The thing to understand about Alameda County’s reparations plan, released on Tuesday, is that the entire leftwing activist political structure of the East Bay is united in favor of it. Which means the only way to defeat it, which we should, is to put these freaky leftists back in their box.
The County Reparations Commission purports to present a history of White oppression of Black people that is so violent and unjust it practically begs for some sort of reparation to be paid to Black people. Here, I aim to argue against Reparations, on the basis that they are illogical, unnecessary and needlessly divisive.
So far, Alameda’s plan is all blah-blah. Lots of foamy rhetoric, little in the way of action. “True healing,” says an analysis by NBC News, “will require a tangible, well-funded commitment from the county, declaring that the time for study has concluded and the era of active repair has begun.”
Aha! Now we’re getting to the meat of the matter. “The era of active repair has begun.” But what does this mean? Hide your wallet! First, we have to take this in the proper context: America, as a nation, has been paying trillions of dollars into reparations-like schemes since Civil Rights era. Consider all the welfare programs that were enacted since the LBJ presidency. This country has dumped massive amounts of wealth into the Black community but, according to our new wave of civil rights reparationists, it hasn’t been nearly enough. Proof? All the inequities still exist and are in many cases worse than ever. So what you do when you’ve been digging yourself into a hole you’re trying to get out of? Keep digging!
The critical question about reparations plans is how much money is to be given to them. And related: will individual Black people get the money? This latter question has been firmly answered by numerous polls showing that voters will not accept giving financial awards to individuals. It’s fine for the county to devote a little money to, say, a Black center for the arts where quilts are put on display. But how about paying for people’s houses, which seems to be what the reparationsists want? That’s a line that voters will not tolerate being crossed, especially if they feel they’re being bullied by a political process they had nothing to do with.
We don’t actually know what the Commission intends to do, or where it plans to spend its money, or where that money is coming from, or how much it amounts to. The process has been so contentious that, even now, after more than two years of study, the Commission is saying that they need still more time to come up with specifics. One bad sign that this will not end well is the Commission’s official logo depicting an image we’re all too familiar with and don’t like: a clenched Black fist, Black-Panther style. With this single image, the reparations people seem to be telling us that they’re coming for our money, and there’s not a thing we can do about it.
One of the worst aspects of this reparations plan is that it bases its findings on the self-reported gripes of Black people who feel they’ve been discriminated against. As the report notes, they took a survey and found that 83% of respondents “experienced systemic harm in the county” and therefore this harm must be ameliorated.
This is silly. If an organization calling itself the Alameda County Reparations Commission polls you and asks if you’ve experienced “systemic harm” due to your skin color, of course you’re going to remember every slight, every microaggression, every time you thought the “system” wasn’t being fair to you. And especially with the prospect of getting a lot of money for your response, you’d be foolish to answer in the negative. So “Yes,” you’ll say, recalling that time your landlord tried to evict you for non-payment of rent. After all, your landlord was White, or Asian, and they didn’t like you because you were Black, right? So there must have been something nefarious going on. How much is that run-in with your landlord worth in cash? Would $5,000 salve your hurt? Ten thousand?
Or how about the 60% of respondents who reported “facing housing policy barriers to homeownership and creation of wealth”? With the promise of lots of money, respondents will say that they’ve always wanted to buy a nice house in Alameda County but they’ve never been able to afford to. Why not? Got to be structural racism. What else could it be? Look at all those Asians buying homes in Castro Valley, Newark, Union City. How come they can afford that when so many Black people can’t? Again, the answer must be structural racism.
The commission’s chair, Debra Gore, says the issue is bigger than just who can afford to live here. “The question in front of this Board of Supervisors is simpler and harder to dodge: do we still believe in the Constitution, or do we just believe in the parts that are convenient?" I’m not sure what to make of that. Everybody wants more than they have—that’s a basic fault of our human programming. You look around and it seems like some sinister plan has kept you from enjoying the same success as your neighbors. The answer must be reparations. If you don’t have what you want and think you’re entitled to, then there has got to be a criminal or wicked reason for it. Again: reparations is the answer.
We’ll see what details the Supes now come up with. But I can warn them in advance: Keep it simple. Very simple and very basic. This must not cost the taxpayers a penny. Do all the performative stuff you want, but keep your hands off our money. We’re already taxed through the roof due to your socialist schemes, so don’t tell us you need another billion dollars or whatever to dump into “the community,” or more propaganda from the arts crowd, or healthcare that isn’t given to everyone and not just Black people.
Gore, defending the Commission’s report, said after it was approved, “We made a plan. Now y’all have to do it.” Actually, Ms. Gore, no we don’t. You created a wish list for yourself and while you may feel entitled, you’re not. How are you going to force us to “do” what you want done? With that clenched Black fist? I don’t think so. We don’t cotton to threats. Your report says that “Any funding required to support the Standing Committee will be brought forward through future budget and administrative processes. Acceptance of the Final Report and establishment of the Standing Committee do not require additional appropriations at this time.”
Well, that’s a relief. But let me encourage you to add this final sentence: “or at any other time.” Because, Ms. Gore, while the Police Departments of our county are practically broke, there’s no way we’re going to fund a reparations scheme before we figure out a way to keep ourselves secure. And you can take that to the bank.
Steve Heimoff