Slims

I am against reparations and I don't feel responsible for wrongs that were committed way before my time. I am trying not to get mired down in the details of responsibility, but rather focus on this issue:

I was trying to clarify the difference....because most calls I have heard for reparations have been of the "pay me some cash" variety.

I think what you suggest should be the product of a functional social system rather than reparations...we shouldn't be focusing on blacks but rather blighted areas, disadvantaged people, high crime demographics, etc. If the shoe fits for the black community at the moment, great they will get most of the resources. The focus should be on the current situation, not past wrongs, and shouldn't be about race, etc.

If the quality of the school system sucks somewhere, improve it. But don't pass over some shitty schools and focus on others simply because most of the students are black. Don't give a black kid a college grant when white kid from the same background has to work his way through school (that, in my mind is a handout). I don't think the government should offer grants or scholarships, only guaranteed loans. After all if college is a good investment, who better to make that investment than the person being educated? I paid my own way through school, and incurred a tremendous amount of debt in doing so. It rubs me wrong when other people are given advantages I was denied because they are a different race...especially when I hear them tell me they couldn't afford college. Everybody can afford college if they are willing to work hard enough and are willing to accept the responsibility of loans. If you are a credit criminal and cannot get a loan, then work upfront for it. My brother in-law is graduating this weekend after working as a sous-chef for five years full time while also attending college full time. He didn't have money, a fantastic GPA, a rich family, etc. He had a willingness to work and it will make him successful.

I think an increased police presence in high crime areas is a no-brainer, but the black community will probably disagree...they have certainly raised a stink about how many black people are arrested and extra cops won't fix that, at least not short term (though they could if they can begin to offer a significant deterrent effect).

There is very little money going to the average drug dealer, most would be better off working for a living, keeping most of their money, not going to jail, etc. That so many people choose that path against all indications that failure is virtually guaranteed is a testament to a failing culture, not a problem with racism. I feel social efforts should also focus on changing the culture where that sort of nonsense is considered acceptable.

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"Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." - Winston Churchill

"All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act out their dream with open eyes, to make it possible." Seven Pillars of Wisdom, T.E. Lawrence