Reparations will 'prolong hatred and prejudice'

Laura Winsky's column, "It's not charity; it's an outstanding debt," in the Monday Wildcat is utterly fallacious - hardly the "logical approach" she promises. "Our colonial-era economy was forged with cotton cultivated by the hands of free labor - quite a rewarding investment and one which we continue to profit from today" is a false statement. The entire United States was not one giant cotton plantation, in fact only the South was. Nor did the South make a large profit from it. The South was impoverished and backward, its industry and education far behind the North, with only a few aristocrats making any profits from slave labor, hardly any different from their aristocratic contemporaries in Europe making money from the serfs.

"The 'it's too late' argument, is not an acceptable answer, for there is a body of international precedents that make an argument for it even after the passage of time" is a false statement. There can be no analogy between Germans compensating living Holocaust victims or living relatives of Holocaust victims and slavery, which ended 150 years ago.

There are no living victims of slavery and no living "profiteers" of slavery who have any share of guilt. If this principle were extended universally, that all descendants of victims require compensation from all descendants of offenders, where would the guilt end? Should the Egyptians compensate the Jews for their years of slavery? Should Mongolia repay China and Russia for their conquests? Should every descendant of a criminal be required to pay compensation to every descendant of the ancient victim? Not only is this idea impossible to realize, it goes against all morality, which makes each person responsible for his or her actions.

Most ridiculous of all is that most blacks are descendants of their very oppressors as well as the oppressed. Are we to demand compensation from themselves to themselves? What happened to Martin Luther King Jr.'s vision where "people are judged not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character?" How is demanding restitution from whites, simply because they are white, to blacks, simply because they are black, any different from the racism of the past?

We are all unique and special, and to judge us by any arbitrary measure is prejudice. To punish us for being white, or male, or black, or female or anything else is just as prejudiced as the past. True conciliation comes from justice for all. Harmony and good will comes from justice, where each is given their due, according to their actions. Speeches like these arming blacks against whites will only prolong the hatred and prejudice that MLK Jr. hoped to end.

Tommy Hensley
creative writing sophomore

Time for United States to move on

This letter is in response to the letter written by Rachel Wilson in the Wednesday Wildcat. Ms. Wilson was arguing for the payment of reparations to the ancestors of slaves. I am not saying that what was done to the Africans when they were brought to America wasn't inhumane and disgraceful, however, why should people be punished for the sins of their ancestors? Also, the term genocide denotes the attempt to eliminate a race of people through mass murder, for example the Holocaust.

The other thing I think Ms. Wilson should consider is that every race of people who has entered the "melting pot" of America has been persecuted in one way or another. When the Irish came over, they were considered only slightly more human than slaves. The Irish were forced to work brutally long hours in dangerous conditions in factories for pennies a day. What the slaves had to endure was horrible and disgusting, but they did have a roof over their heads and food on the table. The Irish made only pennies a day and had to pay rent for a roof and spend the rest of their bitterly small income on food. But the Irish were free, except some didn't have a place to live and many didn't have any food on the table.

Should I then be paid reparation since my Irish ancestors were brutally persecuted as well? And what about the Japanese during World War II? What happened to the Japanese was completely unconstitutional - do they deserve reparations also?

If the ancestors of slaves deserve reparations then let's not forget about the Irish, Jews, Japanese, Catholics and everybody else who isn't a WASP. Everybody has had a raw deal at some point! It's time to move on and treat everybody equal in the United States.

Matthew H. Elias
political science sophomore

Reparations letter lacks 'any historical evidence'

I was happy to see that one of my major theories about our education system, that Ph.D. usually stands for "piled higher, deeper," has once again been proven correct by the good Ms. Rachel Wilson. Though quite adept at shooting off her mouth, Ms. Wilson neglected to include any historical evidence at all to support her damn near libelous accusations, so I think it's my duty to do it for her.

As far as our nation's wealth being gained by slave labor, our nation gained all of its wealth during the post Civil War period of industrialization, a period when we owned a total of zero slaves and immigrants from eastern and southern Europe shouldered much of the burden. Fact: Blacks did not work in northern factories until WWI except periodically as scabs. The unions didn't let them in.

More facts (!): Blacks bought in Africa were ALREADY enslaved! No self-respecting tribal chief was going to let Whitey troop around in his jungles rounding up his friends; the tribes captured them and sold most to the Europeans for guns to capture more slaves (tell that to the president of Nigeria please).

Also, our conquest of the native tribes had more to do with the fact that they were weak than that they were brown. Even into the 20th century, European nations were conquering their weaker neighbors; it's about power, not race (except for Hitler's conquest of Poland and the Slavic nations). I'm not justifying mass murder or enslavement, but - at the most -15 percent of Southerners ever owned slaves, which means an even smaller fraction of the population of the whole nation owned them. To say that the whole nation was founded on genocide is idiotic, particularly in light of all the sacrifices the people of our great nation have made in order to rectify the past.

As a final note, democratic ideals center on the people's right to choose and live free, and as far as I see, your ramblings as a whole have proven your last point null.

Tylor Brand
history sophomore

Should feel 'privileged' to have Lute Olson as a coach

After reading Chad Schneider's letter, I am puzzled, as I'm sure many other members of this university are, at this unprovoked attack at Coach Olson's integrity. To say that Lute doesn't care about the students at this school is completely incorrect and unfounded. Coach Olson often praises the home fans for contributing to the Wildcats success and appreciates the students' enthusiasm toward the games.

Coach Olson takes as much time out of his very busy schedule to meet students, however it is not in his job description to be a liaison to the students. Rather, it is his responsibility to field a winning basketball team who has high morals and personal standards.

In addition, I have never heard Lute talk "trash" about the Arizona fans. If Lute Olson really cared more about money than the game, he would have left for the NBA years ago. Through the last 19 years at this University, Lute Olson has been a role model to citizens of Tucson through his numerous charity events. Therefore, I find it wrong to criticize a man who does so much for our school and community. I feel privileged to have coach Olson as our head basketball coach and am looking forward to watching the future seasons under his guidance.

Eric Brown
marketing and business management junior

Read up on dating violence

I don't know how many Wildcat readers bothered to look through the "Spring Into Health" supplement in Wednesday's edition, but for those who did not, I suggest they find a copy and read the article on relationships by Diane Asch. It is well-written and full of important information, especially for college-age readers. Repeated research into dating violence has found that it occurs in as high as an astounding forty-four percent of relationships! And that doesn't even touch other areas, such as sexual and emotional abuse.

If your readers see their own relationships or that of someone they know in the descriptions, they should make use of the services listed there - especially the men. Even though the article opened with a scene in which a man was the culprit, research has also shown that women commit half the violence in both dating and domestic relationships, initiating as often as they receive.

Despite the fact that most men consider the abuse "no big deal," it is a big deal. Men are just as susceptible to the damaging emotional effects of abuse. So, if any of your male readers want more information or help, I urge them to contact the OASIS Center, especially Matt Sanders, at 626-2051, or contact me at sattvadmh@aol.com. Without intervention, abusive relationships only get worse, and no amount of "manly pride" can overcome the effects.

Dave Heacock
UA security officer