4 ms·

Let’s burn all history books while we’re at it. After all, nothing can be learned from the past.

• oh_sigh 8y ago
  I think OP was arguing against the idea that children inherit sins from their ancestors.
  • curun1r 8y ago
    It's tempting to take this point of view, especially when it's your own ancestors that transgressed. But it's also important to realize when, generations later, the victims of those transgressions are still feeling their impact. It's a touchy subject and we have to guard against the language we use to talk about these things. We can't talk about sins or blame---no one is to blame for the actions of their ancestors. But I don't think it's out the question to say that those who's families benefited from exploiting or hurting others have a responsibility to make reasonable accommodations that help remedy current legacies of those misdeeds. What constitutes reasonable, of course, is debatable, but the responsibility, to me, isn't.
  • tacomonstrous 8y ago
    If one can inherit one's ancestors' wealth and privilege, then surely the same should apply to their sins to some extent. The asymmetry is problematic.
    • weberc2 8y ago
      I’d have much less a problem with this line of thinking if there was a way to get to a reasonably accurate dollar figure. Specifically not everyone’s ancestors participated in slavery or left them with an inheritance. Do the white Americans that bankrolled the civil rights movement (and their descendants) get a write off? Does the price tag guarantee that people won’t later complain that the price tag was too low? The whole problem is intractable. That doesn’t mean we can’t work to create a more equitable society; it just means we should look to improving lives of the less fortunate and maybe give up on punishment.
      • tacomonstrous 8y ago
        Yes, it's a thorny question, but that doesn't mean it's intractable. People continue to deny to this day that slavery, Jim Crow and redlining have any relevance for the state of racial politics and racial inequity in this country. "It's all in the past." If not reparations, the least we can do is come to real terms with our history. The number of educated, upper class Americans I know that refuse to is very frustrating.
        • weberc2 8y ago
          You posited that if one can inherit wealth, they should be able to inherit social responsibility as well. Computing one's inherited social responsibility is the intractable problem, not making the world more racially equitable. > The number of educated, upper class Americans I know that refuse to is very frustrating. I've found that people are very willing to improve race relations if you present it as "here's an opportunity to help some people" and not as a "everything you have is because of your skin color so you basically should give everything you have to other people". Lots of people go around pushing the latter view, so you have to be careful to distinguish your message from theirs if you want to get reception.
          • tacomonstrous 8y ago
            >I've found that people are very willing to improve race relations if you present it as "here's an opportunity to help some people" and not as a "everything you have is because of your skin color so you basically should give everything you have to other people". I'm not sure what this is referring to. I was talking simply about recognizing and acknowledging historical and socio-political patterns that led to the current situation.
• mengibar10 8y ago
  Unfortunately even then it is not enough. After all the grim and painful history of Jews, look at the plight of Palestinians under occupation.