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Bob Scott Placier's avatar

Thanks for posting this segment of the conversation again. When I first listened, I was with Team Loury, so to speak, when he gave the left case against reparations. Reading it again, I am still there with him. A few words about myself may help clarify my stance. I am on the left, have been my entire adult life, same age as Dr. Loury. I was born and have lived my entire life in Appalachia, my county is one of the poorest in my state. There are black people here, not in large numbers, but many of them whose families have been here for generations. Imagine how it would be if, in such an impoverished region, reparations were made to our black residents, but nothing to their equally indigent neighbors. I don't want to imagine the reaction.

There is another concern of mine that I haven't heard addressed. On a previous show, John McWhorter remarked that his children are "mutts", meaning of mixed race. We have a number of "mutts" here, including folks with Native American, black, and white ancestries, even some Melungeons. Whatever the form or amount reparations take, do each of these folks get a full share? Or will they have to take DNA tests to determine percentages to be received? I've done AncestryDNA, and don't qualify for anything, don't need anything either. But I would like to see, and I champion, improvements in the lives of many of my neighbors. My fear is that the call for reparations is divisive and inimical to that objective.

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Lucy's avatar

Reparations is another example of how the Democrats propose to fix racism by, in fact, creating racial divisions (as Glenn points out - between white and black working classes). Progressive ideologies are ironic in this way. They fight racist practices by self-fulfilling them.

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