October 6, 2019

A Case for Reparations?

Timothy Meaher allegedly financed the last slave ship that brought captive slaves to America.  He is said to have come out of the Civil War with considerable wealth.  There is no indication whether that was linked to the slave ship.  Some of Timothy Meaher's descendants are wealthy, and the identified descendants of the captive slaves are mostly not.

Of course, Meaher's descendants did not do anything to the captive slaves.  Our ordinary principles of law do not support holding them responsible for something an ancestor did, simply because they have some money.  I would say that if this is a case for reparations, it should be managed among the people involved.  Dig up Meaher and all of the captive slaves whose burial sites are known, then split up any grave goods buried with Meaher (or, if none, simply Meaher's remains) and reinter those divided reparations with the remains of the captive slaves.  Zamma, zamma, balance is restored to the universe.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/americas-last-slave-ship-could-offer-a-case-for-reparations/ar-AAIjJPC

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