I’m fairly certain people in Europe conquered other people in Europe over the centuries, and I doubt many of the conquered over there get reparations for it. I know that sounds callous, but I still feel that way.
I don’t see how this is at all analogous.
It is analogous because, although it’s hard for people to “pull themselves up by their bootstraps”, to some degree it is necessary. If you want something bad enough, you need to fight for it. Having the government paying them does not necessarily ultimately lessen their suffering, but rather allows it to fester, because sometimes pain is necessary to affect change. Removing pain caused by injury does not necessarily help the injury to heal itself.
Let me rephrase my initial question. How is conquest analogous to racial discrimination and ethnic cleansing?