Reparations for Slavery?

[bored1]

A suit was filed today against 3 companies claiming they profited from slavery, Now if these people win who pays? Will there be any benefit to American society? It will be interesting to watch,but my quess is that it will do more harm than good

 

[scylis]

there's nobody to claim it. the US gov't set a precedent when it awarded money to "relocation camp" (read Consentration Camp) prisoners from WWII: the money was paid to those directly affected by the act and to the imediate decendants.

thus the people who are elligible to claim money from this suit ARE ALL DEAD!

D-E-D, dead.

of course, that's assuming they're sueing for damages and compensation. what are the specifics of the suit?

 

[unclej]

i'm curious as to the name of the three companies and how they profited from slavery..do you have any of the details...

as to your question, will there be any benefit to American society...in my less than humble opinion, no....i think winning such a suit would open create the worse legal quagmire the U.S. has ever seen...

 

[bored1]

CSX Railroad for labor supplied for building the railroad,Aetna insurance because they insured the slaves for their owners and Fleet Financial as Im quessing they loaned the money to purchase the slaves.

 

[unclej]

i had no idea that there were companies around today that had been in business that long...but the can of worms would be descendants of the chinese that worked the railroads in probably the same conditions as slaves and even the irish if i remember correctly...

i'm not terribly proud of many of the aspects of american history but it is just that....history....get over it...reparation is not going to make anything go away....

 

[VanB]

One word

Puh-lease!

 

[Ishmael]

two words

paira sites

Ishmael

 

[La Huesera]

I was listening to talk radio yesterday (God..how old am I???) and this was the topic. One of the listeners called in with a point. Lets say that reparations were paid. To whom would they go to, how much would they get, and what about children that have not even be thought of (ie not yet born). Would they receive monies? All very good questions IMHO.

 

[T.H. Oughts]

Re: One word

Puh-lease!

Now bend over while I slap your butt you naughty boy !!!!

 

[lavender]

 

[VanB]

Re: Re: One word

Now bend over while I slap your butt you naughty boy !!!!

Promises, promises but I''m not going to be your slave or my great grandchildren might have to sue the Kiwi government.

 

[T.H. Oughts]

Re: Re: Re: One word

Promises, promises but I''m not going to be your slave or my great grandchildren might have to sue the Kiwi government.

Hey they wouldn't be the first ones.... We have heaps of claims on Goverment money now from tribes that think they were done the dirty on the last 150 years...... My question is who can own the rights in fish that swim in water....

 

[VanB]

The whole idea is idiotic - how far back do you take the concept of suing for past crimes that weren't crimes at the time?

If you take it to its logical conclusion everyone would be suing everyone else for crimes commited by their ancestors and the only people in the world with any money would b lawyers (of course until they lost a case because one of their ancestors was sued for being their ancestor - obviously in a malpractice suit)

Just bizarre

 

[bored1]

The whole idea is idiotic - how far back do you take the concept of suing for past crimes that weren't crimes at the time?

If you take it to its logical conclusion everyone would be suing everyone else for crimes commited by their ancestors and the only people in the world with any money would b lawyers (of course until they lost a case because one of their ancestors was sued for being their ancestor - obviously in a malpractice suit)

Just bizarre

It is indeed bizarre,But it will make its way through the courts. I find it illogical to judge past actions by individuals long dead by todays standards.

 

[Ishmael]

Hmmm, The sins of the father?

CSX as a corporate entity was formed in 1980.

Perhaps they are being sued because they run their trains on roadbeds that were originally prepared by slaves.

Gets stupider by the minute.

Ishmael

 

[bored1]

Re: Hmmm, The sins of the father?

CSX as a corporate entity was formed in 1980.

Perhaps they are being sued because they run their trains on roadbeds that were originally prepared by slaves.

Gets stupider by the minute.

Ishmael

I think your on to something there. Wasnt CSX formed when several railroads merged?

 

[Calamity Jane]

I'm all for it if I can sue the pope and every descendant of every 'Chrisitain' leader who had anything at all to do with the Crusades.

 

[Ishmael]

Re: Re: Hmmm, The sins of the father?

I think your on to something there. Wasnt CSX formed when several railroads merged?

Precisely dear chap. The major players were The Florida East Coast, and The Seaboard Coastline. Both originally Florida Corporations.

The Florida East Coast was formed by Henry Flagler in 1895.

The Seaboard Coastline was formed from a merger of two other lines in 1967. This is the one that more than likely can be traced back to the 1860's

Ishmael

 

[Ishmael]

I'm all for it if I can sue the pope and every descendant of every 'Chrisitain' leader who had anything at all to do with the Crusades.

The Catholic Church and the Monarchy of England would be good starts PCG. Clear unbroken lines of resposibility. (Good application of inductive logic here.)

It's your constitutional right. You sue, I'll chuckle.

Ishmael

 

[Azwed]

This was something I was about to post about because of the uproar at my university.

One of the guys that works at our newspaper wrote an editorial about reperations and then everyone in their brother sent in a letter to the editor.

Some were good.
Some were bad.
Some were complete racist bull shit that I am surprised they printed.

Reperations could never work from a practical standpoint.
Who pays the money?
Federal gov't?
State?
Both?
Only former slave states?
What about states that joined the union after slavery was abolished?
Do corporations that exisisted then pay for it?
What about mergers and aquisitions that have occured since then?
What about bankrupt companies that were bought by banks or other companies that did not exist during slavery?
Should the ancestors of slave owning people pay money?


Who gets the money?
Do people have to prove through genelogical records that their ancestors were slaves?
Should all black americans get money?


There are still probably another hundred questions that could come up.

 

[Mellon Collie]

A suit was filed today against 3 companies claiming they profited from slavery, Now if these people win who pays? Will there be any benefit to American society? It will be interesting to watch,but my quess is that it will do more harm than good

I haven't heard anything about this. Who filed the suit? I mean was it a few people or what?

I crave details.

 

[patient1]

Wouldn't it be better if this energy were directed at ...oh say, eliminating slavery in present day Africa, for example? It might accomplish more.

 

[patient1]

Re: Re: Reparations for Slavery?

I haven't heard anything about this. Who filed the suit? I mean was it a few people or what?

I crave details.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20020326/ts_nm/rights_slavery_lawsuit_dc_4&cid=578

 

[Ishmael]

Just the start

There are still probably another hundred questions that could come up.

A thousand more at least.

What about immigrants, and their decendants, that arrived after the civil war?

To make matters worse, Lincoln's emancipation proclamation only freed the slaves in the Confederate States, slavery was still legal in the rest of the Union. Slavery was legal until the ratification of the 13th amendment (1865). So technically speaking, the northern states were the last slave holding states.

It's going to be fun, you bet.

Ishmael

 

[Mellon Collie]

Re: Re: Re: Reparations for Slavery?

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20020326/ts_nm/rights_slavery_lawsuit_dc_4&cid=578

Thank you much.



Edited to add my opinion:

I hope these companies fight it and do not settle out of court. I mean if this can be pulled off...this isn't too far away from filling suits against families who have profited from slave ownership.

This time, effort and money should be put into strengthening and securing civil liberties of the next generation, not reparation for what has happened to the past.