Reparations are a great buzz word, but how do you make up to many generations later what happened?  I'm Irish, and I have to say, that I think the British government would laugh at me if I went to them looking for reparation for the treatment of my great grand parents, which is not so long ago.  There is still slavery today in other parts of the world, would it not be better to invest the so called reparations to fighting poverty and slavery in those parts of the world?

WHAT HAPPENED TO FORTY ACRES AND A MULE?

I am very sorry for what happened to all the victims of slavery. But I do not think we should have to try and pay the distant relatives over 150 years later. For one thing where in heck would we get the money? Our country is so far in debt as it is.If this ever passed there would be problems with other groups who say hey what about us? We were wronged too. I thought slavery was horrible. No one who is alive now had nothing to do with what happened back then.

If I were president and they came across someone who was a slave, he or she would have no worries the rest of their life. Of course, considering they would have to be somewhere around 160 years old, I don't think it would be a problem. The great, great, great, great, grandchildren of slaves are on their own.

Reparations for what? Human kind has through countless generations wronged other people... at what point does it stop?  Do I go after the ancestors of the Ottoman's who destroyed my ancestor's crops and enslaved my ancestors while they traipsed around Europe? How about we encourage people to live outside of Victimization Theology?  Why do people insist on keeping other people down trying to convince them that they're owed somthing by someone else, instead of convincing them they owe something to themselves?

My great, great, great Grandfather was killed at the Battle of Perryville. He was with the Union Army. How about some reparation for our family?

How about those who are descended from Native American slaves, that worked on the plantations before the Blacks.

A really bad idea. Where would we draw the line. Would a recent African immigrant or his children be eligible? What if he is half black and half white? would he owe himself? Should blacks be forced to pay reparations to all the descendents of the Union soldiers who died defending their freedom. Before they got a cent from the U.S. government, should they first seek reparations from the descendents of the Africans who sold them? You see, no easy answers, no easy solutions.

Reparations is great idea, 'cept everyone who deserves it is long since dead....

Now let's see.Maybe I can go to England and force them to return the castles my ancestors owned,and what about the ships in the shipyards,Wha wha wha,I want em back and I want them back now. Where do people think the Indians came from?Where do people think the Eskimos came from?They didn't grow as a plant,they migrated to America just like the Europeans did.

i would give a dollar to each american citizen who can prove that he/she is directly related to someone who was a slave at one time. the time frame to provide this information would expire december 31st, 2004 at midnight. in the interest of fairness his dollar will not be subject to federal, state, or any tax of any kind. this would be a one time disbursement, and thereafter the issue of reparations would be closed.

Someone please go tell Jim Bob the broke farmer or Tony Donuts the steel worker they need to send Michael Jordan, Bill Cosby, Oprah Winfrey, Rob Johnson, Magic Johnson a check this very minute!

This is unbelievable, does this mean that jews can file for this against the egyptians. Most of the known world that was around during the Roman empire, it you link your ancestry should you be able to get reparations. What if your family was not even living in the USA at the time of slavery, should your taxes go to paying reparations. This is a ridiculous idea and should be dropped.

Too bad there isn't a rating of zero. It would also stand for the amount of money I would give in reparations to ancestors of slaves. Alert me to any African-American in the United States in 2004 that has been enslaved on a plantation and I would give them the white house. How this is even an issue nearly 150 years after the Civil War is beyond me.

If I were president . . . I'd wait, at least, until some activist judge awarded the reparations (which will probably happen within the next eight years, particularly if Hillary is elected) then I'd pull a Bill Clinton and refuse to approve the process, and I'd lie about the process accusing my opponents of lying and conducting a witch hunt, resulting in an impeachment fight in Congress. Then I'd rely on my party faithful to abandon any principles they had left to defend me in the press, knowing that neither side really has the stomach for such an ugly battle. I'd win by waiting them out. Works every time, ask Bill.

I have to agree that this is a bad bad idea. My family may have been here during the heyday of the slave trade but I know for a fact that none of my ancestors owned slaves. They were poor ass farmers who didn't have a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out of. So why should I have to pay. Slavery was a huge mistake, a tragedy but raparations are the not the solution.

I am a sepratist no amount of money will make me forgive white amerikkkans for what was done to my ancestors from 1619 to 1964 (when we finally gained what the constitution should have given us in 1789) I would rather have us (those Afro-Americans who do not want a colorblind society or be around crackers like Paulbvr) migrate to an area in this country and demand automnomy and be a nation like Israel and develop our own institutions and the rest of you idiots can live in harmony lololol .

Terrible idea. Of course, I'm sympathetic to the plight of the slaves in our country, but why should I have to pay them when my own family didn't come to America until long after -- 50 years, to be exact -- slavery was abolished? And while we're on that thread, I had family members who were discriminated against because they were Italian in an era of xenophobes. Sure, they weren't enslaved, but they weren't given living space or jobs, either. And I'm not asking for reparations. And I refuse to pay for something that wasn't my doing, nor my fault.

I'm a native American and I don't get any reparations. It's because I wasn't born in that era. What is in the past is in the past. Reparations are a bad idea. Let bygones be bygones.

I'd laugh my ass off while having my coffee and reading the paper.

There is no amount of money that can make the enslavement of an entire group of people suddenly become better--the forty acres and a mule is a sad price to ask for the suffering of the ancestors before you. Money won't make race relations in the nation any better. HOWEVER, I find it extremely offensive that anyone would say lets' open the flood gates to every worthless group of parasites who want to come in or better yet, why don't we all just get out and let them all have it. Worthless? Parasites? Let's not forget here that ALL of our families, at one point, moved over here from somewhere else; No one here is special. If ANYONE can call someone else a parasite for moving to America, I think the Native American tribes were HERE FIRST, and anyone after them are the intruders.

This is an unworkable idea. With only limited documentation there would be no way of knowing who were slaves and who were slave owners. My family for example, did not come to America until 1906 (documented) so on that basis alone I would refuse to pay. If by some chance reparations were made I would no longer accept slavery as a valid point in any discussion or debate. We would have made reparations therefore it has been neutralized. The poverty pimps such as Jesse Jackson and others who refuse to let go of ancient history for the sake of their own financial gain, would have the wind taken out of their sails. What about the white people who died to end slavery or ensure the rights of black citizens? Will black folks make reparations to their families? You don't have to go back to civil war days either as there are records of white people being murdered during the civil rights struggle in the 1960s. Certainly murder is worse than just being a slave. This is just another way to transfer money from one group to another, it will not solve any problem either past or present and will only cause further polarity between the races. The black people that I know are too busy working and raising their kids to give thought to such a ridiculous idea and most would not accept the money based on their personal principles.

Bad idea. It's more important to have a society that is FAIR for black, white and everyone else than to try to punish people who have been dead for two hundred years.

This is the one of the most idiotic ideas I've ever heard. Most of my ancestors were doing well to put food on the table they certainly didn't have plantations and slaves. But even if they had, guess what! Everybody from that day is now long dead and buried. If your great grandfather shot my great grandfather should you have the right to shoot me? Let's all just move forward, shall we.

One of the absolute worst ideas in history! I too am sorry for what happened well over a 100 years ago. But, In the history of my family we never had anyone ever born south of Kentucky who ever had any part in slavery. I feel absolutely no responsiblity for what happened. What about the American Indians whose land was taken from them? What about God's own people, the Jews? Everyone has been oppressed at some point in History! Time to put Jesse Jackson and the others to rest and worry about our future TOGETHER!

This would remain in the past. What would be next, reperations for Germans for WWII?

Our government made an agreement to provide reparations for slavery, and then failed to ever pay up. Just because it happened a long time ago (btw, 150 years is not a long time on a cultural scale) doesn't mean its over and dealt with. We inherit the debts of our fathers and must eventually pay up.

Apparently people will never learn to move on. Yes, remember the past, but get over it. It happened, and now its over. As being 10% Native American, its like me demanding reparations for that. Its a ludicris idea, and will never happen. I cannot even imagine what some blacks went through. But that does not entitle them to free money from everyone else. Making white people pay for reparations is slavery against whites in itself.

I wouldn't hand them out. Most of the people I know who would be reciepents would be insulted anyway. Are we also going to give reparations to the families of the white soldiers who died while freeing the slaves?

Slavery has been abolished in this nation for nearly 140 years. I would ensure that we move on as a nation and focus on enhancing opportunities for those of all races in the future, rather than focusing on the evils of the past.

I'm just confused...whom are we reprimanding and why?

No, I don't believe that we should begin to institute reparations for slavery. This was a dark mark on the history of our country. We need to move beyond this past oriented victim culture that some in the civil rights community continue to promulgate. It's best to acknowledge the past, but look forward to the future regarding equality. Reparations will only dig up old ghosts that should stay buried. And besides, why pay reparations to people who have no connection to the institution of slavery? Most people alive today are two to four generations removed from their ancestors who were slaves. It would be naive to say that people today don't discriminate, but reparations will only widen the gap between the races. The finger pointing has to stop; instituting reparations will only make things worse. We shouldn't categorize between races; after all these are false divisions. In my opinion, affirmative action hasn't really done a good job of this. As opposed, it's increased racial divides. Equality comes when poor people of all races gain equality of opportunity through an improved education system and economic development in poor areas to provide jobs.