Thursday, August 20, 2020

How About Democrats Pay KKK Reparations to Black Republicans?


By Larry O'Connor  | Townhall.com


Source: AP Photo/File

The Democratic Party should pay reparations to black Republicans who have suffered at the hands of the KKK.

Hear me out.

Make no mistake, the Democrats and their allies in the Marxist Black Lives Matter organization are moving this country toward a "national conversation" about reparations.

Side note: Have you noticed that whenever we have a race-related "national conversation," it always ends up being sanctimonious, Marxist tenured professors lecturing the rest of us about how evil and racist and privileged we are, and if you deny it, it proves you're racist? And the solution to the evil racism that you exhibit is to take more of your money and give it to Democrats in government where they pay for big programs that enrich those tenured professors, make inner-cities even worse, and then ten years later we are poised for another "national conversation"?

Yeah, well, they're getting us ready for another one of those "national conversations" and this time it will be about reparations for slavery.

Before that conversation gets driven down our throats by the Harris-Biden presidential ticket, how about Republicans get in front of this issue?

How about instead of moving toward reparations for slavery (which has challenges logistically and judicially), we move for something a little more tangible?

I mean, let's face it, it's nearly impossible to identify who, specifically, would be responsible for paying these reparations, right? Descendants of the slave owners? OK, try to trace that out, I suppose. But, logically, their reparation payment should only go to the descendants of those African-Americans their ancestors owned.

Also, isn't it unjust to punish a person for the sins of their fathers? I mean, this is a fundamental understanding the Western world has always embraced. But the Left would have us punish, through taxation, the great, great, great-grandchildren for slavery.

So what do we do?

Having the US government pay the reparations would be even more unjust. It would also tax black Americans and the descendants of immigrants who arrived on these shores years after the Civil War. Why should their descendants' money pay for an evil act that occurred when they were living in another country? Also, technically speaking, the United States government did not own slaves, so why should the government pay for the sins of some (a very small percentage) of her citizens?

Meanwhile, there are very real victims still alive who suffered from systemic and violent racism at the hands of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK). Many are still alive to tell their stories. Or, their children are alive and have suffered greatly due to the terror inflicted upon them by the Klan.

The KKK's terror was specifically directed at black Americans who dared to vote. And, how did they vote? They voted Republican. Furthermore, the Klan was populated by Democrats. Southern, racist, segregationist Democrats. And their reign of terror began because they had to terrify newly freed African-Americans from voting. Because these Klansmen knew they would vote Republican.

How powerful did the Klan's political clout grow? In 1924, organized Klansmen marched through the streets of New York and attended the Democratic National Convention that nominated Woodrow Wilson for the presidency. After winning office, Woodrow screened the racist ode to the Klan "Birth of a Nation," a film produced by racist Hollywood producers. It was the first film ever screened at the White House.

Spoiler alert: the film rationalizes and glorifies the rise of the Klan.

From the Wilson presidency, the intertwined narratives of the Klan and Democratic Party were inseparable. It's no mistake that Exalted Cyclops of the West Virginia Klan Robert Byrd chose the Dems when he went into politics.

Byrd rose to the level of Majority Leader of the Senate because his fellow Democrats saw him as a leader and an inspiration. Joe Biden had nothing but praise for the Klansman after his death.

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FLASHBACK: 10 years ago today Joe Biden delivered a eulogy for Senate segregationist and former KKK "Exalted Cyclops" leader Robert Byrd. He called him a "mentor," a "guide," and a "friend." Byrd once led a KKK chapter with 150 members.

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In short: Democrats not only benefited from the rise of the KKK by silencing Republican votes in the South, but they also welcomed their members into their ranks and celebrated them.

Do you want some reparations? This is a pretty easy argument to make. The violence of the KKK against black Republicans was real, historic, well-documented, and recent. And the one entity that benefited most (if not encouraged it and/or participated in it) was the Democratic Party, which still exists.

Why not go after those deep pockets?