Wokism (Part 4) - Critical Race Theory (Part B) - Discrimination and Reparations

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Wokism (Part 4) - Critical Race Theory (Part B) 8. Discrimination A. Discrimination, in and of itself, is not wrong. i. Discrimination, properly exercised, is good and Biblical. a. Discrimination n. – 1. The action of discriminating; the perceiving, noting, or making a distinction or difference between things; a distinction (made with the mind, or in action). Also with against. b. Discriminate v. – 1. trans. To make or constitute a difference in or between; to distinguish, differentiate. c. Discriminate is a synonym of discern. d. Discern v. – 1. trans. To separate (things, or one thing from another) as distinct; to distinguish and divide. e. Christians should be able to discern and make a difference between holy and profane things and clean and unclean things (Eze 44:23; Mal 3:18; Heb 5:14). f. God rewards those who desire to have discernment (1Ki 3:11-12). g. Discrimination is a good thing when it is used to make a difference between good and evil. h. Discouraging the exercising of discrimination is discouraging people from thinking critically and making correct judgments concerning right and wrong, good and evil, and truth and error. ii. A person who never discriminates is a fool. a. A woman who doesn’t discriminate between a philandering drunk and a pious Christian when choosing a husband is not virtuous but extremely foolish. b. A man who doesn’t discriminate between an odious, clamorous whore and a godly, submissive woman of a meek and quiet spirit when choosing a wife is an idiot. c. An employer who doesn’t discriminate between a transgender freak with tattoos and piercings covering its body and a normal, well-dressed, well-groomed person when hiring is a fool who is heading for bankruptcy. B. “Affirmative action” and hiring quotas. i. Businesses exist to cater to consumer demand by producing goods and services. a. If a business cannot produce goods and services at a competitive rate, it will go out of business. b. Mandating that a business hire an equal number of people from protected groups rather than the most qualified people for the job will put the business at a competitive disadvantage and will cause it to be unprofitable and go out of business. ii. Some discrimination in business is necessary for businesses to be competitive and successful. iii. For instance, consider the absurdity of mandating “equal opportunity” policies in the following industries. a. How many games would an NFL team win if they could not discriminate in hiring and had to hire an equal amount of: (i) blacks, whites, Asians, and Mexicans? (ii) people of the gen Z, millennial, gen X, baby boomer, and silent generations? (iii) men and women? (iv) people from all quadrants of the height and weight spectrum? b. How many games would an NBA team win if they could not discriminate in hiring and had to hire an equal amount of white people as black people? c. How many computers and smartphones would Apple produce if they could not discriminate in hiring and had to hire an equal amount of people from all spectrums of the IQ bell curve? d. How many off-shore oil wells would be drilled if oil companies could not discriminate in hiring and had to hire an equal number of men and women? e. How long would a university stay in business if it could not discriminate in hiring and had to hire an equal number of people from all educational levels to be professors? C. Discriminating based on “race” due to hatred or malevolence is wrong. i. Every man should be rewarded and judged according to his work (Mat 16:27; Rev 20:13), not his skin color. ii. “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” (Martin Luther King, Jr.) D. Reverse discrimination i. Attempting to right the wrongs of the past by showing partiality to blacks or any other people who were unjustly discriminated against in the past is just as wrong as what preceded it. ii. Unjust discrimination against white people today to make up for the unjust discrimination against blacks in previous generations is repaying evil for evil, which is evil (Rom 12:17; 1Th 5:15). E. The free-market will take care of bigots and ungodly discrimination. i. If a company refuses to hire the best qualified man for a job simply because he is black, that company will end up hiring a less qualified man for the job. ii. Their competitor, who is not run by bigots, will hire the black man and will have a competitive advantage over the bigoted company. iii. The bigoted company will be forced by the market to either stop discriminating based on “race” alone or go out of business. F. Forcing a company to hire people doesn’t stop them from being bigots. i. Laws might be able to force a company owner to hire a man because of his skin color, but it can’t force him to not hate the man. ii. Why would a black man want to work for a man who hates him because of his skin color? iii. It would be far preferrable to work for a man knowing that he wanted to hire you, rather than working for a man who was forced to hire you and will therefore resent you even more than he normally would. 9. How to overcome unjust discrimination due to bigotry and racism A. Rather than repaying evil with evil, instead bless your enemies and do good to them (1Pe 3:9; Rom 12:14; Mat 5:39-41). B. Commit it to God (1Pe 2:23). C. Let God judge them (Rom 12:17-19; Pro 20:22). D. Do good to your enemies and overcome evil with good (Rom 12:20-21; Mat 5:43-44; Luk 6:27-28). E. Obey the golden rule (Mat 7:12; Luk 6:31). F. Humble yourself, and the Lord will exalt you (1Pe 5:6). G. Live in such a way that people will have no good reason to be prejudiced against you (1Pe 2:12; 1Pe 3:16; Tit 2:8). H. Remember that the Lord can use an outcast to accomplish great things (Jdg 11:1-8, 32-33 c/w Heb 11:32-33). 10. The absurdity and immorality of reparations A. The concept of restitution is Biblical. i. If a person does bodily harm to, or steals or destroys the property of, another, the offender should be made to compensate the victim financially. ii. There were many laws establishing this practice in the Old Testament (Exo 22:1-15). B. Reparations or restitution for a person who was unlawfully enslaved is just. i. Manstealing is a crime against the law of God, both in the Old and New Testaments (Exo 21:16; Deut 24:7; 1Ti 1:10). ii. If a specific person was stolen and enslaved by another person, or was sold to third party who enslaved him, then the stolen person has a right to sue the manstealer and/or the enslaver for restitution to compensate him for the harm done to him. iii. However, this scenario is not what people who are calling for reparations today have in mind. C. Reparations or restitution for a person who was lawfully enslaved is not just. i. There are circumstances in which a man can be lawfully enslaved according to the word God. ii. These circumstances include: a. Being enslaved to pay off debts (Mat 18:23-25; Exo 22:3; 2Ki 4:1). b. Being enslaved as a prisoner of war (Deut 21:10-14; 1Ki 9:20-21; 2Ki 5:2). iii. If a man was enslaved for either of these reasons, he is not entitled to reparations. iv. A lawfully enslaved man can be legally sold (Exo 21:2). v. If a man was lawfully enslaved and then sold to another man, he is not entitled to reparations. D. Modern calls for reparations for black people in America are a perversion of justice. Let’s look at several different scenarios involving slavery and reparations. i. Blacks who can prove that one or more of their ancestors were slaves. a. Example: a black man through written records can prove that one or more of his ancestors were owned by a slave owner in America. b. This black man who could prove that his ancestor(s) were slaves would also have to prove that the white people he is demanding reparations from were the descendants of the slave owner who stole or bought his ancestor(s). (i) He could not sue any white people for restitution who were not the descendants of the slave owner who stole or bought his ancestor(s) any more than he could sue a man from Japan whose ancestors never owned slaves. (ii) Even if he could find the descendants of his ancestor’s slave owner, children are not to pay for the sins of their fathers (Deut 24:16; Eze 18:20). c. Many of the African slaves were captured by Africans and sold to Europeans slave ship owners (Jews) who sold them to people in many other nations including the United States. (i) “Some independent slave merchants did in fact stage raids on unprotected African villages and kidnap and enslave Africans. Most professional slave traders, however, set up bases along the west African coast where they purchased slaves from Africans in exchange for firearms and other goods. Before the end of the seventeenth century, England, France, Denmark, Holland, and Portugal had all established slave trading posts on the west African coast. Yet to simply say that Europeans purchased people who had already been enslaved seriously distorts historical reality. While there had been a slave trade within Africa prior to the arrival of Europeans, the massive European demand for slaves and the introduction of firearms radically transformed west and central African society. A growing number of Africans were enslaved for petty debts or minor criminal or religious offenses or following unprovoked raids on unprotected villages. An increasing number of religious wars broke out with the goal of capturing slaves. European weapons made it easier to capture slaves.” (Steven Mintz, African-American Voices: A Documentary Reader, 1619-1877, https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/facts-about-slavery) (ii) According to the Old Testament law, the Africans who stole others Africans and sold them should have been put to death (Exo 21:16). (iii) If it is just to make white people pay reparations to black people today because some white people owned some black people in the 17th-19th centuries, then it is also just to put black people to death today because some black people stole and sold other black people in the 17th-19th centuries. d. In addition to proving that his ancestor was enslaved, he would also have to prove that he was unlawfully enslaved. e. But regardless of whether his ancestor was unlawfully or lawfully enslaved, he is still not entitled to reparations because he himself was not enslaved by the people from which he is seeking reparations. ii. Blacks who cannot prove that one or more of their ancestors were slaves. a. Any black person who cannot prove that one or more of his ancestors were slaves has no right to demand reparations from anyone. b. No person who was not himself kidnapped and forced into slavery has a right to reparations ― how much more so someone who cannot prove that any of his ancestors were slaves. iii. Blacks whose ancestors were not slaves. a. There were free blacks in America prior to slavery being outlawed, so therefore not every black person is a descendant of slaves. b. “There were approximately 319,599 free blacks in the United States in 1830. Approximately 13.7 per cent of the total black population was free.” (R. Halliburton Jr., https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/facts-about-slavery) c. A black person whose ancestors were not slaves obviously has no right to reparations. iv. Blacks whose ancestors were slave owners. a. Contrary to popular opinion, there were a lot of black people in America who owned black slaves. b. “There were approximately 319,599 free blacks in the United States in 1830. Approximately 13.7 per cent of the total black population was free. A significant number of these free blacks were the owners of slaves. The census of 1830 lists 3,775 free Negroes who owned a total of 12,760 slaves.” (Ibid) c. If white people should be forced to pay reparations to black people because some white people owned black slaves in the past, then black people should be forced to pay reparations to black people because some black people owned black slaves in the past. v. Blacks whose ancestors were owned by American Indians. a. It wasn’t only whites and blacks who owned slaves in America ― some of the American Indians did too. b. “In the late-18th-century Southeast, the Native relationship to slavery took a surprising turn. There, a relatively small group of Cherokees, Creeks, Choctaws, and Chickasaws held Africans in bondage. Historian Tiya Miles has written two histories of Cherokee slaveholding. Miles places the number of enslaved people held by Cherokees at around 600 at the start of the 19th century and around 1,500 at the time of westward removal in 1838-9. (Creeks, Choctaws, and Chickasaws, she said, held around 3,500 slaves, across the three nations, as the 19th century began.) “Slavery inched its way slowly into Cherokee life,” Miles told me. “When a white man moved into a Native location, usually to work as a trader or as an Indian agent, he would own [African] slaves.” If such a person also had a child with a Native woman, as was not uncommon, the half-European, half-Native child would inherit the enslaved people (and their children) under white law, as well as the right to use tribal lands under tribal law. This combination put such people in a position to expand their wealth, eventually operating large farms and plantations.” (Rebecca Onion, America’s Other Original Sin, slate.com) c. If white people should be forced to pay reparations to black people because some white people owned black slaves in the past, then American Indians should be forced to pay reparations to black people because some American Indians owned black slaves in the past. vi. Whites whose ancestors were slaves. a. Blacks weren’t the only people to be enslaved in America. White Irish people were too. b. “Like impoverished people of other nationalities and ethnicities, many people emigrated from Ireland to the Americas in the 17th and 18th centuries as indentured servants; a smaller number were forcibly banished into indentured servitude during the period of the English Civil Wars; indentured servants often lived and worked under harsh conditions and were sometimes treated cruelly.” (Were There Irish Slaves in America, Too?, https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/irish-slaves-early-america) c. “That thousands of Irish people were carried across the sea against their will and indentured to serve on plantations isn't disputed.” (Ibid) d. If white people should be forced to pay reparations to black people because some white people owned black slaves in the past, then white people should be forced to pay reparations to white people because some white people owned white slaves in the past.