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From: geb@cadre.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.flame,net.politics,net.music
Subject: Re: White greed
Message-ID: <311@cadre.ARPA>
Date: Thu, 14-Feb-85 14:50:51 EST
Article-I.D.: cadre.311
Posted: Thu Feb 14 14:50:51 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 17-Feb-85 06:11:00 EST
References: <293@cmu-cs-cad.ARPA> <80@spar.UUCP>
Reply-To: geb@cadre.ARPA (Gordon E. Banks)
Organization: Decision Systems Lab., Univ. of Pgh.
Lines: 28
Xref: watmath net.flame:8383 net.politics:7618 net.music:6118
Summary: 

>
>	White people are enjoying an inheritance that was STOLEN by
>	300 years of slavery and 100 years of legal and social prejudice.
>
>    Until white people recognize that they are simply being asked to
>    share their ill-gotten gains, there will be little room for intelligent
>    debate about anything.
>
This is a racist argument on its face:  all people with a certain
skin color have inherited guilt for what some people with the same
color skin did hundreds of years ago.  Many of our ancestors came
long after slavery was abolished with only their shirts on their
backs and built what they have by their own work.  Many came to
regions (like the West) with no slavery, owned no slaves.  The
standard of living of Canada, which had no slaves, is about the
same as the U.S.; if the slaves added so much, this wouldn't be
so.  One could easily argue that slavery held the economy back
so that if there were no slaves the country would be far wealthier.
All of the facts seem to point to slavery and the subsequent
black poverty as a drain on national resources.  If you want to
flagellate yourself, be my guest, but I recognize no obligation
to discriminate in favor of blacks.  If any group has a claim
to reparations from the general populace of the U.S., the Indians'
claim is far more substantial, since almost everyone owns land here.
It is too late to rectify the injustice of slavery, since those
wronged are dead.