who thinks the negros need to be paid retribution for something that happened 150 years ago?
137989
Then are we going to pay back the Irish, what about Indians?  No.  There comes a point where you have to just move forward and forget the evil done to your forefathers
840695
If we go back in history, there was so much violence how can anyone repay what has happened. Everyone no matter what their nationality would find many wrongs. But we have to stop measuring past history by today's standards and beliefs. History tells stories of abuse and violence, who knows what isn't documented. Whether or not you believe the bible, the stories in it are the most violent, but we can't imagine what was going on in our ancestors minds, nor can we even pretend to be able to put ourselves in their place. Whats done is done, and most important is learn from the past and not repeat it and hope that the ugliness never happens again no matter what color or race. Plus we are so intermingled who's to say if we did right some of the wrongs how would we determine who gets what? Who should pay? And would you be willing to pay a price for something a family member of yours did generations back? It takes all I've got just to explain to my kids what I did before they were born!
1138683
who wants to go back to age of slavery?
1015402
I get so put off when people use the past to justify the present...I wonder if we will EVER evolve beyond it...at least some of us have.  \nAnd if you're gonna quote history as your argument, you need to be fair and look at ALL the history of the United States before you start hating just one group.  \nI actually don't like the fact that I've recently moved from S. Texas partly because of the illegals trespassing across my property, but I also believe our govt. needs to get a grip and help solve the problem instead of adding to it...
947830
Other answers here seem to be approaching this from an individual or legal angle.  I have the feeling that you're wondering why we as a nation seem to continue bringing up the horrible injustice of slavery.  It's true that it was very wrong the way that they were treated, and then the injustice given to the freed slaves up until the 60s, but it is time to move on.  The individual people were the ones "guilty" of owning slaves; we as a nation today should feel regret but not to the extent we seem to today.  Hopefully someday we'll stop feeling guilty and realize it was our ancestors and not us as individuals who treated them so poorly.
1082639
I don't think they do "hate" you. They may disagree with you. Look, EVERY person on this earth has had someone mistreat their ancestors at some point throughout history. Much or recorded history reveals our world as having been barbaric and cruel. It is unrealistic to expect that some sort of "damages" or reparations are due to the ancestors of all of the oppressed people. As a Catholic American of polish descent, who do I turn to for cash, considering the plight my "people" went through? How do I sue the Roman Empire or the Third Reich? If we really care about the descendants of the oppressed, than we should promote reparations for all? It's just silly. \nIt's also destructive. At a time when race relations, at least in this country, have never been better, it's irresponsible to continue to bait one side against the other. \nMy kids never owned slaves, they do not have any racial prejudice, and they shouldn't be punished for something that someone did 150 years ago.
914525
I agree.  Why do they think they deserve payment?  Everyone in our litigious society is seeking an easy payday.  Get real.  When someone REALLY hurts these people, then they have a right to press for payment.  \n\nI bet G. Allred was in touch with them and put the idea in their heads!  Racism hurts, yes, but it made Richards look bad.  Now the hecklers look just as bad.
792575
how can you pay someone today for the damage done to their ancestors? you cant put a price on human suffering, you can however create a society that promotes equality for all.  living in N.Ireland and being a catholic,  we have had to fight for our civil rights but how can i be financially recompensed for the way in which a government miss treated my parents and grandparents?  equal opportunity is the way forward but that is easier said than done. while those in power are still blighted by their bigoted ideas which have been passed down through the generations we will be destined to be treated as 2nd class citizens. so it is up to the individual to promote themselves and not be caught up in spiral which will  consume their thoughts and lives, rise up and show the governments that inflicted such pain on us and our ancestors that we are survivors, we are still here and have a part to play in society  and that is a quality which has been born of your mistreatment of us and others.
1060895
I hate to say it but, I agree. I think that we all need to acknowledge that 1) the past happened; 2) it was worst than horrible thing that you could imagine; 3) it made white people think that blacks were not human; 4) it created laws to exclude blacks; and 5) it affects the way blacks see themselves today and how whites view blacks.\n\nI wish that we could all take a person and examine that individual for who he/she is and not for what race they happened to be born in. \n\nBy the way, don't use the argument that whited help end slavery. While they may have been so, in the grand scheme of things, it's like putting a Kleenex over a gunshot wound. ALL blacks don't hate ALL white and ALL whites don't hate ALL blacks, but it sure does seem that way sometimes. I think that too much bitterness exist in blacks and white people just don't understand how far and how deep the hurt goes. I was raised by parents who could drink from the white water fountain or couldn't sit down to eat lunch with their white friends and couldn't go to the white beach. Those experiences and worse have shaped the generations. \n\nAs a psychologist, a believe in moving forward. I believe that in order to be ones best self, one must not get caught up in the past hurts and live life as a victim. One has to free themselves from the past. You should not feel responsible for slavery but should only be responsible for your own actions. Nor should I treat you any differently because of the actions of some people who happen to be white. I don't know what it would take for society as a whole to move towards this concept.
848781
Yes, anyone who kills themself should be executed.  Not only that, they should be made to pay to clean up the mess.
1012962
More than 150 years old.
521731
I disagree.  Slavery was over 100 years ago, and US wasn't the only country to do it.  Granted civil rights didn't occur until the '60s, but now in US there is "affirmative action" which is basically reverse discrimination.  Any minority in the US has more opportunities at their fingertips than any white person will ever have.  The minorities merely have to reach out for it, but spend way too much time blaming "whitey" because it's easier.  Anything worth having takes time and hard work.  If a minority applied for the same job as i did, that person would get it over me, even if I had more experience, so I don't feel that the legacy is on Western man(which is another way to say white people)....I should not be held responsible for something ancestors did(especially since I'm Irish/NativeAmerican/German and mine didn't own slaves)  I feel that if you were born in this country you are American...end of story, Celebrate our sameness and quit shouting about our differences.
435249
I resent you saying that I have the same mind set as my ancestors whom you claim owned slaves.  All white people did not own slaves, in fact, a lot of them were against it and fought for the freedom of the slaves.  I have always been on the slaves side when I have read or seen anything about slavery.  Just because I am white does not mean I think slavery is acceptable.  I think it was deplorable!  However, a lot of other people have been wronged in history too, mainly, the indians whom we stole this very land from.  Are you going to make repairations to the indians for the fact that YOUR ancestors stole THEIR land????!!!!!
202096
Events must be taken in the context of history.  I do not believe it is valid to place today's standards, whether legal or moral, on a society or events that happened hundreds of years in the past. Concepts such as law are an evolving institution, changing over time to meet the needs of society in a certain place and circumstance. What was considered acceptable or proper two hundred years ago might be scourned on today. When Columbus landed in the New World, the attitudes he brought with him were of European origin, and whatever treatment the native peoples received at the hands of the explorers fit that time and place.  The Spanish invasion of Mexico, Central and South America was a similar situation.  There were horrific battles in which thousands of Maya, Incas or Aztecs were wiped out.  There was no such term for genocide at the time, and it was not even an issue.  By the same token, the Salem Witch Hunts were a part of that society's behavior, and acceptable at the time. Even slavery in America was acceptable at one time.  All these things have to be viewed in the light of the time and place they occurred.  To place today's standards on events that happened generations ago lacks legal, moral, and ethical standing in my opinion. Things were what they were at the time, so value judgments should be made relative to the times in which these things happened. We may not agree with them based on our modern-day upbringing, but that was then and this is now. For this reason it seems ludicrous to me to seek reparations today from one group of people by another group of people for the sufferings of still yet another group of people 150 years earlier, as in the case of slavery in America.  In my opinion there is no legal standing by anyone livng today on this issue, and any such claims should have been made at the time instead of waiting 150 years.  The same applies to the actions of the Spanish in the Americas in the 1500s.
958995
I cannot be responsible for my ancestors' decisions. I can, however, be responsible for myself and make sure that I don't make the same mistakes. Of course, blacks have rights, but they don't have any more right to monetary compensation than the Jewish or Irish who suffered racism in a different context. Slavery is wrong. Period. Sadly, slavery is as old as history itself, but that should only mean that we should always fight against it.
998812
Hi...\nI think you're right, and that black people do deserve to receive some compensation for what you have been through!  I am white, but I see what all of you have been through, and still go through to this day just because of your skin color, and I think that you definitely deserve something for everything that's happened to you.  Be it now, or be it in the past...it is still well deserved.  In Canada, Natives are being taken care of and paid for the way they were treated in the past, so why don't the poor black people living in the States get the same treatment?  I hope that this works out for you, and you all receive help that you so desperately deserve.\nTake care,\nMelissa
816
Probably not in the way that would be most satisfying for people like you and I. We live in a very frustrating time. We must keep reminding ourselves that is may take a hundred years, but historians will one day look back on this as a more than a mistake, but an actual act of terror perpetrated by the United States. \n\nFuture students will look back on it with the same kind of shame with which we view slavery.