Oh for God’s sake, give it a rest. Everyone who is rich has “profited off” of everyone who is poor. That’s how the world works. Picking symbolic losers to be compensated is just feel-good DIY expiation.

Chattel slavery may well be the worst thing any group of people ever did to any other. But the damage cannot be repaired by “reparations.” It can only be repaired by repair. And this is the great logical dilemma in which black people find themselves. They declare themselves as capable as anyone else but also disadvantaged by their heritage. The issue is not their current mistreatment, which is real enough; it is the cultural residue of slavery that prevents them from succeeding but, we are told, does not justify the stereotypical view that they are not capable of success. Demanding reparations is admitting a need for them by people whose greatest goal must be to not need them.

Reparations? What is Head Start if not reparation? What is affirmative action if not “reparation”? Why does every TV show have a black character, often a genius or authority figure, if not reparation? The competition for token slots with Hispanic, Asian, bi-racial, gay, disabled, and non-binary characters would be laughable if it weren’t so dilutive. Turns out, everyone wants reparations from everyone. It’s simply not a road that leads somewhere. American blacks need to find another.