Better than Reparations!
(Racism: Part 3 of 3)
I am not in support of reparations to the millions of Black people and their decendants who were and remain victims of slavery, Jim Crow, Separate but Equal, and state-sanctioned redlining, and public lynchings.Given the aforementioned, let's deal with the elephant in the room, reparations should not be an event to make White people feel guilty. More importantly, reparations should be an event, a "golden opportunity" to make amends for the wrongs done, not only to Black people, but to all people who did not and have not benefited from "privilege." Get it? Reparations cannot be a piecemeal event that only benefits one sector of the U.S. population while excluding the corresponding injustice, oppression, racism, genocide, and sexism intentionally done to others. We, as a country, must stop this inhumanity to each other once and for all, and truly embrace the "big picture" of fairness and justice for all.
Consequently, this is why I don't support reparations for Black people, even though as validated (yet again) with the June 2014 issue of “The Atlantic” magazine, that throughout the history of these United States of America, the overwhelming majority of White people, which includes the hypocrisy of their Christian, Jewish, and Muslim religions, did absolutely nothing to eradicate 250 years of slavery, 90 years of Jim Crow, 60 years of Separate but Equal (SBE), 35 years of state-sanctioned redlining and the unrestricted lynchings and murders of millions of Black people - and yes, atrocities to other people of color, especially the genocide of Native Americans. Plus, it's the demonstrated history and hypocrisy of the U.S. to pass laws to prohibit discrimination, atrocities, and related "wrong-doing," but the people (White people) who make the laws also determine exceptions to these laws, so the discrimination, atrocities, and related "wrong-doing" continues. I have a better "strategy" to achieve fairness and justice for all than reparations; it's linear, equitable, and achieveable, but first, let's recap why something must be done.
QUESTION 1: Given that race-based genocide, oppression, and discrimination against all people of color began prior to the inception of the United States of America on July 4, 1776 and continued uninterrupted thereafter, on what specific year and date did White people relinquish their ill-gotten wealth, power, and control to enable people of color with "fair and just" access to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? When?
ANSWER: White people never gave up their ill-gotten wealth and power.
"No nation can enslave a race of people for hundreds of years, set them free begraggled and penniless, pit them, without assistance in a hostile environment, against privileged victimizers, and then reasonably expect the gap between the heirs of the two groups to narrow. Lines, begun parallel and left alone, can never touch."
"The Debt: What America Owes to Blacks"
by Randall RobinsonQUESTION 2: Did White people provide Black people, and other people of color, with equal access to education, employment, housing, health care, and the political process at the end of the Civil War with passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, or the Civil Rights (Ku Klux Klan) Act of 1871, or the Civil Rights Act of 1875?
ANSWER: No, because the U.S. Declaration of Independence only established "White men" as equals. By law, the overwhelming majority of Black people, and other people of color, and women, were prohibited from owning property, prohibited from employment due to collective bargaining agreements with White controlled labor unions, prohibited from attending "better" schools due to government sanctioned segregation, prohibited from the legislative process (the number of Black state and federal legislators in the South peaked in 1872 at about 320 - a level never surpassed even by 1992), and yes, as pictured below, Black people without arraignment or trial were still being lynched by White people without fear of arrest or conviction.
QUESTION 3: Did White people provide Black people, and other people of color, with equal access to education, employment, housing, health care, and with full access to the political process a hundred years later with passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964?
ANSWER: No, because during the so-called "civil rights movement" White people concurrently stole land from Black people, and pursued the continued oppression of Black people. Plus, as engineered by White people, the "cycle of discrimination" continues to mandate prevailing race-based educational, cultural and business practices, including Jim Crow Laws, Mass Incarceration, the Glass Ceiling, and other barriers which continue to prohibit Black people, and other people of color, with "fair and just" access to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
QUESTION 4: Except for a few tokens, the overall social and economic status (i.e., equal access to education, employment, housing, health care, and the political process) for the overwhelming majority of Black people, and other peole of color, did not change during the 1870s, 1880s, 1890s, 1900s, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, and the 2010s - and it never will. Where's any evidence to the contrary?
ANSWER: There isn't any.
Most importantly, it's also a sad historical FACT that rich White Americans will NEVER share their wealth, click here.
In our capitalist society, money is typically considered the solution to every problem, and it's a terrible, terrible mistake to think reparations will solve anything. Case in point, the Republic of Lakotah and many Native American tribes do not want money from the United States, more importantly, they want their land back!
Using their own Doctrine of Discovery to legitimize their theft and colonization of lands outside of Europe, millions of evil, self-centered, narcissistic White men stole land from sovereign indigenous people, and it's up to fair-minded people of color, women, and fair-minded White men to do the right thing, adhere to the treaties, and return land back to Native Americans.
Click the image above to learn more about the Republic of LakotahQUESTION 5: If the overwhelming majority of White people believe the genocide of Native Americans to be unjust, that the theft of Native American lands unjust, then why don't White people return all lands and related properties back to the Native American tribes?
ANSWER:
1. White people make the rules (laws) and all exceptions to the rules, it's their country, they own it, and they can unilaterally "pick and choose" if and when they'll adhere to whatever rules, laws, and contracts they establish; and
2. In the wake of blatantly passive and failed attempts to create "fairness and justice for all," the mantra for the overwhelming majority of White people is, "The past is the past; I've got mine, so you get yours!"
So, looking at the "big picture" of fairness and justice for all, reparations cannot be singularly administered solely for the benefit of Black people, but for Native Americans as well. Oh, but wait . . .
What about justice for the millions and millions of women who blatantly suffered discrimination, rape, and murder at the hands of men? Don't they deserve reparations?
But as we look at the "big picture" of fairness and justice for all, there's more.
The "big picture" of fairness and justice for all does not exist!
So, looking at the "big picture" of fairness and justice for all, establishing reparations solely for Black people at the expense of Native Americans, Latinos, Asians, women, and innocent White people does not represent fairness and justice for all; it will only cause resentment. I resent and refuse to require other victims of injustice and innocent people to be . . . victimized. It's not right.
Instead, let's do something that would BOLDLY benefit everyone, eliminate class-based discrimination, and would show the entire world the value of true leadership.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
The United States should focus on three things: (a) education, (b) social and cross-cultural enrichment, and (c) business development. War should be, must be an after-thought.
1. The "key" component of the aforementioned socio-economic tripodal is to provide 100% "free" public education, from cradle to grave, from elementary school to achievement of doctorate degrees for EVERY U.S. citizen (not illegal immigrants, etc.).
HOW?
BACKGROUND: As reported by CNN.com, the United States spends 4.2% of its GDP on defense, which is nearly twice the amount spent on defense by other NATO countries combined. The US spent $623 billion and other NATO countries spent $312 billion, for a total of a little less than a trillion dollars spent on defense by treaty members. The US has the largest GDP in the organization (and the world) by far -- $19.39 trillion in 2017, according to the World Bank. NATO determines the US GDP at $17.79 trillion in 2017 for the purposes of its calculations. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute data used by the World Bank, the US spent more than $1,879 per capita in 2017. That's more than double its European allies. France spent $889 per capita, the UK spent $713 and Germany spent $539 per capita. The US has increased its per capita spending at a much faster rate than the other countries.
PROPOSED: The United States should:
(1) re-allocate $311.5 billion to provide "free" public education to all U.S. citizens, and reduce military spending to $311.5 billion or less;
(2) eliminate or significantly reduce its physical, military "footprint" in other countries;
(3) save American lives by abandoning its legacy "boots on the ground" military strategy;
(4) transition to a primary "clone in the air" and "robots on the ground" strategy;
(5) maintain, or increase as necessary, existing naval, air, and space operations;
(6) contrary to an erroreous perception of isolationism, re-allocate 10% of existing military spending for "good deeds" to help developing countries and to spur social and cross-cultural enrichment;
(7) As established by the U.S. Constitution, the US will enforce and protect the entire southern and northern U.S. borders by re-allocating military staff and equipment, and thereby eliminating illegal immigration concerns from State and municipal governments; and
(8) With the absence of US military operations in hostile or terrorist-prone areas, the US conveys any subsequent act of violence against the United States or our NATO partners will not be tolerated, and in the event of such, after verification, the US will initiate an absolute, no tolerance policy of complete and utter destruction. We will thin the herd.WHY?
Arguably, the biggest problem with modern-day warfare is that "politics and humanity" get in the way of ending wars. Don't cringe at the blatant realism and honesty of the previous sentence; you may not like it, but it's true. FACT: The quickest way to end any war has always been the absolute, total destruction of the enemy - period. Kill everybody. Destroy everything. Sadly, human history is littered with thousands and thousands of conflicts that ended as a result of: (1) the greater power killing everybody and destroying everything (i.e., genocide against Native Americans); or (2) the greater power demonstrating and subseqently threatening to kill everybody and destroy everything (like when the U.S. dropped atomic bombs on Japan in WWII). Clearly, the United States has a demonstrated propensity to kill with reckless abandonment and genocide, to enslave, to oppress, which is why hostile or terrorist-prone areas would be wise not to pursue any act of violence against the United States or our NATO partners. Leave us alone, we'll leave you alone; if you don't, we'll bury you. War should be, must be an after-thought. 'Nuff said.
Observation: If you don't "play to win" you don't win. War strategy is very simple. History shows, in the absence of genocide, many if not most people will continue to fight, even using guerrilla warfare tactics (Vietnamese) to ultimately win.
Question: So, given that the U.S. has the most lethal arsenal of weapons in the history of the world, such as the non-nuclear 30,000 pound GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb (a.k.a. "The Mother of All Bombs) which is the most powerful non-nuclear weapon ever designed with the largest yield in the US conventional arsenal - it can smash through more than 200 feet of concrete before exploding, and then it explodes with a nuclear type of mushroom cloud, why did and does the U.S. waste time and waste American lives sending ground troops to Iraq, Iran, etc.?
Answer: Because there never was and there is absolutely no serious directive to end the so-called "war" in Iraq, Afghanistan, etc.
Proposed: By re-allocating our economic might to education, social and cultural enrichment, and business development the U.S. could become that utopian society with the most concentrated collection of scientists, doctors, artists, writers, engineers, etc. We could use our collective intelligence and financial resources to "finally" cure cancer; end hunger; rebuild a dilapidated infrastructure of bridges, dams, and streets; eliminate lead contamination in public water distribution; inprove recycling and sanitation disposal; prevent global warming; eliminate racism and sexism; pursue space travel to other planets; discover the vast mysteries of our unexplored seas and oceans; create the seemingly unimaginable, and so very much more! If we eliminate the "social ills of society" (hunger, disease, injustice, war, etc.) we can spend our collective energy in a truly capitalist and utopian paridigm to pursue education, social and cross-cultural enrichment, and business development. Let's grab the gusto life has to offer!
2. Congress should enact legislation to redefine the selection and election of members to Congress. As with any political activity, especially involving rich and powerful White men, it's the history and practice of the U.S. Congress to be bought, manipulated, influenced, or castrasted to protect is own self-interests. People of color and women need only to coalesce political and economic strategies to dethrone White-male imperialism. Oh, it will likely be ugly, perhaps even violent as with the end of apartheid in South Africa, but it can happen.
HOW? Using the same "benchmark" identification and selection process used to randomly form juries for civil and criminal trials, the U.S. Congress will enact legislation requiring the Internal Revenue Service and/or the U.S. Census Bureau to create a computer-generated pool of eligible U.S. citizens to serve in the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives.
The "pool of eligibles" will mirror the current U.S. demographics: White 72.4%, Latino 17.6%, Black 12.6%, Asian 4.8%, Amerindian and Alaska native 0.9%, Native Hawaiian and other Pacific islander 0.2%, other 6.2%, two or more races 2.9% (2010 est.); and as reported in the 2010 Census population, approximately 50.8 percent (157.0 million) of Congressional members must be female, while 49.2 percent (151.8 million) shall be male.
Service is optional, and compensation is provided at existing rates paid to U.S. Senators and House Representatives, which is: $174,000 annually for U.S. Senators and members of the House of Representatives, and $193,400 for the President Pro Tempore and the Majority Leader and Minority Leader at the Senate. Service is for only one-(1) term, and individuals can be recalled immediately for failure to attend at least ninty-(90) percent of all sessions, or for committing a felony. As with jury duty, individuals who do not wish to serve will be replaced by an alternate willing to do so. However, alternates will likely be unnecessary, because as reported by U.S. census.gov, as of 2017, the median U.S. household income is $57,652 and the per capita income is $31,177 which is significantly less than compensation provided to members of the U.S. congress.
U.S. Senate - In addition to racial and ethnic diversity, the one-hundred-(100) member U.S. Senate can easily be configured 50% female and 50% male to represent one male and one female from each U.S. state.
U.S. House - The number of House Seats is based on the size of each State's population. Plus, as set forth in Article I, Section 2, of the United States Constitution, candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives must be at least 25 years old, a resident of the state they wish to represent, and a U.S. citizen for at least seven years. Members of the U.S. House of Representatives are elected every two years for a two-year term. Accordingly, the four-hundred-and-thirty-five-(435) member House of Representatives should be based on the racial and ethnic demographic specific to each state.
CURRENTPROPOSED
GENDER: States with only one-(1) seat will rotate incumbents by gender. # Seats based on U.S. Census July 1, 2018
RACE/ETHNICITY: Representation must be .50 or greater for seat allocation. If representation is less than total seats allocated by law, the difference in seat allocation will be satisfied randomly.
#
Male/Female
White /
# Seats%
Black /
# Seats%
Hispanic /
# Seats%
Asian /
# Seats%
Native American /
# SeatsAlabama 4,802,982 Alaska 721,523 60.3 / 0.60
Arizona 6,412,700 Arkansas 2,926,229 California 37,341,989 Colorado 5,044,930 Connecticut 3,581,628 Delaware 900,877 Florida 18,900,773 Georgia 9,727,566 Hawaii 1,366,862 Idaho 1,573,499 Illinois 12,864,380 Indiana 6,501,582 Iowa 3,053,787 Kansas 2,863,813 Kentucky 4,350,606 Louisiana 4,553,962 Maine 1,333,074 Maryland 5,789,929 Massachusetts 6,559,644 Michigan 9,911,626 Minnesota 5,314,879 Mississippi 2,978,240 Missouri 6,011,478 Montana 994,416 Nebraska 1,831,825 Nevada 2,709,432 New Hampshire 1,321,445 New Jersey 8,807,501 2,067,273 19,421,055 9,565,781 675,905 11,568,495 3,764,882 3,848,606 12,734,905 1,055,247 4,645,975 819,761 6,375,431 25,268,418 2,770,765 630,337 8,037,736 6,753,369 1,859,815 5,698,230 568,300 309,183,463
Based on the demographics of the most current legislative session, the 116th Congress (below), the seating allocation proposed above would equitably:a. increase the number of women in the House by 124, from 106 to 230, an increase of 116.98%.
b. decrease number of White incumbents in the House by 57, from 321 to 264, a decrease of 17.78%.
c. increase the number of Black incumbents in the House by 4, from 54 to 58, an increase of 7.41%.
d. increase the number of Latino incumbents in the House by 37, from 42 to 79, an increase of 88.10%.
e. increase the number of Asian incumbents in the House by 12, from 14 to 26, an increase of 85.71%.
f. increase the number of Native American incumbents in the House by 1, from 4 to 5, an increase of 25%.
329 / 106
Male / FemaleWhite
# / %Black
# / %Hispanic
# / %Asian
# / %Native American 321 /
73.79%54 /
12.41%42 /
9.66%14/
3.22%4/
0.92%WHY?
CLICK GRAPH TO ENLARGESource: Center for Responsive Politics
In 2015, the median net worth of Senate Republicans rose 13 percent from $2.9 million to $3.3 million, according to personal financial disclosure data filed by congressional members and reviewed by CRP researchers. Over the same period, the median net worth of the Senate Democratic Caucus, on the other hand, rose 9 percent – still far greater than the 4.5 percent increase in combined net worth of U.S. households and nonprofits in 2015, according to a report this year from the Federal Reserve. In 2015, more than 70 percent of Senators were millionaires, meaning most never needed to worry about the pressures that most middle-class American face – from securing gainful employment to saving for unforeseen financial shocks. At at a time when Congress is considering changes to the tax code and healthcare legislation, this disparity calls into question their ability to adequately represent their constituents. In the House, median net worth of members increased only about 1 percent, from $860,000 in 2014 to $875,000 in 2015.
BOTTOM LINE: THE OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF ELECTED OFFICIALS ARE MILLIONAIRES OR BILLIONAIRES AND THEY DO NOT REPRESENT THE OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF U.S. CITIZENS - ESPECIALLY PEOPLE OF COLOR AND WOMEN!
By re-allocating ("repairing") the electoral process to accurately mirror the configuration of the entire U.S. population, the United States would truly become the most egalitarian country in the world, and truly embrace the "big picture" of fairness and justice for all!
3. All publicly traded companies should be configured with a Board of Directors that mirrors the current demographics of the United States of America, by race or ethnicity, gender, and age (as defined by prevailing financial statute): White 72.4%, Latino 17.6%, Black 12.6%, Asian 4.8%, Amerindian and Alaska native 0.9%, Native Hawaiian and other Pacific islander 0.2%, other 6.2%, two or more races 2.9% (2010 est.); and as reported in the 2010 Census population, 50.8 percent (157.0 million) of Board membership must be female, while 49.2 percent (151.8 million) of Board membership shall be male.
HOW? The U.S. Congress should enact legislation and the Securities Exchange Commission should enforce such.
WHY?
4. The U.S. Congress should enact legislation to honor its treaty with the Republic of Lakotah and return to them all of their land (again, this is exactly what the United Kingdom did by returning Hong Kong back to China).
In summary, instead of legislating reparations only for Black people, let's do more by re-allocating our economic might to benefit every U.S. citizen. Let's finally level the field from a racist and sexist declaration that all "men" are created equal, to a declaration that all "people" are created equal and are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness." Isn't it finally time every U.S. citizen benefit from the vast resources available in this country? Let's focus on education, social and cultural enrichment, and business development, which is clearly far more humane, constructive, and long-lasting than "boots on the ground."Unfortunately, in the United States of America, White men who hold authority, power, and control over everything would have to relinquish such to a point of equity with women, minorities, and poor White people; and that's highly unlikely because the overwhelming majority of White men who hold authority, power, and control do not know how to share, or they have absolutely no desire to share. So, as validated by the Thucydides Trap, we're all doomed for history to repeat itself for yet another revolution between the rich verses the poor, Black people verse White people, etc.
The U.S. should become that utopian society with the most concentrated collection of scientists, doctors, artists, writers, engineers, etc. We could use our collective intelligence and financial resources to "finally" cure cancer; end hunger; rebuild a dilapidated infrastructure of bridges, dams, streets, and sanitation; prevent global warming; eliminate racism and sexism; create the seemingly unimaginable; pursue space travel to other planets; discover the vast mysteries of our unexplored seas and oceans; and so very much more!
I welcome your feedback.
Trip Reynolds
trip.reynolds@yahoo.com
Reynolds' Rap
August 7, 2019
© 2017-2019 Tripoetry. All Rights Reserved.
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