[Captain Shady]

Maybe you can sue too ,if your ancestors were mistreated. Time to check the archives.

I agree with the editorial.

[UpStateNY]

I would agree with reparations, if their provision would end all affirmative action, equal oppornity programs. 1. Such programs hurt more than help 2. It seems only fair to have one or the other.

[Captain Shady]

Communism may have fell ,but the battle against Goofyism goes on.

[elwoodp]

The first logical step of course, symbolic, yet highly significant, would be for halle berry, being half hated white, to turn over half of everything she owns, or ever will own, to her beloved, peaceful, ever-so-virtuous "people of color."

That would set the stage for all of us (though she might want to attach a few strings -- like: no using the money for booze, drugs, prostitution,and spawning more bastards. But, then again, mayber she wouldn't.) Come on half-person-of-color halle. You go, girl (fist pounding air, continual grunting noises)!

[NerdDad]

My first ancestor in this land was a German shopkeeper who was kidnapped by British "press-gangs". He was brought to this country as a slave and forced to fight as a Hessian soldier. (He subsequently switched to the patriot side and later settled in PA.) Does this entitle me to sue the British crown? I'm fat--can I sue the makers of cholocate, pizza and beer? This is such horse-puckey.

[backhoe]

This is nothing more than ill-disguised extortion, and if it goes through, it will be the end of what little goodwill is left toward blacks.

The rightness of overturning Jim Crow laws and segregation was apparent to most decent people, but since that time "civil rights" has morphed into an ugly parody of itself, rife with its own brand of bigotry and discrimination.

Those who go down this road are not going to like the end results at all.

[MarkL]

Every one of my ancestors arrived here long after slavery ended, and my grandparents did find quite a bit of bias against them. They perservered, made sure that their children were educated, and gave them a better life. My parents worked hard to see that I had a better life than they had. They didn't have affirmative action, or any government help of any kind.

On my father's side, my great grandfather was a street merchant in NY. He made sure that my grandfather was educated, and he eventually became a dentist, then a professor of dentistry at NYU. My mother's father came over from Poland, and was a bootmaker by trade. My mother worked two jobs while putting herself through college. All this without government handouts or other programs...

If you look at recent immagrants from coutries like Jamaica, you see blacks working hard and getting ahead. Why is it that they can make headway against the "institutionalized racism," but native born blacks can't? Could it be that they haven't had their work ethic destroyed by government and the so-called "black leadership?" They don't expect hand-outs, and work hard for what they want and need. They realize that the way to self respect is to earn what they get, and not worrying about "self image."

I want to know exactly how slavery has directly impacted the lives of blacks today. Was slavery wrong and evil? Well, duh! Did some blacks lose family members to slavery? Of course! But then, this sort of thing happens to everyone. At one time or another, just about everyone has lost family members to some sort of evil.

Mark

[isthisnickcool]

Two topics in the news. 1) Reparations for American slaves. 2) Palestinians.

No American slaves are alive. They don't exist. Neither do "Palastinians".

[chatham]

The first folks to roam the land that is now the U.S.A, the American Indians,should have the right to sue the Blacks in this country since the Blacks benefitted greatly by being brought to these shores,ie. the present condition of blacks in Somalia or the Sudan or south Africa. .

The Indians are still in some trouble on reservations around the U.S. and any thought that the courts would "grant" reparations to blacks must be set aside for the indians.

Now I would like to form a group to have Our Govt. Confisgate all holdings and money belonging to the English govt. in this country pending the outcome of a class action suit by the irish because of the abuse, deprivation and loss caused by the Brit Govt. on my forbearers and ultimately on me and my family.

[Tripleplay]

Question to all:

What percent of blacks were slaves in 1865? Were they all slaves?

[ex-Texan]

My father was one-half Native American, Blackfeet Tribe, and grew up on the reservation. As it happens my father's father walked away from the reservation during the Great Depression to earn his living as a professional Rodeo Rider. The Reservation is and was a terrible place to grow up ....

What about our reparations? What about the murder of over 250,000 Blackfeet including women and children using smallpox infected blankets as a biological genocide weapon? What about the long pattern of refusal by the U.S. government to pay for Native American real property stolen by the U.S. Army?

So when do I get title to all my real property including Yellowstone Park ? All you nasty Americans will have to be evicted ..... When will I get my uranium and gold and silver and oil royalties?

This lawsuit on behalf of blacks is outrageous! If the blacks had not been brought here as slaves they would still be in Africa .... DUH!

[lowbridge]

Local Man Gets 5 Years In Slavery-Fund Scheme

Batts was accused of bilking thousands of dollars from 12 people, claiming he could get them millions of dollars for being decendents of slaves.

[freekitty]

This is really sad. I truly hope someday that people will stand up and do the right thing.

[HENRYADAMS]

That so called reparations are even a topic of discussion speaks volumes as to just how sick Western Civilization has become.

[Libloather]

Would there have been slavery if certain African individuals and companies didn't capture people and prep them for sale? The lawsuit maybe going after the wrong folks...

[randog]

These lawsuits are unlikely to succeed in court. But they may intimidate companies into settlement. No corporation wants to see its name constantly linked to slavery. Such settlements would be nothing more than blackmail payoffs.

I would actually like to see the courts give this lawsuit some serious consideration. Corporations have been spineless in the face of civil rights extortion, bowing to the baseless demands of Jesse Jackass, NAACP, and others by paying for the privlege of not being labeled racist by these criminals. Perhaps with the threat of serious financial hardship, the loss of business, and potential bankruptcy will corporations finally find the intestinal fortitude to stand up to these thugs.

[BluH2o]

Reparations for what? The black slaves who arrived from Africa on slave ships, had been sold to the slave traders by other blacks. They were already slaves to superior tribes in their native Africa.
The reparation idea came about as a result of successful efforts on the part of Japanese Americans and European Jews to seek redress for their treatment and substantial monetary and human loss (Jews) as a result of WWII. They both have a bonifide claim ... the blacks on the other hand lost very little ... in fact, even as slaves, were probably better off in America than they would have been had they remained slaves in Africa.
Reparations to blacks is utter nonsense.

[Montfort]

It's a shame that the descendants of children who were butchered by the now-legal abortion industry could not someday sue all businesses that provided any goods or services to that industry, but aborted children do not have descendants.

[hoot2]

Slavery Reparations/or Repatriation?

[Vigilantcitizen]

"These lawsuits are unlikely to succeed in court. But they may intimidate companies into settlement. No corporation wants to see its name constantly linked to slavery. Such settlements would be nothing more than blackmail payoffs.

The best reason yet to integrate "loser pays" into our legal system. That would put a stop to these "let's play for a settlement",lawsuits.

"To bolster their case, advocates of slavery reparations point to the Holocaust-related lawsuits. But the comparison is ridiculous. Actual Holocaust survivors sued the actual companies that used Nazi slave labor. A century from now, the Holocaust suits would have been just as pointless as the slavery reparation litigation.

As digusting as slavery was, to even remotely compare it to the mass extermination of the Jewish people during the holocaust borders on ridiculous. There was no comparison.

There was a "Devoted German" lady who posted a very short lived article yesterday asking JimRob why does he allow the "old" Georgia flag to fly on this forum. She stated that it was against the law to fly the old flag, and that she wanted removed from the state home page.

Since the thread was flushed before my long winded reply was finished, I freepmailed her with the following analogy;

" Since slavery has been abolished for 140 years, and the mass extermination of Jewish people by Germany happened only 55 years ago, What gives her the right, as a self proclaimed "Devoted German", to make hypocritical statements like hers?"

I am still waiting on a reply...

[martian_22]

This "slavery reparations" thing sounds crazy but it's not insane.

Somebody's gwan to make a whole lotta money......