Reparations From Britian, France and the Netherlands

The slave trade has had a devastating effect on all people of color around the world. This devastation didn't end after slavery was was outlawed, many countries today are still enduring the debilatating effects of slavery.

Several leaders of Caribbean nations have decided that it is appropriate to sue the countries that have benefited and encouraged the atrocious behavior.

"A British human rights law firm hired by the Caribbean Community grouping of nations announced that prime ministers had authorized a 10-point plan that would seek a formal apology and debt cancellation from former colonizers such as Britain, France and the Netherlands," states AP.

These Caribbean nations do not plan to stop there. They also plan to sue for reparation payments to try and repair not only the damage that has been done, but to repair the ongoing psychological trauma that effects black people today.

Not only have European nations damaged Africans psychologically, but they have succeeded in doing their best in excluding the Caribbean in the nations in Europe's industrialization and confined to producing and exporting raw materials such as sugar.

The plan also demands that Europe help with aid in strengthening the regions public health, educations and cultural institutions.

The plan goes on to demand diplomatic assistance from Europe to resettle Jamaica's Rastafarian population back to Africa, which has always been very important.

This deal is not new, for years Caribbean countries have asked for reparations from European countries with no success. But, recently it has gained momentum.  

"Caricom, as the political grouping of 15 countries and dependencies is known, announced in July that it intended to seek reparations for slavery and the genocide of native peoples and created the Caribbean Reparations Commission to push the issue and present their recommendations to political leaders.

They then hired Leigh Day, which waged a successful fight for an award compensation of about $21.5 million for surviving Kenyans who were tortured by the British colonial government during the so-called Mau Mau rebellion of the 1950s and 1960s.

The commission's chairman, Hilary Beckles, a scholar who has written several books on the history of Caribbean slavery, said he was "very pleased" that the political leaders adopted the plan.

In 2007, then British Prime Minister Tony Blair expressed regret for the "unbearable suffering" caused by his country's role in slavery but made no formal apology. In 2010, then French President Nicolas Sarkozy acknowledged the "wounds of colonization" and pointed out France had canceled a 56 million euro debt owed by Haiti and approved an aid package.

The Caribbean Reparations Commission said Monday that far more needed to be done for the descendants of slaves on struggling islands, saying it sees the "persistent racial victimization of the descendants of slavery and genocide as the root cause of their suffering today.""

Free Speech: How Far is Too Far

The First Amendment, most people feel is one of or the most important part of the consitution. It stands for what democracy really stands for. And to take that away would be to deny us our human rights. Or does it?

What if this part of our democracy is denying others their rights?

France and Israel have come to an agreement that free speech is very important to society, too much free speech can also be the exact opposite. In response to this revelation they have put limits on the use of certain types of speech, even banning or fining anyone who uses it. In France, Dieudonne M'Bala M'Bala has been banned from playing in two cities and has been fined repeatedly for hate speech; being charged with intent to disrupt public order. The French have even made the encouragement racial discrimination a crime.

Israel has taken action against free speech by banning the word Nazi, unless used in an education context. Using this word, or even referring to the Third Reich with intention of hurting another person, can land a person jail for several months, along with some hefty fines. Israel did not stop there though, they have also made it illegal to deny the Holocaust. 

France and Israel are not alone in their efforts to control the harm done on society due to unbecoming speech. Six other European countries have also put restrictions in place.

This leaves America on it's own.

Coming back to America, this may seem excessive, even undemocratic. Federal court has held up the free speech law in a big way. In 1977 they upheld the rights of Neo-Nazi's to march right through a town in Illinois whose residents were survivors of Hitler's regime. Even when West-boro Church decided to picket outside the funeral of a gay soldier with signs that says "God Hates Fags" there was no repercussions. Though America seems to unlimited free speech there are some limits, for example slander, defamation, obscenity and the incitement of imminent lawlessness. This is a small portion of the hateful words that are hurting people everyday.

When is it too far?

"Recent studies in universities such as Purdue, UCLA, Michigan, Toronto, Arizona, Maryland, and Macquarie University in New South Wales, show, among other things, through brain scans and controlled studies with participants who were subjected to both physical and emotional pain, that emotional harm is equal in intensity to that experienced by the body, and is even more long-lasting and traumatic. Physical pain subsides; emotional pain, when recalled, is relived,"  reports the daily beast.

Physical wounds may last a long time, it's the psychological wounds that last a lifetime, and like physical harm, emotional distress can make the body sick. Even when these emotions are brought back, the person will relive the incident over and over again. This causes mental trauma, not just for the one person it may be directed too, but to everyone that can relate.

There, of course, is nothing wrong with trying to express your ideas in public, but this can be done without shouting obscenities at a gay soldiers funereal, or burning a cross in an African American neighborhood. 

"Free speech should not stand in the way of common decency. No right should be so freely and recklessly exercised that it becomes an impediment to civil society, making it so that others are made to feel less free, their private space and peace invaded, their sensitivities cruelly trampled upon."