@Whateverman, you would probably find the book At the Hands of Persons Unknown interesting. It's a bit off the beaten path - a scholarly study of the history of lynching in the Southern United States.
Lynching was relatively rare during slavery (because slaves were valuable property), but once slavery was abolished there were hundreds of lynchings annually as Southern whites sought to keep blacks "in their place." Those gradually petered out, ending (thus far) with Mr. Byrd's misfortunes. Many lynchings had the complicity of Southern white police officers and the courts (and the public).
Apologies if you already knew all of this, I just find the history kind of interesting to talk about, albeit morbid.
As far as your putative solution, I would also to see black communities helped out so that they can flourish. However, this is because I think it's in my self interest for there to be more flourishing and productive people in the world of any race that I can trade with and befriend and so on. It's an investment, rather than a way of making up for some sort of collective guilt that I don't think I have earned.
Being a racist just cuts you off from all of the values that rational people of that race have to offer you. Like, if you're racist against black people, you're automatically cut off from all of the material and spiritual values that the black people around you have to offer you, for no reason. There is no beneficiary of racism.
(As a final aside: I don't necessarily want "tax money" involved in this process of helping out the black community. However, that's because I oppose taxation in general on moral grounds, which is a different conversation and quite off topic here.)
Lynching was relatively rare during slavery (because slaves were valuable property), but once slavery was abolished there were hundreds of lynchings annually as Southern whites sought to keep blacks "in their place." Those gradually petered out, ending (thus far) with Mr. Byrd's misfortunes. Many lynchings had the complicity of Southern white police officers and the courts (and the public).
Apologies if you already knew all of this, I just find the history kind of interesting to talk about, albeit morbid.
As far as your putative solution, I would also to see black communities helped out so that they can flourish. However, this is because I think it's in my self interest for there to be more flourishing and productive people in the world of any race that I can trade with and befriend and so on. It's an investment, rather than a way of making up for some sort of collective guilt that I don't think I have earned.
Being a racist just cuts you off from all of the values that rational people of that race have to offer you. Like, if you're racist against black people, you're automatically cut off from all of the material and spiritual values that the black people around you have to offer you, for no reason. There is no beneficiary of racism.
(As a final aside: I don't necessarily want "tax money" involved in this process of helping out the black community. However, that's because I oppose taxation in general on moral grounds, which is a different conversation and quite off topic here.)
