Customer Reviews

The Debt: What America Owes to Blacks

5 star:		(44)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(24)

 

 

I read this book after coming across the title at amazon and became quite intrigued by the premise so I picked up the book from the library and began to read. Very quickly I became very skeptical and eventually incredulous about the arguments put fourth in this book. For example, I personally am an all American mutt and don't even know most of my lineage but I certainly don't consider myself in either the "white" or the "black" camps or anything else that specific. I suppose that my skin color is tan but a few shades lighter than milk chocolate so I suppose that I might be considered a tan white or a light black with straight dark hair or an Arab or Hispanic whatever. I know that I have one grandmother that was black and my father is Lebanese American. The rest of my family might be "white" but I really don't know or care and I honestly hadn't given it much thought before reading this book. While reading this book, I thought to myself, does the fact that I have a black grandmother entitle me to 1/4 debt from my guilt ridden "white self" to my poor oppressed "black self"? Also, along these same personal lines, my brother-in-law is black, or at least he looks one hundred percent black, and my sister is 1/4 black like me. Does this mean that their daughter (my niece) is 1/4 black + 1/2 black = 3/4 black which would mean then that the guilt ridden white 1/4 of herself owes the poor oppressed 3/4 of herself? This argument is specious no matter how oppressed Africans were by a minority of rich Southern whites who are all long dead because no person can owe a debt to a another that s/he has never in any way committed an injustice. The masters and slaves are all dead and we don't even know who the masters descendants are (It is a historical fact that slave owners in the ante-bellum south were a tiny minority of the white population). About my score, I gave the book 3 stars because the writing is quite good = 5 stars but then I totally disagree with the premise of this book = -2 stars. Only -2 stars since it is only my difference of opinion that makes me critical of this book. Perhaps if I could only change the percentages of color within myself I might better understand the author's argument and feel more entitled or more obligated concerning this "debt".

I read this book after coming across the title at amazon and became quite intrigued by the premise so I picked up the book from the library and began to read. Very quickly I became very skeptical and eventually incredulous about the arguments put fourth in this book. For example, I personally am an all American mutt and don't even know most of my lineage but I certainly don't consider myself in either the "white" or the "black" camps or anything else that specific. I suppose that my skin color is tan but a few shades lighter than milk chocolate so I suppose that I might be considered a tan white or a light black with straight dark hair or an Arab or Hispanic whatever. I know that I have one grandmother that was black and my father is Lebanese American. The rest of my family might be "white" but I really don't know or care and I honestly hadn't given it much thought before reading this book. While reading this book, I thought to myself, does the fact that I have a black grandmother entitle me to 1/4 debt from my guilt ridden "white self" to my poor oppressed "black self"? Also, along these same personal lines, my brother-in-law is black, or at least he looks one hundred percent black, and my sister is 1/4 black like me. Does this mean that their daughter (my niece) is 1/4 black + 1/2 black = 3/4 black which would mean then that the guilt ridden white 1/4 of herself owes the poor oppressed 3/4 of herself? This argument is specious no matter how oppressed Africans were by a minority of rich Southern whites who are all long dead because no person can owe a debt to a another that s/he has never in any way committed an injustice. The masters and slaves are all dead and we don't even know who the masters descendants are (It is a historical fact that slave owners in the ante-bellum south were a tiny minority of the white population). About my score, I gave the book 3 stars because the writing is quite good = 5 stars but then I totally disagree with the premise of this book = -2 stars. Only -2 stars since it is only my difference of opinion that makes me critical of this book. Perhaps if I could only change the percentages of color within myself I might better understand the author's argument and feel more entitled or more obligated concerning this "debt".

Mr Robinson could have helped blacks much better by explaining how he was able to overcome his impovished childhood than to endlessly drone on about how slavery has effected every black in America today. To simply state over and over again that slavery caused children in 1975 Boston or a 9 year old in 1999 Virginia to fail in school is utter nonsense. We, the parents of our black children, as my parents taught my siblings and me, are responsible for our own education. If slaves risked being killed by their owners if they were caught reading, still perservered, then no matter how bad public or private schools are today, children can still learn if they and their parents put in the effort! Mr Robinson decries how the US and the IMF has destroyed African nations by subjecting them to conditions that are not favoable to them when they accept developmental loans. Yet, he wants American blacks to demand and accept money from the US government to "educate" us on how slavery has robbed us of our history. How was Mr Robinson able to learn the "facts" about slavery, the great African empires and the relatively recent history on Amercian slavery? Can not the rest of us learn without handouts from Uncle Sam? Finally, Mr. Robinson left out one of the most important factors of black helplessness. That is we, me too until Bill Clinton took office, continue to elect public leaders that make promise after promise with no accountiblity to us at all. The Democrats know that they have the black vote and the Republicans know they can never get it. So, why should either give a damn! The debt may have been created by others, but we have perpetuated it ourselves!

Irresponsible is how to classify this book. Perhaps the author has forgotten that after the Civil War, President Lincoln said the 350,000 lives lost in the War were in payment for our country's past sins of slavery. There certainly isn't enough money in the world to pay reparations for every act of discrimination or prejudice suffered, but complaining and demanding money is not the answer, to do so is a disservice to African Americans. A better approach is to encourage the model for success that has been most effective for immigrants and citizens past and present: education, hard work, self-reliance, and responsibility. There are many good books to read -- this isn't one of them.

There is a comical saying in American law: if the law is against you, argue the facts; if the facts are against you, argue the law; and if both the facts and the law are against you, pound on the table furiously.

Because neither the facts nor the law are on Robinson's side, he must exercise the final option of pounding furiously, which he does with great ferver in THE DEBT. So if you're looking for an extremely well written rant that swells with emotion, but that is utterly devoid of substance, then this book is for you.

With writing talent reminiscent of Ernest Hemmingway [I will give credit where it's due], Robinson envisions the very racial hegemony for black America for which he condemns white America; in other words, he's not interested in equality for black America, but rather black hegemony, a world in which blacks are the superior and dominant racial caste, superior in prestige, in achievements, in education, in wealth, and in power to white underlings.
He takes a few pages to brag about himself and his family. He takes a few more pages to exonerate black Americans who have made poor choices, such as having children they can neither afford nor support, and then blaming racism and white America for their predicament. Of course, this is the protocal of the black nationalist fringe; i.e., blaming everyone else for black America's problems, except, of course, black America!

As mentioned supra, Robinson is short on both facts and law to support his argument, and so he must concentrate on emotion. As a Harvard educated lawyer, I'm sure he knows there is no privity to sustain a claim for reparations; and further, if he's read Bittker's THE CASE FOR BLACK REPARATIONS, he knows that implementing a reparations program in America will only create a South African styled racial caste system and will undoubtedly exacerbate racial tensions in the country to the point of a race war (But consider that race racketeers like Robinson profit handsomely from racial disharmony, and so this situation would serve him well!).
In short, Robinson's case would not survive a motion for summary judgment! His case is hereby dismissed, with costs to be paid to those poor Americans, black and white, who can't afford Robinson's Harvard education, who can't afford to travel the world as Robinson and his wife have done, and who certainly cannot afford to send their children to private schools as Robinson has done! And Robinson complains about America?! Case dismissed!

I've long been interested in the question of restitution/reparations, and consider it a serious failing of our nation that this issue hasn't been considered or debated. So it was with great expectation that I read Robinson's book. I was hoping it would do two things: show that restitution is necessary, and show that it's possible. Unfortunately, it only did the former (and not as effectively as other books I've read). It lacked a serious and thorough analysis of legal and political precedent, the policy choices that would be necessary, and what political forces would need to align to make this happen. As a result, the argument sounded more argumentative than authoritative. If I hadn't already been in support of restitution, this book wouldn't have convinced me.

This is the sort of book only an american could write. Robinson's politically correct ideas do nothing to help the progress of balck or african people: to pretend that America or the world owe us a sort of social reparation for our history is nothing but an elaborate form of paternalism. In fact, our progress should flow only from our merit and work at present days, not from a debt inherited from the past. I believe we can rise to the job and stop blaming others for our problems.

...there are many african-americans out there who are proud to be american, and not 'hyphenated'. we will always have our own special togetherness, but [stuff] like this is no excuse. "united we stand, divided we fall." - a motto for all of america. there's not enough wealth in the world to pay off all the debts for things that peoples have done to each other. remember slave comes from 'slav', like in the slavic peoples who coincidentally are not black but were in chains too. slavery was a terrible part of american history, but hundreds of thousands of ... white boys died to free the slaves so if that didn't pay the debt then no amount of money ever will.

Yet another example of the infuriating current trend among many to shirk their own responsibility for their own fate. Mr. Robinson's book and arguments seem to be the flip side of the same coin that the white-supremacists have been peddling lo these many years -- namely, that everyone else (save, of course, themselves) are responsible for the terrible predicament they are in. Mr. Robinson's book only serves to further 'Balkanize' America -- rarely to you see anyone simply referred to as an 'American' anymore -- it is always 'Hispanic-American', or 'African-American', or 'Cuban-American'...

It is interesting to note that I attended elementary school, middle school, and high school alongside black students -- riding the same buses, sharing the same teachers, eating the same meals. Many of them had parents that made more money than I did. Why do we keep hearing the same pathetic excuses from people who (like so many others) simply wasted the vast opportunites available to them in this nation. (Travel around the world, as I have, and see how little opportunity there is in Indonesia...or Bangladesh...or Rwanda.) Yes, slavery was an abomination...but it was OVER ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-FIVE YEARS AGO. Why does Mr. Robinson not mention that many Americans of Asian descent, having arrived in America within the last 50 years (without even knowing the English language), have escaped many of the problems plaguing the black community. Could it be that the differences are cultural? How many times have we heard a black student criticized by his peers by 'acting white' for good performance at school? And as far as 'reparations' go...

a. let's first discuss how to repay the descendants of the 350,000 Union soldiers that died specifically to defeat the Confederacy.

b. let's then discuss how to repay the descendants of the 500,000 American soldiers and sailors that died protecting all of us from the tyranny of the Third Reich and Japanese imperialism.

c. let's then look at the incredibly vast transfer of wealth (mentioned in an earlier review) to the black community over the last 65+ years from FDR's 'New Deal' and subsequent social programs. (Notice...I did not say 'entitlements'.)

d. Finally, let us look at the vast majority of Americans whose ancestors came over in the great waves of immigration after the Civil War...tell me exactly how Americans of Vietnamese descent are to blame for the plight of the black community? And, speaking of which, if America is so terrible...why have so many people risked life and limb just to get here? Perhaps Mr. Robinson should ask those brave souls who make the incredibly dangerous trek from China, giving up their life savings, just to be smuggled into America. Perhaps he should discuss how 'wretched' America is with the hundreds of thousands of Mexican nationals who have also risked it all to live and work here. Perhaps Mr. Robinson would prefer to live in China, with their great concern for human rights and the plight of 'oppressed' minorities. Or maybe Mr. Robinson believes that America is to blame for Mexico's woes also....

It is way past time for people to quit living in the past. Nothing can be done to change it. No one living today is responsible for what happened over 135 years ago. Americans living today are among the luckiest people to ever walk the face of the earth. We have more to eat, more to drink, more freedoms, more liberties, than 90 percent of the world today and probably 99.5 percent of all the people whom have ever lived. (Read "Out of America", by Keith B. Richburg, if you want a glimpse of life in the nightmare that is modern-day Africa, and be thankful that you were born in this country. Or take a glimpse at life in today's Afghanistan...where is the outcry about the plight of women under the Taliban regime?) Yet too many among us fail to look in the mirror for the source of their (perceived) problems, never missing an opportunity to keep blaming someone else (usually in another racial group) for what ails them. We are all in this together. No reasonable person minds helping those who, through unforseen circumstances or true tragedy, need a helping hand for awhile. It is long past time, however, to quit blaming others for our own shortcomings, accept responsibility for our own faults, and try to better ourselves, before we point the finger at others -- especially those long-dead souls whom have already been judged by God Himself.

how on earth can you call me racist for simply stating my opinion about 'The Debt'. Because I disagree with the man, that means I am racist? Is a white man not allowed to disagree with a black man? Is a white man not free to criticize a black man? I thought we lived in a country where freedom of expression was paramount, and that honest criticism was a healthy part of democracy. Or does that only work one way...i.e. when a conservative white man (personally, I consider myself a Libertarian -- I despise Jesse Helms and Al Sharpton equally...I suppose my heroes are Churchill, Truman, and Senator McCain) is being criticized, that is perfectly fine; however, when the tables are turned, the cries of racism abound. I would like to recommend a book for you - "The Lost Art of Drawing the Line" - by Philip K. Howard. I think that it would shed some light for you on the corrosive effects of reverse racism.

As to your quote that my argument about not owning slaves and thus shouldn't pay is equivalent to senior citizens' arguments about not paying for schools... an educated populace benefits all -- and common benefits should be paid by all...similar to highways, national defense, and the justice system. (Which, I will grant you, aren't perfect.) However, the payment of these 'reparations' would benefit only a select few at the expense of all...and an arbitrary few at best, seeing as how (as I mentioned) many had opportunities the same or even better than myself. And, if you're so inclined, perhaps you could answer these questions for me?

1. Why, again, am I responsible for events that happened 100+ years before my birth?

2. Why, if America is so horrible, are we beseiged by persons from all over the globe to come here? Why are there so many Mexican nationals willing to risk it all to come here? Why are so many Chinese nationals willing to endure unimaginable suffering to be smuggled here? Where is your outrage directed against the Communist Chinese regime? Do you remember Tiananmen Square, June 1989?

3. Why are so many Americans of Asian ancestry doing so well over here in America, despite being here only 1 or 2 generations and coming here literally not knowing the language? Do you see those folks asking what America owes them? Could it possibly be that some black Americans are failing simply due to their own shortcomings (as many white Americans are)?

4. And speaking of Communism...I read your review of 'The Black Book of Communism.' And I ask you...how can you justify the pure evil that was Stalin and Lenin? How can you justify the horrors of Chairman Mao? How can you justify the forced labor camps of Siberia? How can you explain the 're-education' program of Chairman Mao? How can you not be outraged by the events of Tiananmen Square, the continued repression of the Falun Gong, the continued persecution and unlawful detention of Americans of Chinese ancestry by the Chinese government? How can you not be horrified at Fidel Castro's routine dismissal of human rights? How can you not be disgusted at the way Saddam Heussein uses nerve gas on HIS OWN PEOPLE? Did the collapse of the Soviet Union and the abject failure of its government not make any impression on you as it rotted from within? The United States of America certainly has her flaws, and we are certainly living in a materialistic society with far too little concern for the downtrodden, but I submit to you that we are fortunate indeed to have the opportunity to live here.

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