I’m actually looking forward to reparations for exactly two reasons: one is the one you mention, where like lottery winners who are suddenly rich, a lot of recipients will blow through the gift and of course we’ll be told why it’s white people’s fault, but that will not convince many people. The other comes earlier, when they have to have the big fight over who qualifies since they’ll have to put a limit somewhere and some black people won’t be “black enough.” Honestly, reparations is a better issue for them strategically if it remains a pipe dream: they can pretend all black people will get it and they can portray sensible resistance to it as super racist bigotry. When it actually passes, the unity of “the black community” will come apart real quick.
Actually, add a third entertainment: watching the spendthrifts whining to the smart recipients, who saved or invested their gift. You’ll have losers and activists telling the investor black people that they have a racial responsibility to help out the spendthrifts, that they “aren’t really black” if they don’t spend the money on the spendthrifts, etc.
Honestly, I understand resistance on fiscal and moral grounds and I’m 100 percent against reparations. But I consider them about 90% certain to occur in some form now, so I’m going to take my fun from them when they happen.
I’m actually looking forward to reparations for exactly two reasons: one is the one you mention, where like lottery winners who are suddenly rich, a lot of recipients will blow through the gift and of course we’ll be told why it’s white people’s fault, but that will not convince many people. The other comes earlier, when they have to have the big fight over who qualifies since they’ll have to put a limit somewhere and some black people won’t be “black enough.” Honestly, reparations is a better issue for them strategically if it remains a pipe dream: they can pretend all black people will get it and they can portray sensible resistance to it as super racist bigotry. When it actually passes, the unity of “the black community” will come apart real quick.
Actually, add a third entertainment: watching the spendthrifts whining to the smart recipients, who saved or invested their gift. You’ll have losers and activists telling the investor black people that they have a racial responsibility to help out the spendthrifts, that they “aren’t really black” if they don’t spend the money on the spendthrifts, etc.
Honestly, I understand resistance on fiscal and moral grounds and I’m 100 percent against reparations. But I consider them about 90% certain to occur in some form now, so I’m going to take my fun from them when they happen.