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In reply to the discussion: U.S. owes black people reparations for a history of ‘racial terrorism,’ says U.N. panel [View all]Sand Rat Expat
(290 posts)I doubt there'd be much "goodwill" as a result of the kind of reparations you're talking about.
On the one hand, there would be a great number of people who would be pissed off about reparations being paid. They'd view it as theft of their resources for a crime they took no part in, especially if reparations involved payments to individuals. So rather than unify people, this would only create discontent among people who would feel that they're being punished for something they didn't do. Children of immigrants would particularly have this reaction.
On the other hand, the people in the African-American community who are most vociferously calling for reparations would not, in my opinion, feel much "goodwill" here either. Does your bank feel "goodwill" towards you when you pay them what you owe them? Similarly, the most outspoken people calling for reparations would likely have a reaction more along the lines of "About damn time!" than "Thanks!" Or they'd say that it wasn't enough, will never be enough, etc. etc. I've read articles by African-Americans saying that the only "fair" payment would be the transfer of all wealth held by white Americans to African-Americans. So I rather doubt they'd consider what you're proposing to be sufficient.
Rather than bring people together, these reactions would only drive people further apart. You'd have a significant chunk of those who are supporting these reparations with their tax monies feeling cheated and embittered, and you'd have a portion of those receiving these reparations feeling cheated and embittered because they feel it's not enough.
Again, maybe it's just my inner cynic talking after going through a very rough week. I dunno. People being people, though, I don't think I'm far off the mark here.