First, I want to say that Ross White is an amazing human being, a talented progressive thinker with unlimited potential, a very close and dear friend, and most of all - a good sport.

Second, I want to say that I don't personally believe in the practical application of reparations because I am a pragmatist and fully realize the impossibility and problematic nature of the United States Government applying any reparations policy.

However, Art Star is a space that has been created for the exchange of ideas, information, and to build a community of young artists, thinkers, and influential people.

Yesterday I wrote a column that was meant to be pure entertainment called My Top Ten Guilty Pleasures, and #10 was reparations. I knew that it was a spicy topic and would possibly offend some of our readership as I acknowledged.

However the value of making controversial statements is not from the pure "shock" value, but from the ensuing dialogue about the issue.

In the comments section of my column, Ross and I had a debate which turned on whether or not a white person would learn anything about slavery from picking cotton for a day?

I said yes they would, and he said no they would not.

So, I challenged him to a bet that we would let our readership (and whoever else cares) decide via this really neat new idea called prediction markets.

Using the Inkling Marketplace we will pose the question and you, the reader, decide how right or wrong each of us are (we both believe that we insult everyone's intelligence by making it a yes or no answer).

If "the world" decides that yes, a white person would indeed would learn something from picking a day's worth of cotton, then Ross White will pick cotton for a day, and post footage from that and reflection on his experience in a youtube video.

If "the world" decides that no, a white person would not learn much from picking a day's worth of cotton, then I will issue a public apology to any white people I have offended in a youtube video.

Now of course I don't want to apologize and Ross doesn't want to pick cotton but that is what makes it interesting.

Over the next week or so we will both make posts elaborating, and nuancing our positions.

However, tomorrow we will introduce how YOU will decide and let the betting begin.

We encourage for you to comment on our bet and the issues, because although we both realize the inherent silliness in making a white person pick cotton, both Ross and I strongly believe that our countries ongoing conversation about race, history, discrimination, equality, and fairness are very important and isn't a "black" issue, or a "white" issue, but an American issue.

Hahah...wats really good Art Star pham!?

It's about to get real later on in this post.

However first if you have a chance check out the 1987 movie Wall Street.

For now listen to this speech about greed being good

Another character in the movie says, "I don't go to sleep with no whore and I don't wake up with no whore. That's how I live with myself. I don't know how you do it."

I know many people are, in the words of Black Thought, "paper chase motivated". But when do we draw the line between making money and sleeping with whores.

It seems like Nas has drawn the line by NOT naming his new album Nigger

I was ready to kick down something when I heard Be A Nigger Too. Had cats from high school calling me wanting to know how I felt. Thought Nas was about to do something, start some riots, confuse the hell out of white people.

Even Alicia Keys had his back.

But alas Walmart and the forces that be caused Nas to change his opinion. Or maybe he just felt like he might become an irresponsible black person.

Still, when there is ignorant shit like this in the world, I can't help but wish that Nas was still dropping an album called Nigger.

Or maybe I'm just ignorant and what he is really trying to say is Negus

Or maybe we just all eventually find that whore.