No reperations for Slavery... or...

[Dredly]

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009...sh-house-dems/

Reparations Disclaimer on Slavery Apology Stirs Backlash Among House Dems
A disclaimer at the end of the Senate slavery apology, dealing with the touchy issue of reparations, is causing some dissension among House Democrats and may prevent the two chambers from coming together on the measure.

By Molly Henneberg
FOXNews.com
Monday, June 29, 2009


The disclaimer says: "Nothing in this resolution (A) authorizes or supports any claim against the United States or (B) serves as a settlement of any claim against the United States."

That means the resolution cannot be used by descendants of slaves to sue the government for reparations or payments to compensate for slavery.

The language has irritated some members of the Congressional Black Caucus.

"I would not want to have any language in place that would deny anyone, any citizen, the right to address a grievance," said Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas.

"I feel that some method other than just an apology should be made. People should be made whole," Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said.

But other House Democrats, including Rep. Steve Cohen -- a white congressman from a majority black district in Tennessee who sponsored the House version -- say they don't have a problem with the Senate disclaimer.

"I think it's just legal clarity that this doesn't provide a basis for reparations and the resolution we passed in the House, though it didn't have that provision, was not passed as a basis for reparations either," he said.

President Obama is not pressing for reparations language either. He said during the campaign that reparations are best paid in "good schools in the inner city" and jobs for the unemployed.

At this point, the two apology resolutions are just that -- two separate resolutions. Democrats control both chambers, but the House does not seem eager to take up the Senate's version.

The Senate version expressed regret for what it called the "the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality and inhumanity of slavery and Jim Crow laws."

So... ummm... but what will happen now?!?!!?

[goofin]

Didnt Clinton sign the bill to pay the "slaves"?

[dc dalton]

Can I say this one time and be done with it?

It's about fucking time we ALL get over what happened 50, 100 or 200 years ago! GROW THE FUCK UP, GET A LIFE AND STOP WHINING ABOUT WHAT YOUR ANCESTORS WENT THROUGH BECAUSE IT'S ALL AN EXCUSE!

My relatives are German and (as I have recently found out) Irish. So do I whine about how the Irish were treated in the 1800s? Do I try to suck money out of the government because my ancestors were denied work, treated like human waste and denigrated? NO and for the simple fact it has NO bearing on who I am, what I can do and what I make of MY life.

But these whining sniveling lowlifes, the ones that refuse to take control (or acceptance) of their own lives sit there looking for a 'sugar daddy' by using (and yes it is usury) their ancestors. What's funny is these people really could give two shits what their ancestors went through .. they are in it for them.

So I'm sorry, the Dems that are whining, the NAACP, Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson or ANYONE that would use their ancestors as an excuse for their own laziness, their own lack of motivation and lack of respect for their own abilities, lack of respect for what THEY can do IF they have balls to do it, are nothing but parasites on this planet ... enough is ENOUGH. Grow up, take responsibility for your own life and then do something with it ... stop using excuses to 'further your cause' cause as they say 'excuses are like assholes'

end rant

[knight0334]

If they want reparations, they should sue the Confederate States of America. Not the United States of America which emancipated them from the bonds of slavery. And on top of that, each person sueing should have to prove that they, themselves, were a slave and forced to work without pay.

Also, if or when each person of African heritage receives said funds from a lawsuit win or entitlement from a government action - they should then hand it to anyone of Hebrew or Hittite descent for enslaving them for a heck of a lot longer than they themselves were enslaved.

[larrymeyer]

I think if we can find a 200 + year old slave we should pay him. But I think we should also pay all the families that lost soliders in the civil war who fought for the union. Of course we can always use a couple of ships for any Africa who want to return to their country that would be fair

[kadar]

If they want reparations they should go after who sold them in the first place. Their own people.

[AxiTech]

If they want reparations, they should sue the Confederate States of America. Not the United States of America which emancipated them from the bonds of slavery. And on top of that, each person sueing should have to prove that they, themselves, were a slave and forced to work without pay.

Also, if or when each person of African heritage receives said funds from a lawsuit win or entitlement from a government action - they should then hand it to anyone of Hebrew or Hittite descent for enslaving them for a heck of a lot longer than they themselves were enslaved.

Fell asleep in history class, did you? CSA wasn't all about slavery. In fact, more northerners owned slaves than southerners. That war was about northern aggression, not slavery.
Furthermore, Southerners did NOT go to Africa and kidnap slaves. Black tribes in Africa kidnapped other black tribe members and sold them to white european merchants, who in turn brought them here and sold them. The southerners who did buy them treated them, for the most part, better than they had ever been treated before.
If blacks have a problem with slavery and want reparations, let them go back to Africa and squeeze it out of Obama's family. They are the real culprits in the whole slavery story. Whitey didn't do it.
I have a real problem with folks wanting a payday for slavery. There isn't a black man living that has met a relative that was ever a slave to a white man. They have met relatives who were slaves to Welfare, Food Stamps, Unemployment, alcohol, crack, meth, heroin..... the list goes on. But again, whitey ain't to blame. They only need to quit crying and start working like everybody else who ever made something of themselves, and they too can be a success.

[knight0334]

Fell asleep in history class, did you? CSA wasn't all about slavery. In fact, more northerners owned slaves than southerners. That war was about northern aggression, not slavery.
Furthermore, Southerners did NOT go to Africa and kidnap slaves. Black tribes in Africa kidnapped other black tribe members and sold them to white european merchants, who in turn brought them here and sold them. The southerners who did buy them treated them, for the most part, better than they had ever been treated before.
If blacks have a problem with slavery and want reparations, let them go back to Africa and squeeze it out of Obama's family. They are the real culprits in the whole slavery story. Whitey didn't do it.
I have a real problem with folks wanting a payday for slavery. There isn't a black man living that has met a relative that was ever a slave to a white man. They have met relatives who were slaves to Welfare, Food Stamps, Unemployment, alcohol, crack, meth, heroin..... the list goes on. But again, whitey ain't to blame. They only need to quit crying and start working like everybody else who ever made something of themselves, and they too can be a success.

No need to preach to me about the CSA, Union, and War of Northern Aggression. If you go through my posts, you will see my beliefs on the matter.

[larrymeyer]

They have met relatives who were slaves to Welfare, Food Stamps, Unemployment, alcohol, crack, meth, heroin..... the list goes on.

Isn't this a form of reparation. Maybe they should start paying back that money. Oh and the Great Emancipator only freed the slaves in the Confederate States to break their economy. The Northern State could keep their slaves.

[Warpt762x39]

I think if we can find a 200 + year old slave we should pay him.

Damn right. Not one person alive has ever been a slave and not one person alive owned slaves. So what the hell are we bickering over?

DC said it right. I'm 3/4 Irish, do I whine about how my ancestors were treated? No.

That N word they keep talking about, wasn't reserved for blacks. The Irish were called green ni**ers.

The whole slavery thing is one of two things. It's either a way of getting sympathy or a way of controlling others.

They want to be either the one calling the shots or they want to be seen as victims. Simple as that.