Reparations for America’s slave holding past is a subject that was a hot topic earlier in the Democratic primaries. Just about everyone was for it. Some (Elizabeth Warren in particular) were even for reparations for all non-whites in the country. Warren’s basis for this was that non-whites must have been discriminated against at some point in America’s past. Therefore, recompense was required.
Warren’s position was a desperate pandering for votes from the extreme left wing of the Democratic party. She needed to be further left than Bernie Sanders if she was to pry loose the young Marxists that had flocked to his campaign.
Let’s take a closer look at the logic behind Warren’s campaign position. Warren’s position was that some people were systematically discriminated against. In some cases, this occurred many years ago, even centuries ago. In other cases, not so long ago. I would argue that, based on Warren’s logic, that is, reparations for systemic discrimination, almost all Americans are owed reparations.
Anyone who has studied history at all is aware of the fact that various waves of immigration have taken place in America. One of the early waves were the Irish. “No Irish Need Apply” were common in employment ads. The Irish were often depicted as “low, venal, corrupt and unintelligent.” The fact that most Irish were also Catholic compounded the discrimination. Weren’t the Irish held back by this discrimination? Shouldn’t their descendants receive reparations?
How about the Italians? They came after the Irish. Were they welcomed with no signs of discrimination? What about the Polish? How about Catholics in general?
I could go on about other groups like the Chinese who were imported as slave labor. The point is that most groups of Americans were discriminated against when they first arrived here. Decades of discrimination were commonplace. The idea that current Americans share a collective guilt because of this is ludicrous. This is not North Korea where generations are punished for the acts of an individual. This is America. Let individuals be responsible for the actions they personally undertake.