Monday Random Thought
For some reason, my April 14, 2010 entry keeps getting hit with stupid SPAM comments. I then go delete these comments, which involves me reading a non-SPAM comment there to the effect of "American blacks had a duty (or were perceived to have a duty) to go back to Africa and help get that continent squared away."
I didn't respond to the comment at the time, but since I keep seeing it, a response hit me. My response goes something like this:
I am of Lithuanian descent, so, by the same argument, I should go back to Lithuania to help out. However, I was born in the USA. My father was born in the USA. His father, my grandfather, was born in the USA. Grandfather was the last of us to speak any Lithuanian, and he died in 1985. What duty do I owe Lithuania? And if I don't owe a duty to Lithuania, why would an American black, who would have a longer chain of "born in the USA" than I have, retain a duty to go back and help "their" continent?
I didn't respond to the comment at the time, but since I keep seeing it, a response hit me. My response goes something like this:
I am of Lithuanian descent, so, by the same argument, I should go back to Lithuania to help out. However, I was born in the USA. My father was born in the USA. His father, my grandfather, was born in the USA. Grandfather was the last of us to speak any Lithuanian, and he died in 1985. What duty do I owe Lithuania? And if I don't owe a duty to Lithuania, why would an American black, who would have a longer chain of "born in the USA" than I have, retain a duty to go back and help "their" continent?