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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.

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.