With the Democrats totally in control of the federal government, the push for reparations (ostensibly) to the descendants of black slaves is picking up steam.  Any rational person knows that a reparations mandate will be a complete mess.  It goes without saying that Uncle Sam essentially screws up everything he (can I still use that pronoun?) touches.  But a Department of Reparations, or whatever the heck they'll call it, will face the insurmountable task of figuring out who is actually "entitled" to receive said payments.  That's assuming that slavery-based reparations is the actual goal.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are approximately forty-two million blacks currently living in the United States.  That's about 13.5 percent of the population.  Many blacks are successful and independent and have no interest in enlarging the already bloated welfare state.  Conversely, there are millions, especially from urban areas, whose families have been totally dependent on government largesse for generations. 

Some observers refer to the welfare state as modern-day slavery.  But instead of doing forced labor, they receive a monthly stipend to vote Democrat.  (That's better than being forced to pick cotton in the blazing sun, but the advancement opportunities aren't much improved.)  Most citizens who are trapped in this endless cycle of dependence will certainly feel entitled, so they'll take every penny they can get.  Others, who have no connection to slavery in this country, will apply simply because of the color of their skin.  And in the long run, that's probably all they'll need.

Noted historian Roger D. McGrath, a Marine Corps veteran and former history professor at UCLA, wrote a fascinating article in Chronicles (June 2019), "Sins of Omission: Getting Real about Reparations." It's well worth the read, addressing many aspects of slavery that are virtually unknown to most of us...especially the yapping hyenas circling for the kill on the reparations issue.  One point in particular jumps out: the number of black slave-owners in the pre–Civil War South.

"There were more than a quarter-million free blacks in the South and more than 4,000 of them were slavemasters who owned more than 20,000 black slaves," McGrath wrote.  "William Ellison, only one of several hundred black slaveholders in South Carolina, owned 63 slaves as recorded in the U.S. Census of 1860.  In Charleston, 125 free blacks were slaveholders, and in Charleston City, the port city for Charleston, the largest owner of slaves was a black woman."  John Stanly, one of 69 black slaveholders in North Carolina, owned three plantations and 163 slaves, McGrath noted. 

The most prolific state for black slaveholders was Louisiana.  In the New Orleans area alone, 28 percent of free blacks owned slaves.  When the Civil War was imminent, free blacks in New Orleans pledged their unwavering support for the Confederacy.  A documented declaration, included in McGrath's article, reads as follows: "The free colored population of Louisiana ... owns slaves, and they are dearly attached to their native land ... and they are ready to shed their blood for her defense.  They have no sympathy for abolitionism, no love for the North, but they have plenty for Louisiana[.] ... They will fight for her in 1861 as they fought in 1814–1815."

When read in its entirety, McGrath's article is a persuasive argument for why slavery-based reparations is a terrible idea.  The facts about black slaveowners was included to show a little known, but ultimately important, piece in the much larger anti-reparations puzzle.  Unfortunately, none of the facts is likely to matter. 

As usual, liberals will be unable to counter a strong argument from the opposition.  Marxist loons are already trying to simplify the process, saying the color of your skin should be the only necessary criterion.  They're even hinting that "brown people" should receive reparations as well (kudos to AOC!), which obviously has nothing to do with slavery.  But...well...you know...systemic racism, blah, blah, blah. 

If reparations become a reality, which is entirely possible, it will be like COVID stimulus checks on steroids.  Based entirely on skin color.  Whites need not apply.  Just another example of rampant racism from the left.

Image via Pxhere.

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