This relates to the BBC article [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-66596790] which states “the UK should pay $24tn (£18.8tn) for its slavery involvement in 14 countries”.

The UK abolished slavery in 1833. That’s 190 years ago. So nobody alive today has a slave, and nobody alive today was a slave.

Dividing £18tn by the number of UK taxpayers (31.6m) gives £569 each. Why do I, who have never owned a slave, have to give £569 to someone who similarly is not a slave?

When I’ve paid my £569 is that the end of the matter forever or will it just open the floodgates of other similar claims?

Isn’t this just a country that isn’t doing too well, looking at the UK doing reasonably well (cost of living crisis excluded of course), and saying “oh there’s this historical thing that affects nobody alive today but you still have to give us trillions of Sterling”?

Shouldn’t payment of reparations be limited to those who still benefit from the slave trade today, and paid to those who still suffer from it?

(Please don’t flame me. This is NSQ. I genuinely don’t know why this is something I should have to pay. I agree slavery is terrible and condemn it in all its forms, and we were right to abolish it.)

  • alvvayson@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    If people flame you, it’s not because it’s a SQ, but because the people typically framing the issue like you are framing it are racist right wingers.

    Nobody is going to take £569,000 out of the white man’s pocket tomorrow and give it to a black person because of slavery.

    If you actually take some time to read up on what is actually being discussed, the state of the debate is more like

    1. The fair market value of what was stolen from slaves is £18T. We are mostly discussing what the most accurate figure is at this stage in history.

    2. The slaves were never compensated in their life and that money ultimately benefited Western societies.

    3. Justice has never been served, so we need to figure out how to make things right.

    Absolutely no one has ever transferred a single cent as compensation to slaves or their descendants and it’s not going to happen today or tomorrow either. But it is totally right that we are discussing the issue to see how we can make it right.

    A more likely outcome would be to give a small token payment to descendants of slaves for the next 200 years and to provide the poor descendants of slaves with educational opportunities and perhaps help to finance things like a small business or home. Those richer descendents could also choose to donate their cash payment into the find for the poorer descendants.