We British have previously been enslaved by the Romans and the Arabs. Can they give us some money, please?
Also, think of the poor Slavs. Please can whoever enslaved them - the Venetians among them - give them some money?
Also, can the Mongols please give some money to the East Europeans, Central Asians and Chinese people they enslaved?
And would the Spanish please give some money to the indigenous peoples of the Americas?
Also, could the people from the West Coast of Africa please give money to Genoa on the grounds they enslaved some of their sailors who were attempting a circumnavigation around the year 1300?
etc.
In case no one understands the point, slavery was a universal phenomenon until the late eighteenth century. Everyone's going to owe money to everyone using the reparations model. Totally silly.
Happy to give money to any American still living who was once a slave and who was transported to America in a British ship before 1833 (when the British entirely abolished slavery). That person is at least 189 years old. But to their descendants? Nope. They are in the same boat as everyone else. Nine generations is plenty of time for a family to improve its condition.
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