For those readers of this blog who are wondering why there has been no blog written for two months, let me explain. I had heart surgery - five bypasses the day after I wrote blog 49. This set me back at my age- 89. In fact, I have to wonder why surgery was proposed and undertaken at this advanced age. But I am happy to take advantage of the fine medical care available in the USA and Medicare.
I spent a little time writing letters to newspapers about gun control and reparations for slavery. Below is the one I wrote to the pertinent California Committee.
Dear Committee Member:
I have been reading the narratives of ex-slaves compiled by the WPA in 1936-38. I found them so interesting, I have written a blog about them, see slavewords.substack.com. It has also motivated me me to comment on the Reparations Task Force recommendations.
1. Restricting reparations to descendants of slaves living in California 1900 before 1900 does not account for the injustices suffered by Afro-Americans until the passage of civil right legislation in 1964 and 1965. (I presume the 1900 restriction was to reduce the amount of cash benefit payable).
2. Paying one race by another race is inherently racist and is highly unlikely to pass the California legislature.
3. Cash reparations do not account for the income of wealthy blacks. If one makes the reparations only to poor blacks, then poor whites will ask then "why not me?"
4. Reparations in cash do not harmonize society; they do not reduce the racial divide.
May I suggest a remedy that is not inherently racist and would not cost a great deal. We need to integrate society. We should encourage interracial marriage. This could be done by helping interracial couples in California to buy homes in California. The Reparations Task Force might look on how to implement this. Such questions could be:
A. To what extent should the color difference be deemed sufficiently interracial to qualify for the benefits?
B. How long after marriage should the benefits be given?
C. To what extent should other races -Asians, Indians, Arabs, Latinos - qualify?
D. Should the benefit be taken back if the couple divorce soon after receiving the benefit? A gradual declining lien on the house would solve this problem.
E. Should other features other than skin color be included in determining if the couple is sufficiently interracial.?
Yours sincerely,
John Neill