Quote:
Originally Posted by CaptainHaplo
Tarjak - while that may be the case - at what point does the responsibility end? Seriously. Consider this. Maybe your great grandfather shot someone and killed them. So should you suffer the death penalty or imprisonment for that? How is it appropriate that you are defined as a murderer and have a duty to "pay" for the crime of your ancestor? Maybe it wasn't your ancestor - maybe it was your ancestor's neighbor that did it - but your ancestor "allowed it" (because of the concept of a responsible society) so they are culpable anyway.
Slavery is - in our society - a crime. I am glad it is. At no time have I ever said that slavery was "good". The point that you call valid would be if I - or others - were the ones who owned slaves. We would owe them because of it. But I wouldn't have owned slaves anyway - so the idea that I am somehow responsible to "right the wrongs" of other generations societal actions is ridiculous.
If repression of blacks was wrong - then repression of whites to let minorities "get ahead" is just as wrong. Both are racism. An equal playing field is what is right.
Yes - things like the education system fail minorities. Yet the worst schools often get the most money. Allowing parents the right to send their kids (regardless of race) to successful schools would close the education gap. Throwing more money at bad schools has proven to not do so.
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My read of his point was that it's not about responsibility or when it ends. It was simply that the playing field is not an even one because of past practices. This is what you are complaining about whilst being in an advantageous position.