Blackmail is blackmail no matter what the supposed justification. This quote comes from an amplification of a story I commented on yesterday.
"The real problem is they are publicly-traded companies, and they cannot afford the publicity. It’s a form of shakedown, extortion. The companies today are completely different from the companies they are talking about in the past; the people who will get the money are people who aren’t slaves," said scholar David Horowitz, who recently released Uncivil Wars: The Controversy over Reparations for Slavery.But Joyce A. Ladner, a senior fellow with the Brookings Institute and author of The New Urban Leaders, said even if they don't succeed, the suit will have made its point.
"This case does two things, it educates the larger public about the role that institutions played in slavery," she said, and it "redresses old grievances" by tying specific harm to companies and the government.
"These lawyers — and they are some of the finest legal minds in America — know that this is basically a frivolous lawsuit that will not succeed, but to the extent that they can stir the pot and get us to talk about this and maybe create this fund for scholarships and maybe get an apology from Congress, they will have accomplished their purpose," Napolitano said.
"...create a fund for scholarships..." Interesting when even the suporters of the suit realize there is no merit, but still believe they'll get something out of it.
By the way, I apologize for the racially insensitive term "blackmail" used to head this story. I wish to change the term to "African American Extortion Process." See, I can be politically correct when I want to be.....
Posted by Rich at March 27, 2002 2:47 AM