U.S. Considers Asking Black Americans on Census if They Are Slave Descendants

[IrezumiKiss]

I love the amount of work you go through to prove me right. Thanks.

The fact that he thinks there were "lots" of Black slaveowners and that they were on the same social strata as White slaveowners because of it which is some sort of bent gotcha against the institution of generational chattel slavery and its subsequent legacy effects is mindboggling...but it makes sense when you take his entire threadfail career here into account.

 

[Rightguide]

The fact that he thinks there were "lots" of Black slaveowners and that they were on the same social strata as White slaveowners because of it which is some sort of bent gotcha against the institution of generational chattel slavery and its subsequent legacy effects is mindboggling...but it makes sense when you take his entire threadfail career here into account.

I never said there were lots. I said there were over 3000 in New Orleans if you take the number of free colored people, as they were referred to back then, who owned black slaves as a percentage of the total black population, that percentage is larger than the percentage of the whole white population who owned slaves. Let that sink in for a minute...uh, between drinks.

 

[Sean Renaud]

Nobody is in the mood for math and now you are qualifying it as " as they were refered to" which is to say nobody would call them black today.

 

[HisArpy]

Lazy is the best.

Lazy isn't a virtue.

As your mother probably still despairs over.

 

[Sean Renaud]

Lazy isn't a virtue.

As your mother probably still despairs over.

Lazy is literally the goal and you keep fucking it up.

 

[Rightguide]

Nobody is in the mood for math and now you are qualifying it as " as they were refered to" which is to say nobody would call them black today.

That's right dipshit, nobody would call them that today and neither would I, but if you want to use correct search terms to locate the kind of facts I just posted you will use that term to get to them because that is what they were called at that time in history. But, go ahead and remain ignorant so you can continue to deny actual history.

 

[Sean Renaud]

Being aware of US history is a thing you are actively against but please go on.

 

[Paul_Chance]

I'd have no problem with them asking the question, though I am not sure the census is the best vehicle to ask (might have better results on the CMS), and the census is only asked once a decade.

I'd be in favor of some form of reparations, though I don't think cash would work well. Also, I'd be curious as to how they determine who is a descendant of a slave and how they'd calculate it.

The scenario I usually ask is this - if person A is the descendant of a slave (say, four or five generations back) and their parents were upper middle class (in the top 20%) professionals for four generations, did they really suffer negative effects?

How about if they were descendants of slaves for four generations and the family tree looks like this.

Generation 1: Slave (then Freeman)
Generation 2: Successful Farmers
Generation 3: Built a multi-million dollar farm supply business
Generation 4: Trust Fund Baby

And personally, I'd prefer they dealt with the native American's first. (Biased there, being Native American.)

 

[Sean Renaud]

So you want to waste a lot of time for no good reason?

 

[Paul_Chance]

So you want to waste a lot of time for no good reason?

Isn't that what the government is supposed to do with our tax dollars?

LOL - I always joke the entirety of my life time tax contribution amounts to one cruise missile, fired in the first Gulf War, that missed and scared the crap out of some camel herders in the desert. I've done my part.

 

[Rightguide]

I'd have no problem with them asking the question, though I am not sure the census is the best vehicle to ask (might have better results on the CMS), and the census is only asked once a decade.

I'd be in favor of some form of reparations, though I don't think cash would work well. Also, I'd be curious as to how they determine who is a descendant of a slave and how they'd calculate it.

The scenario I usually ask is this - if person A is the descendant of a slave (say, four or five generations back) and their parents were upper middle class (in the top 20%) professionals for four generations, did they really suffer negative effects?

How about if they were descendants of slaves for four generations and the family tree looks like this.

Generation 1: Slave (then Freeman)
Generation 2: Successful Farmers
Generation 3: Built a multi-million dollar farm supply business
Generation 4: Trust Fund Baby

And personally, I'd prefer they dealt with the native American's first. (Biased there, being Native American.)

Even Native American tribes owned black slaves.

 

[Paul_Chance]

Slavery was the way of the world for thousands of years. Doesn't mean that it's right. Doesn't mean we can't try to correct those systemic abuses where we can, how we can.

That is why I support the idea of reparations and believe, in general, in restorative justice.

Whether I'll vote for them and support the solid proposals when they reach that state, if they ever do, is another story. There are always devil's hiding in the details.

 

[Sean Renaud]

Slavery was the way of the world for thousands of years. Doesn't mean that it's right. Doesn't mean we can't try to correct those systemic abuses where we can, how we can.

That is why I support the idea of reparations and believe, in general, in restorative justice.

Whether I'll vote for them and support the solid proposals when they reach that state, if they ever do, is another story. There are always devil's hiding in the details.

American slavery was actually pretty unique. This whole "It was the way" is something that we've invented in recent years

 

[YDB95]

I never said there were lots. I said there were over 3000 in New Orleans if you take the number of free colored people, as they were referred to back then, who owned black slaves as a percentage of the total black population, that percentage is larger than the percentage of the whole white population who owned slaves. Let that sink in for a minute...uh, between drinks.

In other words, all you've got is a deeply misleading statistic. In the 19th century, the US population was about 85% white and 14% Black. Comparing percentages between the two is apples to watermelons.

 

[Chobham]

To be fair, how about no one whose family immigrated to the US after 1865 will have to pay the "reparations tax." Nor will any company that formed post 1865.

 

[Sean Renaud]

ITs not gonna happen but even if it were to happen the idea that these people would be excluded is absurd.

 

[Chobham]

ITs not gonna happen but even if it were to happen the idea that these people would be excluded is absurd.

And why is that?

 

[icanhelp1]

Even Native American tribes owned black slaves.

Just a thought. Once paid their 5 million in reparations they’ll be the next group of people to beat feet from California.

 

[Sean Renaud]

Fuck no they won't.

 

[YDB95]

Just a thought. Once paid their 5 million in reparations they’ll be the next group of people to beat feet from California.

And if they move to a red state, guess what - they'll still be 90% Democrats.

 

[Sean Renaud]

And why is that?

Lets start with that's not how taxes work. What even would the qualification for "Immigrated after 1960? I t seems easy for you to figure out until you start questioning does that mean the first person with your last name came after that date? That when you look back at your family tree could you prove that nobody in the country prior?

 

[Chobham]

Lets start with that's not how taxes work. What even would the qualification for "Immigrated after 1960? I t seems easy for you to figure out until you start questioning does that mean the first person with your last name came after that date? That when you look back at your family tree could you prove that nobody in the country prior?

Family tree of course, Ancestry.com has a damn near complete data base on that.

 

[Chobham]

Just a thought. Once paid their 5 million in reparations they’ll be the next group of people to beat feet from California.

I'm wondering where the monies gong to come from? SF is already struggling with a severely eroded tax base.

 

[YDB95]

Family tree of course, Ancestry.com has a damn near complete data base on that.

Even if it is feasible, there will be lots of white Americans (I am one) who had family in the US in 1860 on one parent's side but not the other. Do we only get stuck with half the bill at least? Besides, if you're going to distinguish based on whether or not your family was already there, it's only fair to also give a pass to people whose family was there but never owned slaves - and that would be the vast majority of us.

 

[Chobham]

Pro-rate it.

It gets ugly real fast when you begin to contemplate taking from the non-participants and giving to the undeserving.