June 2020 Archives

Dear Speaker of the Assembly Anthony Rendon,

            Recently, you folks passed AB 3121 a bill creating a task force to study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans.  Regarding slavery reparations Fred Reed, a police reporter, said it best in a 2002 open letter to Henry Louis Gates:

            "On the Web I find that Henry Louis Gates Jr., the chairman of Afro- American Studies at Harvard, is demanding that whites pay reparations to blacks. It's because of slavery, see. He is joined in this endeavor by a gaggle of other professional blacks. I guess he'll send me a bill, huh?

           I feel like saying, "Let me get this straight, Hank. I'm slow. Be patient. You want free money because of slavery, right?  I don't blame you."

               I'd like free money too. Tell you what. I believe in justice. I'll give you a million dollars for every slave I own, and another million for every year you were a slave. Fair enough?  But tell me, how many slaves do you suppose I have?   In round numbers, I mean ... say to the nearest dozen. And how long were you a slave?

            Oh. In other words, I owe you reparations for something that I didn't do and didn't happen to you. That makes sense. Like lug nuts on a birthday cake.

Personally, I think you owe me reparations for things you didn't do and never happened to me. I've never been coated in Dutch chocolate and thrown from the Eiffel Tower. I'll bet you've never done it to anyone. I want reparations. Kind of silly, isn't it?"

The coronavirus epidemic has decimated California's economy resulting in a declared budget deficit of $54 billion - so who gets to pay for the cost of this task force study, if approved, who gets to receive it and how much reparation money is necessary to assuage the guilty conscience of those concerned with this issue?   The real question is where is this money coming from? 

One has to wonder why any legislative body would pass a spending bill when our state is clearly suffering financially - let alone a study to spend an unknown additional amount toward a very questionable give away!

Piper's Papers

HOW TO START A RIOT

            One has to wonder if a person wanted to start a riot with massive violence and looting, is it necessary for a police officer to kill anyone of any race or must this senseless death be limited to black Americans?  What is the golden rule here? 

Apparently, the major complaint, as exemplified by the senseless killing of George Floyd, is that police officers have selected black persons as a target for arrest and maybe even murder.

The cruel irony is that many have suggested, in the past, that an illegal act by a black man is  characteristic of all black persons -  this has now evolved into the reverse accusation that the majority of white cops are disposed to racial profiling.  There is even a suggestion that because a person is white, he or she automatically possesses some degree of racial prejudice.  Even "Reparations," which offers monetary rewards to descendants of former slaves, has once again been brought up.  This lack of common sense and basic logic is outrageous.  Will this national turmoil never end?

Since all police officers involved in the incident have been charged for murder or manslaughter and the FBI is looking into the matter, it must be some form of national insanity to continue protests involving violence and looting in cities all over the U.S.

            As if on cue, Congress has jumped into this mess indicating legislation restricting police officer behavior because of a single episode involving poor judgment and a horrible death.  Why would any police officer get out into the street and face thousands of protesters under violent circumstances when their enforcement behavior continues to be limited by legislation?

            It is time to step back and take a more serious look at all the circumstances involved in this tragic event and realize that a single horrific event does not justify anywhere near the attention the national press has given it nor the suggestion that we are a nation of racists.

Piper's Papers