[Zimphire]

Descendants of black American slaves are to sue Lloyd's of London for insuring ships used in the trade.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3578863.stm

I think people are just going overboard now.

I would like to see decendents of black Americans sue the native Africans who actually sold and profitted on the sale of native Africans to the slave traders.

But you'll never see that happening.

[Millennium]

Originally posted by Zimphire:
I would like to see decendents of black Americans sue the native Africans who actually sold and profitted on the sale of native Africans to the slave traders.

Except, of course, that the ones who sold their fellows into slavery are all dead, and any profits have long been dispersed.

That's my problem with reparations. There is no one left to punish; the slave traders and slaveholders are all dead, and have been for generations. If their children or grandchildren were still alive, that might be one thing (though corruption of blood is normally considered unconstitutional; you cannot punish people for the sins of their ancestors), but these, too, are gone. The money has long since dispersed.

And frankly, there's no one left who deserves compensation. Just as the grandchildren of the slaveholders are dead, so too are the grandchildren of the slaves. There is talk of "residual effects" which lasted far longer, and this is true to some extent, but these cannot be linked to any kind of profits, unlike the slave trade that preceded it. Unless you're Microsoft, money does not buy justice.

The era of slavery will always be a stain on the history of the US, as it has been for many other nations. It is a wrong that it is now too late to right; any attempts will only create more injustice. That's not something that many people like to hear -that sometimes, the Bad Guys escape their just punishment, and sometimes the Good Guys don't get their just reward- but this is the universe we're talking about, not a Disney movie. Sometimes, there are no second chances.

[phoenixboy]

Originally posted by Zimphire:
I think people are just going overboard now.

no pun intended, huh? *g*

[saab95]

Originally posted by Zimphire:
Descendants of black American slaves are to sue Lloyd's of London for insuring ships used in the trade.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3578863.stm

I think people are just going overboard now.

I would like to see decendents of black Americans sue the native Africans who actually sold and profitted on the sale of native Africans to the slave traders.

But you'll never see that happening.

Hey Zimph, guess who were the biggest slave dealers and traders in the 18th and 19th Centuries?

Osama bin Laden and his followers call America "the great Satan." But, according to Sowell, "By the time the Europeans discovered the Western Hemisphere at the end of the 15th century, Moslem merchants already dominated the slave trade in West Africa, as they did in East Africa and North Africa. The Islamic jihads of the 18th and 19th centuries created new Moslem states in West Africa, which in turn promoted enslavement on a larger scale. Altogether, between 1650 and 1850, at least 5 million slaves were shipped from West Africa alone." And while slavery ended in the West, says Sowell, "In some Islamic countries in Africa and the Middle East, slavery lasted even longer. Saudi Arabia, Mauritania and Sudan continued to hold slaves past the middle of the 20th century."

[Zimphire]

Originally posted by Millennium:
Except, of course, that the ones who sold their fellows into slavery are all dead, and any profits have long been dispersed.

That's my problem with reparations. There is no one left to punish; the slave traders and slaveholders are all dead, and have been for generations. If their children or grandchildren were still alive, that might be one thing (though corruption of blood is normally considered unconstitutional; you cannot punish people for the sins of their ancestors), but these, too, are gone. The money has long since dispersed.

And frankly, there's no one left who deserves compensation. Just as the grandchildren of the slaveholders are dead, so too are the grandchildren of the slaves. There is talk of "residual effects" which lasted far longer, and this is true to some extent, but these cannot be linked to any kind of profits, unlike the slave trade that preceded it. Unless you're Microsoft, money does not buy justice.

The era of slavery will always be a stain on the history of the US, as it has been for many other nations. It is a wrong that it is now too late to right; any attempts will only create more injustice. That's not something that many people like to hear -that sometimes, the Bad Guys escape their just punishment, and sometimes the Good Guys don't get their just reward- but this is the universe we're talking about, not a Disney movie. Sometimes, there are no second chances.

I agree totally.

[christ]

Been here before

[DeathToWindows]

world war two reparations are one thing - the people who suffered are still alive (i.e. children at the time) but slavery reparations are overly impractical for the aformentioned reasons.

[zachs]

Originally posted by Millennium:
Except, of course, that the ones who sold their fellows into slavery are all dead, and any profits have long been dispersed.

That's my problem with reparations. There is no one left to punish; the slave traders and slaveholders are all dead, and have been for generations. If their children or grandchildren were still alive, that might be one thing (though corruption of blood is normally considered unconstitutional; you cannot punish people for the sins of their ancestors), but these, too, are gone. The money has long since dispersed.

And frankly, there's no one left who deserves compensation. Just as the grandchildren of the slaveholders are dead, so too are the grandchildren of the slaves. There is talk of "residual effects" which lasted far longer, and this is true to some extent, but these cannot be linked to any kind of profits, unlike the slave trade that preceded it. Unless you're Microsoft, money does not buy justice.

The era of slavery will always be a stain on the history of the US, as it has been for many other nations. It is a wrong that it is now too late to right; any attempts will only create more injustice. That's not something that many people like to hear -that sometimes, the Bad Guys escape their just punishment, and sometimes the Good Guys don't get their just reward- but this is the universe we're talking about, not a Disney movie. Sometimes, there are no second chances.

Exactly my feelings, too.

[Captain Obvious]

wait for it..................