At the moment, the BBC are running a series of programmes about the abolition of the slave trade 200 years ago. It poses some interesting questions and as a result, there's a discussion in the UK media at the moment about whether the UK should should formally apologise for its part in the slave trade. Some people are even saying that reparations are somehow appropriate.
From a gay point of view, reparations would set a nice precedent wouldn't they? Gay people suffered enormous persecution in the UK until 1967 when homosexuality was decriminalised. If reparations are payable for the slave trade, reparations should also be payable to all gay people to compensate us for the errors of history too. But who pays for all the reparations? Most of us do, because most of us are taxpayers.
I've got a better idea. How about we all accept that history can't be altered, that everyone's ancestors will be guilty of something if you go far enough back, and instead spend time worrying about how to address today's important issues!
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