Let me try to explain this in the most thorough way possible. This is going to be difficult because there is serious residue of the classic misunderstandings and misteachings of American youth about black people's history, in your argument.
Let me first explain my point of view. I am a Black girl, who staunchly believes in reparations for my people. You compare the struggle, and ultimate economic success of Asian people in America to Black's struggle and apparent failure at economic progress. This comparison can't work because the firstly: Asians and Blacks have extremely different circumstances under which they arrived in this country. Asians had a choice to immigrate here, and Blacks did not. Simply having control over where you will eventually setttle down is extremely important. Because that means you had a goal to begin with, when they decided to relocate. Asians had a goal to increase their standard of living when they decided to move to America. Thus, they had a plan. Their plan according to your argument, was to settle together amongst their own and help other Asians with the physical and cultural transformation from Asia to America. This community's goal was to help find jobs for newly immigrated Asians and create a sort of unity amongst all Asians. A beautiful plan indeed, whose consequences have thwarted Asian- Americans into their desired standard of living. So your plan has worked! Hurray!
Now, its time that I explain how Blacks' continuing struggle is totally different from yours and how we've never had the strong foundation to succeed unlike your people. We arrived in USA with no goals, and no plans, for the simple fact that we didn't DECIDE to relocate here. The slave trade wasn't a voluntary choice for us, about 50 million of my brethren and sistren perished on the journey to America, so we could spend our every waking moment to build up the US's infrastructures. So here we are with no control over our present situation, or pre-thought out plan to allow us to escape from the steady cracking of the whip. Yet you, confetti kiss, try and compare our struggle?
Secondly:You say, and I quote,"they've been here for like what, centuries". You're absolutely correct. We've been here for centuries. Two centuries to be excact. But what you fail to factor in is that we've been here for a little over 200 years without the right or opportunity to learn how to read (for the most part, of course you always have those exceptions), to own land, to operate and control our OWN business, to marry our own thereby establishing the strong family aspect which is so essential to any sort of progress.
Because of our inhumane and dehumanizing labor in this country WE have built up America's wealth, WE made cotton king in the south, WE are the reason that America is the authoritative power in the world. America's wealth was built on BLACK'S slave labor, while slaves saw none of that wealth being invested back into their communities.In 1865 Africans carried out 80% of the skilled labor in the south. This is why we have earned our expected share of reparations.
I'd like to also raise consciousness and awareness that a large part of Black people's EARNED share of reparations doesn't even deal with our 2 centuries worth of servitude to this country. It also deals with our present servitude.
I'm sure you all know that the prison industry a $40 billion per year money market. And if you keep your eyes on the reality, you would know that over half of all prisoners are of African descent, once again building America's wealth by the BILLIONS. Yet a nother reason why we are owed reparations for our constant yet unwilling contribution to America's wealth(and power).
Thirdly: You seem to believe the media hype,being forced down our throat, selling us images of Black people on welfare: "Living off of government food" . THis misrepresentation of facts is disgusting. I'd hate to be the one to rock your boat of botched facts but the majority of those on public assistance are white families ( married white men and women with children).
Fourthly: In 1990 the US gave $1.2 Billion ($20,000 each)to Japanese Americans. Your people got what they genuinely deserved from the American government, why can't we?

I think that reparations should only be paid in some extreme circumstances- and to those directly affected. Not someone whose ancestor was a slave. The deeds of the past weren't done by people today. I have never owned a slave, and the African-American girl in my class was never a slave.

I really do not see the point in reparations. They don't solve anything. In fact, when the government agreed to pay reparations to Chinese-Americans for their families' service in internment camps, many had a hard time excepting the money because they believed it was tainted.
I don't think paying money is going to do anything. People have admitted slavery is wrong. There is more acceptance now. And I certainly do not want to be blamed just because I'm a white person. There is no way of figuring out if someone is directly responsible for slavery unless they have their family lineage on record or something. Even if people knew their family history, I doubt they would come forward and agree to shell out a few hundred to some cranky people who don't know how good they've got it.

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there family was hanged/raped/killed in other. bad ways. your family hurt them. they get money. whitch they deseverd.

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So a group of people who had nothing to do with the crime itself but is related to the offender must pay for the offender's misdeeds? I see no justice in that. This all boils down to money, not justice.

99.9% is a pretty outrageous "stat," considering that not everyone was a slave owner, and there was a very large influx of immigrants.

I'm not sure if I actually do support reparations. I often lead strongly towards no, I just find every argument made against them here completely invalid, rather historically ignorant, and occaisonally bigoted. I'd like to see serious movements to elevate all lower classes instead of reparations, but...that would be harder.

let me tell you the reason you are liable/responsible.you are white. so there's a 99%9 precent chanch your family kept slaves. so if you know your history. you know that a lot of the slaves were tortured. so your family hurt there family you ow them money. understand? let me explain it to you this way. if someone made you fall and you broke you arm. you would sue them. because they hurt you. right? it's the same thing. you get hurt. you get money. there family was hanged/raped/killed in other. bad ways. your family hurt them. they get money. whitch they deseverd.

Not. The same. Thing.

Yes there has been. I did a year-long research project on I.Q. last year. You can look the statistics up online. How can you always be so sure that you are right?

Well, you might make Azn jokes too if you hung out with any cool asians. You, obviously, do not.

Yes, average test scores are higher. However, there has never been a scientific study proving racial intelligence differences.

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So, in conclusion, I must say that you're AZN! YOU'RE A DIRTY, DIRTY AZN! GO BUY A ****ING RHYMING DICTIONARY!

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It seems to me that you're the racist one here by calling me a "dirty azn".

How am I racist? I'm just pointing our some things that ARE TRUE you morons. About what I said about asians being the smarter "minority" is true. Asians were pulled off the minority list at some colleges because the SAT scores and GPAs of many asians even beat out those of the other minorities and leveled or surpassed with that of the non-minorities. And another thing, research has shown that Asians and Whites have the highest I.Q.s of any race. I'm not being racist. This stuff is true!

I think what Confetti needs some discussing really.

Why is it Asian-Americans excel the way they do, and black and Hispanics seem to stay on the bottom.

I really don't buy this "Ghetto" holding people back business. Colin Powell grew up in Harlem, he isn't using the "Ghetto" and the reason he fails when he does.

I grew up in a trailer park, but I am not going to say because I lived around "white trash" most of my life as an excuses to fail.

How can Jews be smarter? Jewish people belong to a religion, not a race! Unless you want to claim Hebrews are smarter, in which case your the kind of ignorant ******* who believes in social darwinism...

Wow, too bad no ACTUAL Sociologist agrees with that view of class.

That's your opinion.

And you're wrong. There's no way around it.

Colin Powell and Condaleeza Rice are not leaders, they are followers.

How can you possibly state that Jews and Asians are smarter than blacks and hispanics, and then turn around and say that you aren't rascist? That's EXTREMELY BIGOTED. That's one of those 19th-century hack-scientist-in-a-suit-writing-treatsies-on-"the Negro"-ideas. It's obviously rascist, and, of course, without any proof at all, because it's untrue.

So, in conclusion, I must say that you're AZN! YOU'RE A DIRTY, DIRTY AZN! GO BUY A ****ING RHYMING DICTIONARY!

Class holds you down if you believe in it enough. Actually faith can apply to almost anything.

I am not racist. But I am not pure and whole and goody-goody either. No one is perfect. Live with it.

Note, i said second generation not the first generation immigrants. First generation immigrants are generally dirt poor and they're the ones that lay the foundation for future generations. Do you know how Jews and Asians work their way up? Because they're smarter.

I do know the history. I've read fiction books and nonfiction books upon the subject. I know about Angel Island, the mistreatment in the 1800s, etc... but i was only trying to say that blacks were here long before that but yet they still blame their poverty now on what happened so long ago? Especially since they had so much time to work their way up in society.

And I am in no way AzN.

Wow, you're...well, not quite racist, but you don't have much of an idea of history.

The Chinese immigrants who first started these "Chinatowns" were horribly discriminated against. Beaten, given terrible jobs, killed.

Saying that Chinatowns were a deliberate attempt by asian immigrants to band together and advance farther in society than other minorities is ridiculous. ALL immigrants have a tendency to live in parts of cities with the rest of their ethnic group. So do whites.

Although some of these chinese immigrants eventually did work their way up, (as some blacks have done, as a certain amount of any race can do in American society.) many were kept in poverty, because that's how class works. And there are still Asians living in America who work in sweatshop conditions, and I bet the people who still maintain the country's Chinatowns aren't much better off that your average low-to-middle class African American. Asians are probably better off in this country because of more recent immigrants who had a more stable financial situation, better access to education, and a less intolerant atmosphere.

I'm sorry, but your statement was not only ignorant, it was just pretty god damn dumb.
You've insulted blacks, hispanics, and asians.
I request an apology to everyone. If not...I'm...going to have to assume your Azn. And that's no good.

I'm against slavery reparations. I read an article about it in the USA Weekend newsletter a while ago and it seems as though the ancestors of those slaves believe that the slavery issue set their race back from the opportunities that non-blacks could achieve. Thus, they believe this is why they live in poverty. My first thought : SCAM! Really now! My parents are a "minority group" too and they didn't let anything "set them back" from getting jobs. Oh great, here's my asian pride kicking in...Why do you think there's a Chinatown in practically every major state? Because our ancestors founded them so asians could stick together and work together - that's where our first jobs are. Now, the blacks have been here way before asians. How come like 70% of them are still living off government food? and living in the ghetto? you know what i mean... and they've been here for like what, centuries? Slavery Reparations..HAHAHAHA Lazy little a$$es trying to extract moola from hard-working citizens - those reparations will most likely be out of taxes. But then again, I could be wrong...just my opinion. Whatever..

Hmm... now that I think of it, it seems as if Jews and Asians are the only major minority groups that have been able to make anything of themselves here in America (well the second generation anyways). Most blacks and Hispanics live in poverty. They give a bad name to "minorities"

First off, you're only proving my point of how silly this all is.

Second off... I have Irish ancestors too... want to get into that?