August 4, 2020 – Well, We knew it would pass. I am grateful, though, to see that the Republican minority commissioners stuck together so that the record shows that this resolution is not universally welcomed here, unlike the Asheville city resolution, which was passed unanimously, for crying out loud.
I expect that the activist Buncombe County Commissioners likely began working on their reparations resolution just as soon as Asheville City Council passed theirs. Not wanting to be left behind, the County Commissioners announced their intent to vote on their resolution at the next meeting on Tuesday, August 4. I guess they do not see any need to wait and see how Asheville and other liberal municipalities fare with the initiatives that they have agreed to. Buncombe commissioners need to hurry and pass this resolution while they and their constituents are still under the spell of the unrest that has spread across the country. There is simply no other explanation for why this has become so urgent to them. They must garner as much political support and glory as they can in advance of the November elections.
The county resolution rightly declares that “slavery represented an irreconcilable contradiction in our nation’s founding: a young democracy committed to the ideals of liberty and justice and yet actively perpetuating the degradation of Black people.” However, then it goes on to opine that, “This contradiction … has yet to be fully addressed and systemic racism continues to this day”. That is not a fact; it is an opinion. Is it right for the authors of this resolution to record opinion as fact in an official government resolution?
I believe that there have been numerous attempts to address the damage of slavery. I also believe that ratification of the 13th Amendment to the US Constitution outlawed slavery. No, the 13th Amendment did not eliminate racism. But can we not agree that slavery no longer exists? No living Buncombe County resident has ever been legally enslaved. Nor have any living persons in this county ever legally owned slaves. Let’s stop dwelling on the horrors of a crime that has been eliminated. It is ridiculous that people who never supported slavery think that there is any meaning to an apology issued to people who were never enslaved.
The resolution finds it necessary to catalogue many of the horrors of slavery. The resolution also details examples of institutional racism that have also now been eliminated. I do not dispute the fact that EVERY aspect of slavery is unconscionable. I do not defend racist practices that persisted in this country and this county beyond the liberation of slaves and codification of anti-slavery and anti-racism. However, I don’t agree that spelling those facts out in this resolution offers any satisfactory justification for offering government benefits or assistance to current residents based on the color of their skin. What will reparations do to right the wrongs of slavery, other than assuage some undeserved guilt on the part of this resolution’s supporters?
The resolution even mentions that there have been “decades of policy-level efforts and community and faith-based efforts to create racial justice”. It goes on to lament disparities that survived those attempts at remediation. In fact, disparities have always existed between the poor and the middle class. So, the answer is to keep doing more of what hasn’t worked in the past?
It is not the job of government to solve every problem of every citizen. Government should work to keep its constituents safe from domestic and foreign enemies who seek to do harm. Government should help ensure that infrastructure is available to help its citizenry make good lives for themselves. It should help its citizens to become educated. The government should help its citizens to build a happy life for themselves and for their families.
Does Buncombe County not already provide services for citizens in need? Are educational opportunities provided to the children of Buncombe citizens? Does the county sheriff enforce laws to help keep us safe?
The resolution does not appear to call for disbursement of public funds or to specify any tangible programs that would consume county government resources:
- It states that the county will appoint representatives to Asheville’s Reparations Committee.
- It directs county government staff to add some design or reference to slavery in Buncombe County. I’m not sure what this really accomplishes, except for making the liberals feel better about themselves.
- It directs that bi-annual status updates should be provided to the commissioners “on the impact of strategies being pursued through the Strategic Plan on reducing racial disparities in Buncombe County; and on the progress of the Community Reparations Commission.” It seems like some more frequent status reporting should occur and that status reporting would have been covered as a part of the county’s Strategic Plan.
It seems like a little bit of nothing at all except a show of support for Asheville. I resent the calls for meaningless apologies to black people for slavery. There’s a good bit of victim language in the resolution to stoke the fires of discontent. In my opinion this resolution offers nothing to the citizens of Buncombe County. This resolution seems like nothing more than a waste of the time it will take to vote on it.
