsychoHosebeastComment removed: Spammer, Abusive3 Replies
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memestryker1 year, 4 months ago
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A lot of poor whites living in Appalachia or other areas of white poverty might disagree with the implication that we have not paid reparations. For decades we've funded free college scholarships, offered hiring advantages, and preference on contracts to blacks, to get them into the tent. Many have taken these opportunities and run with them. Additional reparations won't help the real issue--culture.
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MMSands1 year, 3 months ago
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Senator Obama's heritage probably includes slavery, but not American slavery. His father was born and raised in Kenya, which makes the Senator a first generation African American. Slavery continues to be widely and regularly practiced in Africa, with black Africans buying, selling, and owning black Africans. However, it would be difficult for Sen. Obama to relate to the issue as it pertains to either continent. It's simply outside his own realm of experience because his upbringng was within his mother's cultural milieu.His thinking is very much the product of a recent European immigrant family.
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AlphaGnosisComment removed: Hard Banned2 Replies
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babygirl511 year, 5 months ago
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Reparations should not be shoved down Obasma's throat because he might be the next president. We should get past that. I feel the school system is failing our children and in order to have a chance at having another black running for president, we must make sure that more of our children graduate. Let's ask WHY ARE THE CHILDREN DROPPING OUT. AND WHAT CAN WE DO TO CHANGE THIS. A problem around our globe.
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memestryker1 year, 4 months ago
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I remember reading a study in the mid-1970s that stated that, while we were able to just accept the number of throw-away kids then, that by the year 2000, if trends remained the same, 80% of children in our public schools would be throw-aways.
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As an educator, I've met a lot of parents. I think we're seeing a parent and society problem more than a school problem. Kids have to learn habits, and the only way to teach them is demonstrate them and guide kids through endless practice, practice, practice. If they aren't getting this at home, there is no way a teacher in a class of 25 or more can give kids the individual attention they need.
ALL major studies have shown class size to be the single most reliable factor in predicting successful outcomes for at-risk kids. It doesn't matter if the school is public or private, nor is the education-level of the teachers a strong factor.
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wildman65571 year, 5 months ago
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I can see some minor reparations and an apology to old folk (more than 60 years old) for what happened in the early to mid twentieth century. That may go a long way toward healing some hurts. But for slavery? That is silly. There are no former slaves left around.
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JoseMadreComment removed: Hard Banned
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MajJohn1 year, 5 months ago
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Why did he even bring it up? It was not on the tips of anyone's tongues. One suspects that the remarks were only to ingratiate himself with white voters since he figures that a black would never vote for McCain anyway.
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Sigh! Let's make reparations to the Indians for every treaty broken. These kind of discussions are just plain stupid. -
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david_nwpa1 year, 5 months ago
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When we speak of reparations today, often the concept of German companies and Swiss banks paying reparations to victims of forced labor and death camps in Nazi Germany leaps to mind. Survivors from that time and their direct heirs are still alive and can recall clearly the pain and suffering they were dealt at the hands of the Nazis. The current German government does not really owe the debt; the burden should have fallen to the Nazis, but they are all dead now. The government is trying to make matters right for the survivors (emphasis on survivors).
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The current generation of African Americans did not suffer through slavery and many were not alive at the time of Jim Crow laws. All of the survivors of the US Civil War have died decades ago. We do not need to hand out checks to African Americans now for crimes committed over a century ago. -
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tchef1 year, 5 months ago
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I support the apology but not the reparations. Obama is right, let's concentrate on the education and moving forward on this issue. Let's not just hand out money that we don't have to begin with. And who decides who gets what and how much?
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DeadlyFred1 year, 4 months ago
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This really just goes to show how little Blacks seem to actually know about Black history. White people did go to Africa and hunt down the natives to bring them back to be slaves in America. They were SOLD captives from rival tribe wars, and brought them back to the new world. Slavery has a loooong history, as long as human existence. It is NOT something which was restricted to blacks taken from Africa to America. In fact, throughout a large part of history, slavery was a way of life for -many- people in many parts of the world and still is in some places.
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Reparations? Well, America stopped slavery and eventually allowed blacks to become citizens--citizens in a new world where people from other countries, in later years, would DIE to get into. How many foreigners have come to and STILL come to America seeking better opportunities for themselves?
Appreciate that you are free, we are free, in a free country which offers far more potential than many others. Stop whining about the past and make something of the present. My mother's great grand father was sent to America from Lithuania on an immigration ship ages ago. He left behind his entire family and everything he'd ever known for the promise of a new life in America. Many people have given up things and suffered to come to this country, starting with the very first colonists. Many people have fought to make it better, including black civil rights activists. And I guarantee you NONE of those people would be happy to see their sacrifices being trivialized by descendants who don't appreciate what they've inherited-- what has already been paid so that the people living here can live free and equally. -
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Samsdog2121 year, 3 months ago
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Well, I'm Jewish and I'm contemplating asking the Egyptian government for slave reparations. Sheesh. You have gotta be kidding me. We're going to give some 22 year old black guy money for reparations?? Do you know how many black people are in this country??? We're going to give them all a huge sum of money?? The blacks obviously would rather bankrupt the country and get paid. And what if people are half black? do they only get half the money?
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thegoofynewfie1 year, 1 month ago
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I'm an Irish American and I want reparations from the english and the norse for enslaving my ancestors. Oh and a friend of mine wants reparations from Egypt for his enslaved ancestors building the great pyramids. This nonsense of reparations is BS!
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