By Sidney Secular
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Determined to lead the wacky woke in weirdness, California decided to develop its very own reparations program by creating a commission to develop such, two years ago. The commission has now released its recommendations – recommendations so fanciful, illogical, impractical, insane and intolerable that if adopted, the scheme will drive what remains of normal citizenry to depart for red or even purple environs as long as they no longer reside in the Land of Fruits and Nuts. California entered the Union as a free state and remained loyal to the Union when the “Uncivil War” erupted in 1861. It provided a not inconsiderable 16,000 volunteers to the federal army, a rather large contingent considering the state’s small population at the time. This force helped to keep the southwest out of Confederate hands even as battles for control of the area were occurring in Arizona and New Mexico. Yet, during the war, between California and the rest of the Union, the lines of communication and trade remained largely unencumbered, the US Mail unaffected, and the westward movement of the pioneers unabated – ask the Indians! (Now there’s a group that could legitimately claim reparations – but even though they are not White, obviously it is just not their turn – yet!)
Despite a history devoid of any real involvement with slavery, California taxpayers, including descendants of the aforesaid volunteers will have to cough up billions of dollars that would then be given to an ill-defined coterie of Black Californians, whose ancestors were probably never slaves in the first place, especially in that State! Even those whose ancestors had been enslaved are very few in number and, as noted, those ancestors lived elsewhere in the country during their enslavement. The nine members of the Reparations “task force” are, of course, all far left wing Democrats. Eight of the nine are Black, the ninth being a Japanese-American man who should have known better! His involvement makes you wonder, really, about the claim of Asian superior intelligence! In any event, the task force issued its 1,080 page, 40 chapter compilation of rantings . . .er, findings, in June. It is mostly a rehash of what passes for the history of slavery today, flavored with heart-rending examples of the conditions under which Blacks in America lived following the abolition of that condition, neither of which have much direct applicability to California. Blaming that State for massive Black suffering is extremely difficult if not impossible at least if you are reasonably intelligent – but, of course, that is a big “if!” Almost none of what is held up as an excuse for reparations was caused by the state’s actions and such harm as did happen was eventually remedied legally through court decisions. Furthermore, there are legal remedies available at the present time for any such unlawful mistreatment whether in the past or presently on going. But taking that route requires intelligent discourse based on fact, not the wild, irrational, baseless assertions and ad-hominem attacks that constitute the leftists’ stock in trade! Such idiocy wouldn’t get them anywhere in any proper judicial proceedings.
One theme constantly hammered home is labeled “over-incarceration.” The committee alleges too many Black men are serving time in California prisons attributing the situation to a “racist’ criminal justice system. Blacks are only 7% of the state’s population, but 28% of the prison population. However, statistics show that Blacks commit about 30% of California’s homicides and other violent crimes. It is also claimed that Blacks serve longer prison sentences than Whites for the same crime but when prior felony convictions are taken into account in the sentencing procedure, the duration of the sentences of both white and black – even for the same crimes – are virtually equal. This is reflected in the annual report to the California state legislature by the Judicial Council of California, entitled “Disposition of Criminal Cases According to the Race and Ethnicity of the Defendant.” The task force apparently thought it too difficult to consult that report or, more likely, the report quashed their claims of racial bias.
This pattern of ignoring evidence is uninterrupted throughout the report. Many of the harmful actions claimed for Blacks could also be cited for Whites. Blacks in crime-ridden neighborhoods pay high insurance rates, but those rates are not nearly as high as those paid by Whites in areas prone to floods and/or wildfires – as well as rampant crime. Blacks have been forced to vacate properties through eminent domain procedures, but so too, have a far larger number of Whites. “Just compensation” for loss of such properties is guaranteed by both the California and US Constitutions, which apply equally to blacks and whites. “Fair market value” is frequently a bone of contention, but such disagreements apply equally to all California citizens, regardless of race. Indeed, such “eminent domain” problems seldom apply to Blacks anyway, but to those who own the apartment buildings in which most California Blacks reside, occasionally even paying rent for that privilege. Hence such “tenants” are not personally affected by government’s seizure of property, they are merely discommoded until they find another “home” where, often, they continue to “reside” without benefit of reimbursement to their new landlord.
Harassment by police is always a theme of Black discontent. Blacks claim to suffer unique amounts of harassment, but when you examine each case, you generally find that the cops are just doing their jobs without any special animus towards Blacks. Since Blacks weren’t slaves in California, they have to employ their over-active imaginations to conjure up harms they allegedly suffer because of their race though why, even if such wrongs exist, that should make of them “victims of slavery” is beyond any rational response! The astronomical payouts proposed come to $1.2 million per person and would total upwards of $800 billion when all is said and done! That would be 2.5 times the entire California state budget. To lessen the impact on taxpayers, it has been suggested that payouts occur in increments. Of course, many Blacks won’t hear of that, and demand their money NOW!
These monetary rewards are only part of the proposed payout package. Additional compensation benefits include free college tuition – the word “education” is questionable under the circumstances! – state subsidies towards mortgages and Black owned businesses, free health care, and higher wages for incarcerated labor, a questionable matter concerning how many of the “recipients” are involved in actual paid labor in prison. I have found such wages extremely inadequate and unfair in all American penal systems compared to what is paid in civilian life for like services. And, of course, it would be incredibly unfair if Black inmates receive higher compensation for their labor than do White inmates – but then, who cares about “fairness” for Whites after all. The most troubling aspect of this proposed “heist” is the underlying presupposition that by virtue of being Black alone, one has ipso facto suffered harm deserving of financial recompense when, all the while, no proof of such harm is required – or even possible. Nonetheless, according to those “studying” the matter, the State of California is adjudged responsible and, therefore, the taxpayers must pay.
The only practical check on this oncoming avalanche of cascading financial claims has to be California’s $32 billion budget deficit and the state’s present $520 billion debt, which puts it in first place in the race toward financial ruin. However, culturally, what starts in California usually spreads as growing trends, especially in Blue states. Just as the alleged Covid virus, California’s legal, social and financial trends spread everywhere affecting a population’s mental health and financial stability all of which create attitudes that result in destructive physical symptoms for both the people and the culture. There is no amount of deception regarding this phenomenon that can hide the intent behind it. The fact that this indeed, is the actuality of “racism” at its most obvious cannot be denied.
© 2023 Sidney Secular – All Rights Reserved
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