A new website allows non-white people to ask for and receive “reparations” from white people, more often than not in the form of a financial windfall: free laptops, tuition for Ivy League schools, an engagement ring and credit assistance are a few examples of reparations requested, offered or already paid out on the site.
Reparations.me, founded by a black woman named Natasha Marin, has a Craigslist-like layout where non-white people post their requests for reparations from white people. White people can fulfill requests as well as post their own offers of reparations.
In one request, someone identifying himself as “Carter” asks for $6,000 to help pay tuition for his senior year at the University of Pennsylvania, where he says he’s studying math and computer science.
“I need $6000 to be able to go back to school next semester,” Carter explains. “I feel so close to graduating and I’ve been studying so hard and it is really stressful not knowing whether or not I’ll ever be able to finish makes it really difficult [sic]. I can email you from my school account to verify my enrollment if you need me to.”
The contact email listed for “Carter’s” request appears to belong to a Penn student named Christopher Ruscito, who looks rather white. A Linkedin profile for Ruscito says he is a member of the Vietnamese Students Association at Penn. He did not return an email from The Daily Caller seeking comment.
One black woman requested reparations in the form of a car. “Honestly, me and my 7-month-old NEED A CAR,” Rokea writes. “I’ve had a bus driver turn me away cause he had no room for a stroller, I’ve been on buses where someone got on and literally shit on themself, all of which are experiences I would be grateful to limit in my babies life.”
Rokea notes that she is “open to the possibilities” and would accept a “donation to our car fund” but would also be “grateful to recieve [sic] a functional used car, etc.”
In a request that was later fulfilled, a black woman named Enne asked for help buying an engagement ring for her lesbian partner. Enne explained that a prior divorce (from a man) and caring for her two kids left her unable to afford an engagement ring. She apparently was successful, as her post is one of a dozen marked “satisfied.”
One white woman named Katherine offered as reparations “free 1-hour channeled readings to those seeking spiritual guidance & self-understanding, via video chat to 1 individual per week. In addition to channeling energy & information from the spirit world on your behalf, I will provide instruction in techniques for grounding your energy & healing.”
Marin says she started the website so non-white people could “ask for what we need to feel better, be happier, be more productive by posting in this space.” Marin notes that reparations can be “immaterial requests.” She gives one example on the website where a white person agrees to let a non-white person “scream and cuss” at them.
In another example, a white person claims to have felt guilty before paying reparations. “I was quietly hating myself for doing nothing,” the fictional white person explains.