By William Markiewicz
Black organizations are calling for a Millions For Reparations March, Protest, and Demonstration in Washington, D.C. on August 17, 2002.
Do the Italians have to pay for the Roman invasions of British Isles, of Germania, for the Diaspora of the Jews and other outcomes of being an Empire? Does Scandinavia have to pay Europe for the Viking invasions? Does Mongolia have to pay Europe and China for invasions by Ghengis Khan, Attila, etc? No, no and again no. Those examples prove that it's necessary to draw a line in time. We cannot reduce history to bureaucratic accounts and reparations should concern only the generation of sufferers and those responsible.
Conditions of slavery cannot be treated like a hereditary sickness. Somebody's current pauper condition is not necessarily linked to an ancestor's slavery. Megabucks for ancestors' slavery will provoke only a temporary outburst of megaconsumption enriching only the providers.
Instead of reparations for slavery I would propose further improvement in programs to help those who want to help themselves (for some inspirations see "The Meek Shall Inherit the Earth" and A Solution? ). This kind of solidarity will profit not only the descendants of slaves but the whole society.
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William Markiewicz