Reparations for AA too radical for Bernie Sanders

[Trapsy]

Last week Bernie Sanders was asked whether he was in favor of “reparations for slavery.” It is worth considering Sanders’s response in full:

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  -TA-NEHISI COATES

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/01/bernie-sanders-reparations/424602/

[NeverAgain]

Agreed. I think there is improvement that must be made to help the African American community, but reparations isn't one.

[This account no longer in use.]

Way to bring back a decade-old debate for the sake of hackery.

[Hillary pays minimum wage]

Way to bring back a decade-old debate for the sake of hackery.

Those people will be angry no matter what we do.  Good point!

[Mike Thick]

I see no problem with this.

[Pouring Rain and Blairing Music]

Let's take money from people who never committed an atrocity and give it to people who never suffered from said atrocity. Brilliant idea. A+. FF move. /s

Good position from Sanders.

[DrScholl]

If only he could apply logic to his health care plan. Clearly single payer has no chance at getting through Congress, yet he's pushing for it anyway.

[Hillary pays minimum wage]

If anything we have a country racist against whites. After all how else could we elect a black president? Just like the Democrats, race can be used to make up excuses for losing in both parties.

[Trapsy]

While Bernie is right. I just think it's interesting that Bernie Sander presents himself as a pragmatist on this issue but what about the other issues. I don't want a flame war about reparations.

[Higgs]

Let's take money from people who never committed an atrocity and give it to people who never suffered from said atrocity. Brilliant idea. A+. FF move. /s

Good position from Sanders.

[Asian Nazi]

Discussions of reparations are dead on arrival for any politician representing anything other than an overwhelmingly African American constituency.  Did anybody really expect Sanders to come out and support it when even the overwhelming majority of white progressives are uncomfortable with the idea (as demonstrated by this very thread lol)?

[Mr. Reactionary]

Oh look, Ta-Nehisi Coates demanding free money again.

[Famous Mortimer]

Lame jokes aside, universal health care is much more realistic than reparations for slavery. Most Western countries and many non-Western countries have some system of universal healthcare. I can't think of a single country that has given out cash based on stuff that happened to people's ancestors 200 years ago.

Additionally, it's much easier to get majority support for a proposal that benefits 100% of the population than for a proposal that benefits 10% of the population.

[Lief 🗽]

Bernie Sanders doesn't care about issues beyond his very narrow "socialist" economics focus. Foreign policy, race relations, gun policy... none of it really interests him.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Lame jokes aside, universal health care is much more realistic than reparations for slavery. Most Western countries and many non-Western countries have some system of universal healthcare. I can't think of a single country that has given out cash based on stuff that happened to people's ancestors 200 years ago.

Additionally, it's much easier to get majority support for a proposal that benefits 100% of the population than for a proposal that benefits 10% of the population.

Pretty much this. And AA reparations would be cheap compared to what Native Americans might ask for, all their land back. All 3.5 million square miles. And no sweetheart leases back to non Natives like Salamanca, NY.

[TheDeadFlagBlues]

I can't say that I'm surprised but I'm still disappointed by his response.

To the idiot who claimed that Ta-Nehisi Coates demanded "free money": are you illiterate or did you not even bother reading his strong case for reparations? To be clear, reparations are not a "controversial" policy when fiscal or physical harms, experienced by living individuals, can be traced to the actions of currently living individuals or public institutions. Housing discrimination, discrimination in the labor market, segregation and more are all responsible for causing direct fiscal harm to living individuals: this can be measured quite precisely.

No one is saying that "whitey" has to give the Black community money; that's a total misconstrual of reparations as a policy proposal/concept. Here are some examples of "reparations":

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reparations_(transitional_justice)

If reparations are controversial, it's only because white America, and I'd note that this does not mean "white people, is ignorant and/or bigoted.

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

Sanders isnt gonna win the Black vote anyways, because of his odds with Blacks on gun owner immunity. Blacks clearlyare all in on Clinton for gun control.

Bill Clinton, during Dem control of Congress said no to repirations, too.

[Pouring Rain and Blairing Music]

Lame jokes aside, universal health care is much more realistic than reparations for slavery. Most Western countries and many non-Western countries have some system of universal healthcare. I can't think of a single country that has given out cash based on stuff that happened to people's ancestors 200 years ago.

Additionally, it's much easier to get majority support for a proposal that benefits 100% of the population than for a proposal that benefits 10% of the population.

Pretty much this. And AA reparations would be cheap compared to what Native Americans might ask for, all their land back. All 3.5 million square miles. And no sweetheart leases back to non Natives like Salamanca, NY.

To quote S.I. Hayakawa, "We should keep the Panama Canal. After all, we stole it fair and square."

I don't see how the case could be made for return all of the land either.

[Pyro]

Discussions of reparations are dead on arrival for any politician representing anything other than an overwhelmingly African American constituency.  Did anybody really expect Sanders to come out and support it when even the overwhelming majority of white progressives are uncomfortable with the idea (as demonstrated by this very thread lol)?

This is very accurate.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

I can't say that I'm surprised but I'm still disappointed by his response.

To the idiot who claimed that Ta-Nehisi Coates demanded "free money": are you illiterate or did you not even bother reading his strong case for reparations? To be clear, reparations are not a "controversial" policy when fiscal or physical harms, experienced by living individuals, can be traced to the actions of currently living individuals or public institutions. Housing discrimination, discrimination in the labor market, segregation and more are all responsible for causing direct fiscal harm to living individuals: this can be measured quite precisely.

No one is saying that "whitey" has to give the Black community money; that's a total misconstrual of reparations as a policy proposal/concept. Here are some examples of "reparations":

You must be logged in to read this quote.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reparations_(transitional_justice)

If reparations are controversial, it's only because white America, and I'd note that this does not mean "white people, is ignorant and/or bigoted.

Yes, something specific like the Canada example or the 1988 Japanese internment reparations could work.  Keep in mind that even if it somehow passed, the current SCOTUS, which is probably going to strike down race-based affirmative action, would surely strike down any reparations law that isn't narrowly tailored to a "living person X experienced abuse Y from government official Z between dates A and B, documented in writing and affirmed by witnesses 1 and 2" situation on 14th Amendment grounds.  If that's where you'd mean to go with this, it could be viable.  Anything further would be extremely futile.  

If it's just saying sorry and less than $10 billion, maybe that could happen. But I thought they were asking for a lot more money than that.

[Famous Mortimer]

Actually have no problem with reparations for people who lived under Jim Crow. Problem is that it's hardly what anyone is ever talking about when they talk about reparations. It would still be a fairly radical position, probably too radical for a serious presidential candidate at this point in history, but if it was discussed more, I could see people getting behind it, much moreso than for slavery reparations. I'm sure some conservatives (commentators at least) would get behind it as well, as it would be making up to actual victims of "big government".

[Hillary pays minimum wage]

Actually have no problem with reparations for people who lived under Jim Crow. Problem is that it's hardly what anyone is ever talking about when they talk about reparations. It would still be a fairly radical position, probably too radical for a serious presidential candidate at this point in history, but if it was discussed more, I could see people getting behind it, much moreso than for slavery reparations. I'm sure some conservatives (commentators at least) would get behind it as well, as it would be making up to actual victims of "big government".

No we'd say reparations are called welfare.  Why did you even post what you did other than to be partisan? Is money the only answer to solving problem. If anything we can play the race card too and say Obama is president because Anerica gates blacks.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Actually have no problem with reparations for people who lived under Jim Crow. Problem is that it's hardly what anyone is ever talking about when they talk about reparations. It would still be a fairly radical position, probably too radical for a serious presidential candidate at this point in history, but if it was discussed more, I could see people getting behind it, much moreso than for slavery reparations. I'm sure some conservatives (commentators at least) would get behind it as well, as it would be making up to actual victims of "big government".

No we'd say reparations are called welfare.  Why did you even post what you did other than to be partisan? Is money the only answer to solving problem. If anything we can play the race card too and say Obama is president because Anerica gates blacks.

So, Bill Clinton ended reparations then?

[Hillary pays minimum wage]

Actually have no problem with reparations for people who lived under Jim Crow. Problem is that it's hardly what anyone is ever talking about when they talk about reparations. It would still be a fairly radical position, probably too radical for a serious presidential candidate at this point in history, but if it was discussed more, I could see people getting behind it, much moreso than for slavery reparations. I'm sure some conservatives (commentators at least) would get behind it as well, as it would be making up to actual victims of "big government".

No we'd say reparations are called welfare.  Why did you even post what you did other than to be partisan? Is money the only answer to solving problem. If anything we can play the race card too and say Obama is president because Anerica gates blacks.

So, Bill Clinton ended reparations then?

Only with help from Republicans.

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

Bill Clinton was a triangulator and ended unlimited welfare, as we knew it, in 1996. Reporations would have been in the way of accomplishing that goal, anyways.