Ta-Nehisi Coates: Why Precisely Is Bernie Sanders Against Reparations?

[Prism]

27. There isn't the same level of support for reparations as democratic socialism

Coates makes an error right out of the gate, calling socialist a divisive term and then equating that to reparations.

But Americans often support - in rather large numbers - many policies that people call socialist even while rejecting the term Socialist due to nearly a century of political demonization. Even if the professional political will is not there for parts of Sanders' platform, there is an untapped base of American desire for various improvements on many different social programs. The most magical politician of our time will be the one who can get Americans to somehow simultaneously support the socialist-like policies they claim to desire while avoiding being labelled a Socialist. It hasn't happened, but it needs to.

This underlying support does not exist for reparations. There's no other term you can use for them that will budge the American people.

I respect Coates, and I think everyone should read his case for reparations. Even if reparations never happen (and I really don't see it), it's important that everyone in this country understands how we have lived and continue to some extend to live in a kind of apartheid light state of racial inequality in America.

But Coates misfires here and misconstrues the difference between a Name and a Policy. Americans often reject the Socialist name, but readily support the policies. There is neither support for name nor policy with reparations.