In the June 12 News Tribune, I read of a Minnesota legislator being reprimanded on social media after calling for "reparations" from those who recently toppled a statue of Christopher Columbus in the Twin Cities. The story included this authoritative statement: "Reparations are the payments or other methods of making amends to the descendants of slavery or other atrocities." (The story was headlined, “T omassoni draws ire for comments on Columbus statue toppling: Senator urges protesters to 'pay reparations'. ”)
The use of the word "reparations" in the instance of atrocities is accurate, but it’s not exclusive. My old Webster's dictionary gives four interpretations for the definition of “reparations,” including "anything paid or done to make up for something else."
I would quote from a wise letter in the News Tribune published the same week as the story: "Balance is needed."
Gregory Vergamini
Superior
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