tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7292766.post2909071019958249183..comments2023-05-19T04:34:37.185-07:00Comments on The Copperhead Chronicle: REPARATIONS--By and for the Black MarxistsAl Benson Jr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/07117500732087824225noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7292766.post-35137815443279150662007-12-17T13:34:00.000-08:002007-12-17T13:34:00.000-08:00Darrell, I'll grant you that no one is owed anythi...Darrell, <BR/><BR/>I'll grant you that no one is owed anything simply because of what happened to their ancestors. But I think you're missing the point of the effort to combat the lingering effects of slavery and discrimination in this nation.<BR/><BR/>Do you really believe that there's been a level playing field in this country?<BR/><BR/>Do you really think that the average black has so much less income and wealth than the average white because of his laziness (and your strong work ethic)?<BR/><BR/>Would you really have achieved equality by now, if your ancestors had been enslaved for generations, freed with nothing but the clothes on their blacks, and then suffered legalized discrimination for another century?<BR/><BR/>JamesJameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03180927671866095059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7292766.post-15636647272285560222007-12-17T13:08:00.000-08:002007-12-17T13:08:00.000-08:00Al, That was a great article, I will not and would...Al,<BR/> That was a great article, I will not and would not bend over and take it 'you know where' if they asked, demanded or sued for it. They arn't owed a copper penny for what 'might' have happened years and years before them or I were even a glimmer in our daddys eyes. If they want money they need to do what I do and get off of their lazy aces and work.Darrellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10723531806130560120noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7292766.post-63041801589800693732007-12-15T04:23:00.000-08:002007-12-15T04:23:00.000-08:00Thanks for taking such a positive tone!I think I c...Thanks for taking such a positive tone!<BR/><BR/>I think I can understand why you find it so troubling when unreasonable people espouse a cause.<BR/><BR/>But I believe you're doing a disservice to those who support an apology when you dismiss it because of the support of Marxists. As I'm sure you're aware, Marxists in the U.S. have supported most progressive social policies of the last century. <BR/><BR/>Would you have opposed the civil rights movement of the 1960s, for instance, on the grounds that Marxists strongly backed that cause? I would hope not.<BR/><BR/>Now, you raise a separate issue when you suggest that these Marxists belong to organizations whose programs are partly Marxist in inspiration. That's true, but hardly a surprise.<BR/><BR/>The major organizations behind the movement for slavery apologies and similar causes are not Marxist in origin or inspiration. You're simply noting that the local paper dredged up quotes from activists with Marxist backgrounds. Those organizations are not the driving force behind this legislation.<BR/><BR/>I suspect you're quite right, though, that we would disagree about many issues, if only because of your comment that the U.S. Civil War (the "War Between the States") is still, to you, a "touchy issue" a century and a half later. I tend to regard that conflict and its causes -- slavery, economics, the expansion of the nation, etc. -- as dead issues at this point.<BR/><BR/>Thanks,<BR/><BR/>JamesJameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03180927671866095059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7292766.post-60833661408020199712007-12-14T20:38:00.000-08:002007-12-14T20:38:00.000-08:00James,Thank you for a reasoned reply to my article...James,<BR/><BR/>Thank you for a reasoned reply to my article. I can see that you and I have considerable differences but at least yours were expressed in a reasonable manner, something I have not always experienced. I had a friend in Illinois that was black, an assistant pastor in his church. He and I had many interesting discussions about slavery, the War Between the States and such "touchy" issues, yet we were always able to talk with one another with no one getting mad. We didn't always agree, but that wasn't the important thing. What was important was that we were able to sit and dialogue with each other.<BR/><BR/>My problem in my article was partly that the programs of the organizations these people are part of are Marxist in origin. As I suggested, check out the Communist Manifesto and see what Marx says about taxes, public schools, etc. and you will see strong similarities.<BR/><BR/>Al BensonAl Benson Jr.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07117500732087824225noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7292766.post-59328766491745808542007-12-14T13:53:00.000-08:002007-12-14T13:53:00.000-08:00Al, I think you may have missed a couple of things...Al, I think you may have missed a couple of things here.<BR/><BR/>First, an apology isn't supposed to address economic inequities directly, of course. Even this first step, though, would help with social inequality, by clarifying the role that our public institutions played in slavery.<BR/><BR/>Furthermore, it's true that no one alive today was responsible for slavery, but quite a few were intimately involved in the century of discrimination, segregation, and Jim Crow laws which followed. And many of our institutions, including the State of Missouri and its legislature, directly supported slavery and legalized discrimination.<BR/><BR/>I won't even touch your argument that because Marxists support this progressive legislation, it must somehow be Marxist in nature. <BR/><BR/>But I will note that there are plenty of moderate and liberal voices (and more than a few conservative ones, too) calling for the government to finally acknowledge the full harm which slavery and discrimination caused, and which elements of society were behind it.<BR/><BR/>Thanks for listening.<BR/><BR/>JamesJameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03180927671866095059noreply@blogger.com