I bet you 90% of all those claiming to be deserving of these supposed reparations couldn't even point to africa on a map.

I'll bet your numbers are off. They have to know because I'll bet 99% know that's one place they NEVER EVER want to live, EVER.

But as long as it qualifies you for free cash...

RedSkeleton

Not all blacks want reparations. This must be a KKK convention. Some of the posts I've read make me sick, "Go back to Africa", "Drink A Forty". I bet half of you internet tough guys don't have a pair big enough to call any black man "attractive and successful African-American"

Gah... this statement is puzzling.

Racists don't have the nuts to call a black guy 'n-----'? Why in your opinion is that the case? Because the black guy will kick their ass? Is that because black guys are more violent or because they're bigger and more masculine and better at boxing?

Please tell me because I want to make sure I'm clear on how not to be racist.

good idea, first they have to prove they or their father was a slave... Maury can get a couple years of shows out of them trying to find their real father, after all he is up to 15 dna tests now to find one.,
Then I think the african chiefs who sold them in first place should refund the money they got for them.
Then they have to prove that someone owned them and make them pay for it.
Then they can pay me for 2 ancestors who died fighting to free them. And for the branch of my mothers side who they murdered in africa during the zulu uprisings.
And do the old owners get paid for food, housing, medical they spent on them? Was it still called wellfare back then? And what about slaves the africans owned and sold to the dutch? they should get paid also.
That or they can grow up and take responsabilityfor them selves and their actions?

This is something nobody likes to talk about, but as bad as slavery is, African Americans are lucky as hell their gramps was nabbed (most likely from a rival African tribe originally)

Go read National Geographic. Watch the news. Africa sucks. Blacks today could be living in trees and dying of AIDS (no, this is not racist. Look at Africa).

...No, actually, PLENTY of people in this thread have already said this.

BlindMan: Gah... this statement is puzzling.

Ignorance and veiled racist "jokes" are puzzling to you?

Racists don't have the nuts to call a black guy 'n-----'? Why in your opinion is that the case?

Because it they DID stop beating around the bush and CALLED them that, it would then be VERY clear who we're dealing with here...

rlrevell: Um, my observations of hip hop are based on 12 years living in a majority black city

Clearly, majority is an elusive concept. But again, that isn't the point.

My entire point was that it is ignorant to paint an entire culture with a broad brush and assign to an entire race the negative stereotypes and associations you have with a distinct subculture (here, hip hop). Hip hop culture is not characteristic of all African Americans not is it limited to one race.

DayeOfJustice

No what makes it racist is that you consider the primary culture of balck people to be that of rap videos. As a matter of fact, it's not racist, just ignorant and displays a basic misunderstanding of culture and what composes it. And, I question whether you have any actual empirical evidence other than anecdotal for anything you say.

go look through this thread. there are statistics available. i would like to see the statistics for prison populations, then compare to the proportion of the population. have you ever driven through a majority black neighborhood? you have serious issues.

whidbey

teaching tolerance by shooting people whose opinion you dont agree with? thats tolerance

itazurakko: All you "but my ancestors came here after slavery was over!" people need to move abroad to a country where you're a minority for a while. Not just a neighborhood, either, but a place where all the standards and the media and everything is different from you, so that you get to be the "hm. Doesn't look like me, better check him out" target for a change.

So? Those people are still not responsible for the way others may treat people.

BigDumbGuy - I was listening to rap yesterday. It was from a car that was in front of me. In fact, everyone on the block was listening to rap. I hope that assjack goes deaf.

I know, I HATE that! I get em back by driving thru the ghetto blasting Slayer, In Flames, and Lamb of God at 148.1 db (according to street-b dbdra competition results)

infantry: teaching tolerance by shooting people whose opinion you dont agree with? thats tolerance

Who says I'm tolerant? I'm extremely INTOLERANT of racism.

DROxINxTHExWIND: Moreover, if I had time I would LOVE to go to the 4/20 thread and start pulling the quotes of all of the weed loving farkers who are now in this thread trying to condemn people for the same actions. Everyone of you would love it if Xibit 'pimped your ride' but GOD forbid some Black guy in your neighborhood has rims. It means he condones violence and drug use. You all are closet bigots. Period. You have pre-conceived notions of how Blacks are based on television and music and not based on our individuality. I come in other threads and I read you all talking about getting drunk and engaging in illegal and immoral behavior, but because you did it in college or *you* say it was innocent you're excused from being veiwed with the same scrutiny that you try to veiw Blacks with.


I don't usually agree with you DRO, but damn that was exactly what I thought.

A large amount of Farkers (over half) regularly endorse hatred of the police, getting drunk, have lots of sex, looking at women as only sexual objects, recreational drug use, and tricking out of cars.

To quote guys in the political threads,
It's not bad, when we do it!

Maybe we could even say that most farkers are actually rappers.

AladinSane

I had thought to point out that Jesus would have not been white.

Oh? And what color would he have been, exactly? Or more to the point: what color are all the Jews you've ever seen?

A lot of them are a lovely honey brown. Mmm.... hot IDF soldiers



Jerry Sienfeld != All Jews

infantry: i try and look professional and not like street trash of any race.


You're combining two completely different things though. Looking "professional" and looking like "street trash." The clothing styles that you - and others - might consider "street trash" could cost a week's salary for that person. The problem is that we tend to look down on what's different.

What you're talking about is not looking professional, it's looking white. God did not come down from heaven and ordain that a suit and tie would hereby be known as "professional." If I go out and shell out a few hundred dollars for a good suit and tie, and a black guy goes out and shells a few hundred dollars for some FUBU and Timberlands, who's to say that I'm any more professional than he is?

He would obviously have the same dedication as me - the same desire to dress nice and make a good presentation, the only difference between us is style - an element of our cultures.

whidbey

No answer, huh? I guess that's why Dro avoided it, too.

If $2000 wasn't enough for Katrina evacuees, I'm pretty sure a landmark reparations decision on a dollar amount would equate to an unprecetented racial mess.

ignatius
you're not even reading what i said.

i was referring to the problem of slavery worldwide--that it'd be better if no slaves were taken from africa, and if europe had not come in at all.

i never said Africa would be a shining beacon of anything, so don't pretend like i did. i just said it would probably be better off had history not happened like it did.

smert: What is it that you are really saying? That you feel like your group is isolated and no one else is?

What I am saying is that it is a certain experience to be a VISIBLE minority.

Whites are the majority in the US. Even if you're fresh off the boat foreign, if you're white, until you open your mouth and have some accent, people looking at you will assume "ah, default citizen." That gets you some distinct benefits. Those benefits are what is known as "white priviledge." It's a quick gut reaction, and it has NOTHING to do with when your ancestors came over, if they owned slaves or not, or even how you self-identify. It has to do with other people's quick gut perception of you.

This isn't only a white thing, it's a majority thing.

Have you ever felt that you needed to dress nice when others around you aren't, to offset perceptions that you are dangerous? Heard some crime report and your first thought is "I sure hope its not someone from my ethnic group because I'm going to get all kinds of shiat for it tomorrow if it is, even though I don't know the guy?" Had your family live in a country for 5 generations but are constantly asked where you're from and if you speak English?

These are all pretty common experiences.

Kill my landlord

C-I-L-L my landlord



/ohhhhhh, gonna get me a gun and kill all the whi......

I blame Bush. Black people need help... I guess.... kind of odd... I don't think black people need help at all. Having said that... we need to give irish americans, italian americans, african americans, american indians and mexican americans a check. Well... I think it should be voluntary. The people that feel guilty should pay. After the checks have been cut and cashed I never want to have to hear about this issue again.

If only it were so simple. Even if there were reparations people still wouldn't shut the fark up.

KageChickara
http://www.youtube.com/watch.php?v=tR00IF7Ji64

Civil_War2_Time: No answer, huh? I guess that's why Dro avoided it, too.

I don't really care, personally whether it's one dollar, 500, or 500 million. Let somebody else figure out the result.

I just want something to happen to make the bigots and racists in this thread feel helpless.

A lot of them are a lovely honey brown. Mmm.... hot IDF soldiers

The glowing red eyes kinda kill it for me. Farkin cyborgs...

itazurakko: That's exactly MY POINT.

Ahh. I thought you were talking about being of Japanese descent in America.

Carry on.

NikolaiFarkoff: I once read an editorial that talked about the fact that people ignore the ONLY positive externality of slavery...not having to be born and raised in Africa. Since all the evil deeds are behind us, that's at least something to chew on. Even the perception of being poor and oppressed in America is better than the reality of being that in most of West Africa.

It should be noted that a major reason (though not the total reason) that Africa is in the shape it's in is due to the legacies of European colonialism, including arbitrarily drawing the boundaries of nations which exist to this day to split tribes apart and put together multiple tribes in the same nation that have always hated each other.

How would we feel if the U.N. decided to make California a part of Korea, and that everyone in California would have to learn Korean and live Korean culture and follow their religions? And they enforced that through overpowering military and economic might?

Similar problems affect the Middle East. Case in point: Iraq and Kuwait. Kuwait really was part of Iraq once, and they weren't split off of their own free will. It was imposed from outside, by Europeans, in the early 20^th Century. Saddam Hussein had real reason to believe himself in the right when he invaded Kuwait. Note that it was also the only part of Iraq that bordered the ocean, and without it Iraq had no easy way to ship its oil or other products and participate in the global economy.

It would be as if some outside power forcibly cut away every county (or parish in the case of Louisiana) in the USA that borders the ocean or any navigable river that leads directly or indirectly to the ocean, and made those counties into a new nation without the consent of the USA nor the people that live in those counties.

So do blacks owe descendents of white civil rights activists and Union soldiers reparations too?

whidbey Racists don't have the nuts to call a black guy 'n-----'? Why in your opinion is that the case?

Because it they DID stop beating around the bush and CALLED them that, it would then be VERY clear who we're dealing with here...

That would make them racists, that is very obvious. So your plan is to dare racists to say something blatantly racist to demonstrate that they are racist?

AladinSane: Oh? And what color would he have been, exactly? Or more to the point: what color are all the Jews you've ever seen?


Having been born in the middle east, he probably would have looked more like Osama Bin Laden than anything else. And what Jews are you talking about? Are you talking about the flood of Jews who came to the United States during WW2 (giving us our current stereotype of what the typical jew looks like,) are you talking about the black jews in Africa who descended from King Solomon, or are you talking about the Hassidic Jews from the Middle East who are as brown as you are white?

Wow, I can't really can't believe the level of racism and ignorance, thinly veiled or completely baldfaced, in this thread. Yes, we are several generations removed from slavery, but baby boomers remember segregation and institutionalized racism. Hell, segregation hasn't even ended yet. The middle school across the street from my apartment is 98% black half a century after Brown v. Board. The lack of understanding and compassion for people that have different skin and differnt opportunities from you is really shocking, and most of the people in this thread should be ashamed of themselves.

TheRealKlaatu: Thanks for the lyrics.

BTW, I didn't mean all rap; just the stuff that denigrates women. And that goes for rock or country too.


Yeah man. It's sad though that for every song like that, theres 10 about killing people, selling drugs, partying and rolling in fancy cars. Just look at it like this, of all the rappers who "made it", how many regularly put money back into their communities or donate to charitable causes?

kagechikara: I will take that bet. How much?

I will revis the bet and bet you $100USD that the majority of people seeking reparations could not point out what african tribe they belonged to or accurately identify a single custom or tradition atributed to that tribe, or any tribe from the area of africa that their ancestors came from. Then again, the same can be said of most wites.

cheshirecatsmileyface: but a lot of Africa's problems were caused by the fact that Europe came in, divided it up, and treated it like their own personal piggy bank. so my comment stands, that Africa probably would've been better off had that not happened.

Possibly, but lets not discount the fact that even without europe's interference, tribal warfare and inter-african discrimination were huge problems. Just look at how readilly africans were to capturing and selling other africans to europeans? So if reperations are due, it's only fair that part of them should come from africa, since they were the ones who sold their "brothers" into slavery. Or did everyone suddenly forget that untill the 1800's, most european nations had laws in place that gave out the death penelty for any white man setting foot on african soil with the purpose of capturing slaves? Or what about the tutsis and the huttus? They've been trying to exterminate one another for hundreds of years.

All I'm saying is that blaming anyone is counterproductive. Instead of assigning blame, lets just figure out the best way to solve the problem and do it. But if you MUST assign blame, do it evenly and fairly.

Also, I have to point out that racism against blacks as an institution did not exist untill AFTER the establishment of the practice of slavery. Up till the point when africans started selling other africans to europeans, people with black skin were seen more as a curiosity than as an inferior creature. On the whole, society was a lot less racist based on skin color PRE-1500's.

Lollipop165: So? Those people are still not responsible for the way others may treat people.

It has fark all to do with responsibility. It has to do with benefits, benefits that you CAN'T say no to. There's no reason to feel guilt about it, but there's no reason to deny it happens, either.

Mind you, I've drifted topic, I am not claiming that anyone necessarily deserves reparations, but just pointing out that there actually IS something to the idea of majority priviledge.

Someone a while ago on Fark posted a really great essay on the topic, written by a white guy. I wish I could find it, I'll have to google.

smert
That would make them racists, that is very obvious. So your plan is to dare racists to say something blatantly racist to demonstrate that they are racist?

Ok...that hurt my head. I'm going back to the picture of the hot cyborg

/even if she could brain me with that pool cue

oberones

well then i guess you are right. i consider wearing a nice set of pants (it does not have to be a suit) and a nice button down shirt tucked in to be more professional than a person (it doesnt matter what race it is) wearing fubu and sportin timbs. its my perception of what looking nice is. i guess i would equate fubu and timbs to be that of children rather than adults. i would rather higher an adult or conduct business looking like one than a kid looking like something i see on mtv. thats using my logic.

I love white people.

My northern living, immigrant, non slave having, 40 something, family man great(don't know the number but direct lineage) grandfather was drafted by the north and fought while being forced to leave his family caring for themselves. So, I owe black people money now?

I do think that the loss of community and family structure through slavery set black people back a little bit and there's only been about 40 years since a real end to slavery. I feel the best way to atone for this is to greatly increase education and afterschool programs in impoverished, particularly black, neighborhoods. Helping people get qualified for jobs is much better than giving people jobs. Having a person being a tax payer versus a 30k a year burden will boost the economy and help pay for these programs in the long run.

reperations are a bad idea. Poor people don't know how to spend money, especially not as individuals.

whidbey

Ignorance and veiled racist "jokes" are puzzling to you?

No, I just meant the implicitly racist connotation (a positive one, if you accept the idea of 'positive racism') of his own statement was funny in context. Yes this thread, like all fark threads having to do with race does bring out a lot of zany white racists. I tend to ignore them as they presently have overwhelming cultural trends against them and don't need my small feet adding to the kicks.

An aside:
Just to be contrarian I'll go so far as to say that although most racists are ignorant, it's possible to be racist without being ignorant (not having information about a subject), perhaps that makes it worse, really.

Because it they DID stop beating around the bush and CALLED them that, it would then be VERY clear who we're dealing with here...

It's clear to me anyway, especially seeing the predictable patterns in all these threads. But you're right, some go about it in a very disingenuous way, and it would be better if they were honest about it.

I blame that on the politicizing of speech that insists that being a racist is the worst thing that anyone can possibly be (it's bad, but I'll take racist over murderer any day), that's so ubiquitious that it's even made racists ashamed of being called racist. Just pushed the whole thing underground since open conversations are so taboo now.

BlindMan

Notice I said half. I'm sure there are plenty of racist who enjoy calling people of different ethnic origins racial slurs face to face. Seems to me there are a lot here making comments they would not make in person. Far as the rest of your comment goes, do you think blacks are more violent, better at boxing or more muscular?

smert: So your plan is to dare racists to say something blatantly racist to demonstrate that they are racist?

Naw, I want them to stop pretending to be so horrified when they get called out.

COME ON! Tell us how much you wish black people would just get a job and act more like WHITE PEOPLE!!

whidbey

Let somebody else figure out the result.

That's my f-n point. What dollar amount will make people that feel they are deservant of reparations happy? Like I said, it would be much easier to compute PI to a finite number than a dollar amount that will make all reparation-deserving-slave-decendants "happy."

It is not possible, and that's one of the reasons it will never happen.

Should Poland get reparations from North Africa for the slave trade that went thru Moorish Spain of non-christian (pagans) from Slavic countries?

Most of my ancestors spent their lives either living on reservations, or shellfishing. Of course, if you guys will take wampum, I guess that puts us in good shape...

Shenanigans_

Clearly, majority is an elusive concept. But again, that isn't the point.

OK, I was wrong about that. But the parts I've lived in are certainly majority black. And even the mayor says "the brothers are running this city" ;-)

My entire point was that it is ignorant to paint an entire culture with a broad brush and assign to an entire race the negative stereotypes and associations you have with a distinct subculture (here, hip hop)

I agree.

BlindMan: Just to be contrarian I'll go so far as to say that although most racists are ignorant, it's possible to be racist without being ignorant (not having information about a subject), perhaps that makes it worse, really.

That's a good point, really. Some can't even hide behind the ignorance or the propaganda. It's just pure hatred (and possibly fear) for someone who LOOKS and ACTS different. That is even worse...

k00k: I know, I HATE that! I get em back by driving thru the ghetto blasting Slayer, In Flames, and Lamb of God at 148.1 db (according to street-b dbdra competition results)


Thatmakes you a tool. Bump responsibly or burn in hell.

ignatius
s'ok. if you read my other posts, you'll see that i am against reparations, because they're illogical and stupid. No doubt Africa would still have problems today; that would be inescable unless a miracle occurred.

whidbey

you really need something to hate dont you? if you are so tolerant of other's views, why dont you quit complaining about the racists. accept they have a right to believe what they want and drive on.

JPenman: reperations are a bad idea. Poor people don't know how to spend money, especially not as individuals.

Regardless of if they're poor or not, I'm with you there - if there is going to be some monetary attempt to mitigate things, this far on, it would need to be some sort of massive infrastructure investment, say in schools or something.

Japanese American internees DID get reparations (from Reagan, no less) but that was a matter of identified individuals. Still, they didn't get the value of their stolen property back.

RedSkeleton
I'm sure there are plenty of racist who enjoy calling people of different ethnic origins racial slurs face to face

I'm guessing these are the same racists who really like hospital food.