08-16-2015, 05:07 PM
"They've sequenced the Neanderthal DNA, but don't wait for a study to discover the prevalence of Menehune DNA in the native Hawaiian population."
I propose DNA sequencing be employed to create reparations charts which implement a sliding scale to determine each individual's reparation balance (to either be billed or receive a lump sum payment, depending on net hereditary victim or perpetrator status). Complex algorithms may be necessary in many cases, but with a little diligence we can get to the bottom of this tangled genealogical mess and pay each other and ourselves our just deserts.
For example, if an individual were found to be carrying DNA from Asia, Polynesia, and Europe (for the sake of simplicity in this case let's call it Hawaiian - Chinese - English) we might find that the reparations owed by the English DNA to the Hawaiian DNA cancel out any net reparations owed to the individual in question. On the other hand, the Hawaiian DNA may owe reparations into the Menehune reparations fund creating a net loss for the individual. But then if we enter the Chinese DNA into the equation, there could be some reparation coming from the English DNA to the Chinese DNA (Opium Wars). Or, the Hawaiian DNA might owe the Chinese DNA (slaughter of early shipwrecked sailors on Hawaiian shores). If the DNA sequencing were to reveal Neanderthal DNA in the English portion of the individual, this could further complicate determining the net reparation balance of the individual.
Or, alternatively, we could just get over ourselves, get on with our own lives in the actual present, and stop trying to boss other people around according to some self-important claim of hereditary privilege.
I propose DNA sequencing be employed to create reparations charts which implement a sliding scale to determine each individual's reparation balance (to either be billed or receive a lump sum payment, depending on net hereditary victim or perpetrator status). Complex algorithms may be necessary in many cases, but with a little diligence we can get to the bottom of this tangled genealogical mess and pay each other and ourselves our just deserts.
For example, if an individual were found to be carrying DNA from Asia, Polynesia, and Europe (for the sake of simplicity in this case let's call it Hawaiian - Chinese - English) we might find that the reparations owed by the English DNA to the Hawaiian DNA cancel out any net reparations owed to the individual in question. On the other hand, the Hawaiian DNA may owe reparations into the Menehune reparations fund creating a net loss for the individual. But then if we enter the Chinese DNA into the equation, there could be some reparation coming from the English DNA to the Chinese DNA (Opium Wars). Or, the Hawaiian DNA might owe the Chinese DNA (slaughter of early shipwrecked sailors on Hawaiian shores). If the DNA sequencing were to reveal Neanderthal DNA in the English portion of the individual, this could further complicate determining the net reparation balance of the individual.
Or, alternatively, we could just get over ourselves, get on with our own lives in the actual present, and stop trying to boss other people around according to some self-important claim of hereditary privilege.