Slave Money

I was reading about giving money to the descendants of slaves. Not only did it piss me off that so many people couldn't care less about the article ( they would rather bash someone) but they didn't know history and they didn't seem to care about the people that are STILL ALIVE TODAY that deserve this money WAY MORE THAN A BUNCH OF DEAD PEOPLE. Pissed off yet? Keep reading.

When slavery ended at the end of the War for Southern Independence the 13th Amendment was created making make slaves free men. The 16th Amendment gave the freed men the right to vote, making them citizens of these United States. In the 1920's Women where given the right to vote. That is, it gave the right to vote to white and black women, Asian as well, but that's a whole 'nother post as to why they didn't use their vote. Anyway, by the time women were counted as citizens they the last slave child would have been in his/her 60's.

So we have former slaves and women as citizens, but there is still one set of people that have taken over, or rather forced into the positions left open by the slaves and women's lib movement. History has forgotten these people. Their race has faded from classrooms, they seemed to have dropped off the face of the Earth during the 1890's. Who are these people and why should they be getting any form of reparation when as you can plainly see the dead slaves need it more?

Indians, Injuns, Native Americans, Red Man, whatever you want to call them, we have forgotten them. When both black men and women of MOST races were considered citizens the Native Americans were being taken from their families, shipped to mission/government schools and being stripped of any and all "Indian-ness". Their hair was cut, they were beaten for speaking their native languages, they were not allowed to see their families but once or twice a year. Young Native men and women were forbidden to practice their religion and where forced to convert to Christian. Girls where rapes, their children where taken from them and boys where beaten, most likely raped as well. They were "taught" to be servants, to take the place of house slaves, they were "taught" to work in factories, care for children and become nannies for women who wanted to be liberated.

By the 1960's the Civil Rights Movement had taken the world by storm. Black men and women where declaring their right to be treated as equal, but the Native American men and women where still being sent to gov't/ mission schools, they were still being treated as sub-human. There was a movement starting in the schools, a movement long over due. Native American's wanted to be citizens of their own land. They wanted to be heard. The American Indian Movement ( AIM) started. There was peace full sit ins, gov't buildings where taken over, thousands walked from the West Coast to DC to protest. Wounded Knee ( South Dakota) was taken over and there was a stand off. People fought and died there ( twice) children where born during the stand off ( making them in their 40's today) .

But this has been erased from schools. There were no slaves after the "civil war". The American gov't would never treat it's citizens this way.. unless of course, they weren't citizens to begin with.

So who should be getting reparations? The descendent's of slaves? What have they done to deserve this money? What have they fought for? What have they given up? What was taken from them? And WHAT descendants will get this money? How do we know who is a descendant and who is on the bandwagon? Will the money go to the blacks? What about the white slaves ( yes they were real)? What about the Asian slaves that build the rail roads?

We all know the squeakier wheel gets oiled.

How about we give this money to the LIVING? How about we give it to people who could use it? How about we start with current events and work our way back? If these United States think that giving money to the biggest whiners is how to win an election than the rights that all people have strived for mean nothing.

Let's start with the living, let's start with people that deserve this money, let's start to right the wrongs done to people by our gov't. Let's not just give out money to shut up the whiners of the world.

Please if someone can think of a REAL reason to hand over money to people that have done nothing to earn/deserve it, tell me. And tell me how is Congress going to pay for this to happen? Are they going to use tax money? Are they going to take money from Native Americans to pay for this?

I'm done ranting.