The below is a letter that is being sent to various pro-reparations
organizations. Outside of the change in greetings, it is otherwise
word-for-word what they received.
Hello to whomever this concerns,
As I'm writing this, it is less than a month until the Millions for
Reparations March in Washington D.C. That you are receiving this letter
means that you are in support of the goals of this march and that you'll
possibly be attending this march, if you haven't already explicitly said
so. That being the case, I don't expect to be able to change your mind in
the short amount of time between now and then.
There is, however, more time between now and even the soonest date by
which we could ever expect to see reparations actually be instituted. It is
because of this that I am contacting you. I'm hoping to convince you
between now and then not to do this.
I know that there's little chance of me doing so, not because you may
not be opened-minded, but because when one has reached the point at which
they are doing daily activism for something they believe in, it means that
they have likely thought about things for a long time, and so have heard
most of the counter-arguments. There is one, though, that you may not have
heard, or if you heard, might not have believed at the time. I'm here to
tell you that it's true.
I represent a group called "We Won't Pay". Should the
name of the group not suffice in explaining our position, let me make it
clear. We will not pay any of what you term "slavery
reparations". If such disbursements become reality, we will do whatever
we feel is appropriate to make sure that we do not pay a single cent. What
exactly that entails depends on the individual. Some people haven't said
what they will do. Some have. For myself, as for many others, it means that
we will stop paying taxes, even under the threat of incarceration.
While the number of people who have made the pledge on this site is so
far small, I can tell you that I have seen this same sentiment expressed in
countless others throughout the country, others who don't know yet just how
many people agree with them. In fact, it seems that the main reason that
people haven't made this pledge is that they simply don't think that it
will be necessary: it's a common view right now that slavery reparations
will not happen. However, I've seen how committed the pro-reparations side
is to this case, and I know that all it takes for something to become
reality is for enough people to want it badly enough. So should you prove
this and actually start convincing people that this might happen, I can
guarantee you that you will see a much greater list.
What it comes down then is this. If slavery reparations ever start
getting paid, you will almost definitely have a tax revolt on your hands.
Not only will this result in you not getting payments from anyone who
refuses to submit, but it will likely result in even greater problems than
that which you are trying to address. The "social divide" which
you often refer to will become a canyon. The already bad relations that
exist in many places between the races will outright disintegrate.
This may seem alarmist, but in fact, it's lighter language than what I'm
seeing in others' reactions to this. I'm content in the possibility of
going to jail for this. Others are not. I've seen the ominous phrase
"lock and load" mentioned, often followed by the even more
chilling words "Civil War II". Again, I'm not making this up:
these are the real reactions of real people. I've put together We Won't
Pay partially as a reaction to this, as I'd rather see our collective
opposition to this channeled into something less destructive. I can't,
however, guarantee that everyone will believe in the power of non-violence
as I do.
In short, if you continue to push for reparations, and you get them, you
very well may break America. If this is what you want, then fine, although
in this case you should at least be honest and make this intention clear. I
don't want it, so if you don't either, then you should take a clear look at
the fact that this is very possibly what you will wind up doing.
It is now while we actually have the time to think about it then that I
have to ask you whether or not what you are doing is really worth this.
I know it is for me: I've already considered the worst-case scenarios that
might result from my actions, and I'm at peace with them. So now, are you?
Now that you realize what very well might happen in reaction to your push,
are you really sure that this is what you want? There are many things that
man may fight for. For you, is this really one of them, for this cost?
Specifically, what exactly is it that you want, or feel you need, from
reparations that you are willing to risk this much to get them?
Let me rephrase that question. Suppose that right now, reparations were
instituted, and you had dropped into your lap exactly, to the cent, every
dollar that you feel you were owed, and ditto everyone else who you feel is
owed money. What then? Now that you had acheived this, what you would do
next?
If you really think that money alone is what will make you happy, then I
refer you to Richard
Wolffe, who mentioned that Jews who received Holocaust reparations (and
mind you, these are people who actually were in the camps themselves, not
their great-grandchildren) wound up being "extremely
dissapointed". It's been shown time and time again that money does not
equal happiness.
If your answer is that it's not the money that's important to you, but
some principle of "emancipation," then I can also guarantee that
you won't be satisfied. For once you have this "emancipation,",
what will you do with it? When you have that answer, tell me why exactly do
you need this "emancipation" to do it? Why can you not be working
towards this right here and now? Or in other words, exactly what kind of
"emancipation" will this give you that you cannot otherwise just
grab and claim for yourself this very moment?
If your answer is that you would do more to address racial problems,
saying that this was "only the start," then I think it's pretty
clear that reparations will solve nothing for you. If there is to be any
logical basis whatsoever to slavery reparations, it should take the form of
an amount which, once paid, would end any "obligation" that you
feel would be owed between you and us, whoever "you" and
"us" is. If we are to do it at all, it should be done in a way
which will end this issue forever. Otherwise, if you are admitting that it's
not going to solve the problem, then what is the point of instituting it at
all? If it is going to end the problem, then that's another issue, but I
have yet to hear anyone in favor of reparations make this case. That being
true, I can only conclude that, reparations or no, you will still be
unsatisfied, and that possibly, you always will be.
In short, whatever you think it is that you are trying to acheive for
your life with slavery reparations, I can assure you that you are not going
to succeed. It is a false salvation. However much you push for it imagining
it to be the panacea for your problems, in the end, it will prove itself an
empty gain, something which for all of the work you put into it, got you
nothing but hollow money in return.
Normally this wouldn't be cause enough to write to you. People follow
bad paths every day, and usually it's just best to let them see it for
themselves. I'd like to just let you do that here. But in this case, your
pursuit of it could very well do more than just waste your own efforts: it
could ultimately destroy something that I hold dear to me.
If you choose to continue this path, then I will have no choice, if I
want to obey my conscience, but to respond in kind by following my own path.
If this letter doesn't suffice to explain to you why I must do this, you
can feel free to look at the web site http://www.wewontpay.com/, where I go
into it in greater detail, and you can contact me for further
clarification.
But the bottom line is that our minds are made up. We've considered the
consequences, and we've chosen our action. Given that you may not have
realized or thought about this response, I ask you now to reconsider what
you are doing.
Please don't do this. If you do, there can be no good conclusion to it,
outside of realizing long in the future how much of a mistake it was.
