March 23, 2001

David Horowitz has certainly stirred

David Horowitz has certainly stirred up lots of free publicity and inspired many inches in op-ed pages over his ad opposing slavery reparations. He has also exposed the thought police on some college campuses who can't tolerate opposing opinions. Yes, Political Correctness is alive and well at some universities. The editor of the Daily Californian apologized for printing the ad, ticking off defenders of journalistic freedom.

Unfortunately, the campus radicalism took away from Horowitz's arguments against reparations. The most salient one is that justice can't be served because the victims (Black slaves) are dead along with their perpetrators (White slave holders). To expect compensation from those not responsible to those undeserving is absurd. Reparation proponents also ignore the tremendous achievments of the Black community in the 150+ years since slavery was outlawed. The Black middle-class is now larger than the under-class. Blacks are some of the most recognized and respected people (Michael Jordan, Collin Powell, Clarence Thomas) in the country. Reparations would only engulf this nation in harsh racial conflict.

"Storm Troopers vs. Free Speech"