Quote:
Originally Posted by steeljack
You I presume haven't owned any slaves who are now free , so what do you have to apologize for ......nothing.
If the Govt. issues an apology its an admission of guilt and therefore opens up a can of worms for reparations...
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Personally, I do not have anything to apologize for, but I have clearly stated my position on
personal apologies already, so let's not go over that ground again.
As far as the government's apology is concerned, I fail to see how it necessarily opens up a can of worms regarding reparations. The apology and reparation are two separate issues. First of all, the plaintiffs (as well as their children and virtually all of their grandchildren), are long dead, so I'm not convinced that anyone has standing to bring a lawsuit, as no one who was personally enslaved can claim damages. Nor can we give these dead slaves or ex-slaves any sort of justice, save for an apology. Also, those who might have liability, the slaveowners, are also all dead. The statutory period in which to bring a civil action for torts that ceased to occur in 1865 expsired many, many years ago. Also, There is not reason why, given all these factors, the legislature could include provisions in the law for a summary dismissal of any lawsuits seeking reparations.
BTW, reparations were given to the surviving Japanese internees from WWII, but this is a different case. These internees were still alive.
Frankly, I think that those who just plain and simple do not care to apologize are raising the spectre of reparations in order to scare uninformed voters into taking their side. Pretty much the same tactic that was done vis-a-vis the alleged WMDs in Iraq. I have a really strong distaste for those who attempt to scare me into doing anything - in large part because folks who resort to such tactics generally are unable to persuade using logic and real evidence!
Again, I do not see any harm in the governement issuing an apology.