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It’s about time the Bush administration did something to stop blatant skin color preferences and to uphold the Constitution.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the government is suing Southern Illinois University (SIU) for discriminating against whites, Asians, males, and anyone else who’s not black and female:
“The University has engaged in a pattern or practice of intentional discrimination against whites, non-preferred minorities and males,” says a Justice Department letter sent to the university last week and obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times.
The letter demands the university cease the fellowship programs, or the department’s civil rights division will sue SIU by Nov. 18.
Most “mainstream” blacks don’t see anything wrong with skin color distinctions in public hiring and admissions as long as blacks are the ones receiving the benefits of discrimination. It’s called human nature. Back in the day when government skin color distinctions harmed blacks, they called it what it was: repugnant.
Race-based funds at public universities are unconstitutional and violate the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the legislation drafted and passed during the Civil Rights movement designed to end racial discrimination. The article cites Title VII, but Title VI is more precise in this context:
No person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.
Just to be clear, a “college, university, or other postsecondary institution, or a public system of higher education” meets the definition of “program.” John F. Kennedy, the “civil rights” president, understood exactly why racial discrimination was wrong:
Simple justice requires that public funds, to which all taxpayers of all races [colors, and national origins] contribute, not be spent in any fashion which encourages, entrenches, subsidizes or results in racial [color or national origin] discrimination. (Source)
Illinois Senator Barack Obama, a liberal who doesn’t want to be called a liberal, accuses the Bush administration of trying to divide voters. “One of my concerns has been with all the problems the Bush administration is having, that they’ll start resorting to what they consider to be wedge issues as a way of helping themselves politically.”
As if government sanction of racial discrimination isn’t politically divisive? That’s why Obama is a liberal.
So how do schools discriminate against whites and Asians, for example, to the benefit of “minorities?” Southern Illinois University, like so many universities, designates certain scholarships for non-white and non-Asian students. Their Bridge to the Doctorate program awards money to “underrepresented minority students to initiate graduate study in science, technology, engineering and math.” We all know that “underrepresented” is code for “black,” but they can’t say that. Why? Because it is illegal.
Under the Proactive Recruitment and Multicultural Professionals for Tomorrow program, applicants must be from a “traditional underrepresented group.” Other scholarships at SIU: The National Medical Fellowships skin color program, which offers money to “United States citizens who are African-American, mainland Puerto Rican, Mexican-American, American Indian, Alaska Natives or Native Hawaiians,” and the Latino Scholarship Fund. To receive these funds, you must be a “full Latino or both parents must be at least half Latino.”
Do you think it’s appropriate for a publicly-funded school to determine whether someone is a “full” or “half” Latino??? I’ve been blogging about this stuff for two years, and if people don’t understand why this is odious, perhaps I’m not doing a good enough job explaining myself.
If the government sues SIU, it had better start serving notice to hundreds of other public universities that offer the same type of skin color-based scholarships.
The Center for Equal Opportunity is committed to keeping these issues at the forefront. Roger Clegg, who I blogged about earlier this year, said “I don’t think there’s any way that Southern Illinois can defend these programs legally, and I don’t understand why they’d want to run a program that refuses to consider some individuals on the basis of their skin color.”
Skin color-based scholarship programs in public universities can’t be defended legally or morally. If blacks advocate skin color preferences because they’re afraid of getting left behind socially, educationally, and economically, they need to improve performance and generate opportunities for themselves rather than using public funds to “level the playing field,” which is nothing more than a moronic baseball analogy that didn’t make sense 40 years ago and makes less sense now.
As long as we have eyes, we’ll never be colorblind. That sentiment is just as laughable as any liberal’s dream of a socialist utopia. But public policy ought to be colorblind, and there’s no good reason why it shouldn’t be.
Related posts and op-eds:
- Idiocy By Any Other Name
- A Forgotten Tune
- Affirmative Action V. Race Preferences
- Barack Obama’s Pro-Death Vote
- The Great Black Hope!
- Dumbed Down And Diverse
Addendum: A government with the power to discriminate in favor of blacks also has the power to discriminate against blacks. Remember that.
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Amen.
Great column! Thank you.
You are right that we will never be colorblind as long as we can see, but my hope is that we note skin color as we do hair and eye color, height, weight as part of identification, but never let it get in the way of getting to know the person inside the packaging that nature provided. If that person be honorable, then he is a friend, if not, he is to be avoided.
Bravo! Fairness means simply a level playing field. People will come to that field from various backgrounds and advantages. My favorite story is my old XO in Memphis. Her name was Lynn and was accepted to the Coast Guard Academy but somehow when she showed up, they expected a man. She proudly told that story to anyone who would listen because it was a validation of her own efforts rather than a different standard for her.
By the way, great to post again! I’m alive and well in Iraq, LaShawn is great to read and keeps my spirits up.
What a thoughtful description of the SIU programs. (And by the way, Obama is a liberal.) Overall, the left really doesn’t want people to improve performance and provide for themselves. They prefer to keep them dependent on a government stipend so they can keep getting those votes.
Great post, it would work so much better if this was a perfect world and we were a perfect people. But I guess some think we do.
I think you’re right on here. That may not mean much coming from a white middleclass male. It just never made sense to me to undo unequal rights by making reverse prejudice law. I understand the idea of counterbalancing decades of racial abuse. But at what point do you have to counterbalance that?
I think there will be a day when whites are a minority in the US, as census data is beginning to show in metro areas. They don’t have as many children as black and hispannic families (plus immigration). Personally, I’m fine with this fact. But you can bet my 2 boys will probably never recieve a grant in 20 years when they go to college…even though they will be minorities.
It’s just kind of strange. There are many times in the week where I feel guilty for being white because of the world we live in. I don’t know if my point has made sense, but I think equal rights should mean equal rights. So I love your thoughts. Thanks for everything you write. I love your site.
Great post, La Shawn, your blog is now on my must read list. It is sad that so many people think discrimination is the medicine to cure discrimination. I was Googling for Lloyd Connerly’s California racial information initiative which sought to prohibit the government gathering and using racial information. The People’s Republic of California soundly defeated it! Identity politics is big business and so long as one is on the freebie end of it all is well. The flip side of discrimination is not pretty. People can be pretty damned selfish. I am still reeling over the vitriol and hate poured out at Connerly. If I were Mr. Spock, it would be,”fascinating”. As I am not it is revolting.
BTW there are no more fanatical and egregious practitioners of this form of discrimination than our universities and its admissions mullahs.
Thanks, Mark. That’s Ward Connerly.
See this post: http://lashawnbarber.com/archives/2005/05/13/sound/ - Admin
Just wish you were equally compassionate about legacy admissions….
Legacy, shmegacy. If you can’t or refuse to comprehend that skin color preferences and legacy preferences are vastly different, you’re probably wasting your time reading this blog. - Admin
One of the reasons why I totally despise Marxism and other such anti-freedom ideology is because I taught for a program that was for “first generation” college-bound students, funded by the government. Guess what–most of the students were recruited because of their non-white status, and several of them were in the program because the university–a state university–let them in via affirmative action, even though their skills were well below the already relatively low requirements.
When the students couldn’t perform, the administrators of the program would do anything to keep them in because they had to keep the numbers up and their grant money intact. Imagine teaching affirmative action-students and listening to some of them blame white people for everything, and manipulating the administration to go along with those types of lies. And the ironic thing is that several students in the university were first-generation college-bound. But those students weren’t the right color, so they were never considered or recruited for the program. So it’s yet another government-funded shakedown to.
What I’ve said is true–I sometimes still wonder if I should write the university about it. It was a hurtful, deceptive experience that helped me to better understand the absolute lies of the left-wing, anti-freedom, so-called educators and their manipulated minions.
I wonder what will be in store for my biracial grandaughter. She’s half black and half white. I love her more than life itself (I’m white). She’s 8. She lives in a white community..there are a couple of blacks. She’s happy. Her dad is not in the picture - most of the time in jail. (not to categorize all black men this way, but it’s the case here). Her mom has remarried a white guy. He loves and will adopt her. I want her to grow up proud..aware of who she is..what she can do. I don’t think she knows discrimination but she does of course know she’s not the same as her blonde friends. From an adult standpoint, I’m scared for her. I want us all to be the same. I want her life to be happy. Her mom is tough..know what I mean…she’ll watch out for her. I just hope that she won’t hurt. I can’t stand to see her hurt. I hope she is embraced by everyone. It would break my heart.
So I am rather uninformed on Legacy and Minority admission programs can you explain the details and difference. Or point me to a balanced website.
diane,
It sounds to me that your granddaughter is being raised in a loving family and will be just fine. My advice to you (based on 15 years so far of raising a biracial son) is to not be concerned about skin color. Teach her the lessons that a young girl needs to become a confident adult. Does she know her fathers family? Are they good role models, if so allow them to be part of her life.
Respectfully,
Scott
sorry I meant “dianne”
I suppose if your parents attended Southern Illinois and they are african-american, and you are female that you are a slam dunk, if you’ll pardon the expression. Does Southern Illinois have a history of discrimination? Clayton?
I would be more impressed with Sen. Obama had he addressed the suit rather than project motives upon the administration. That is the point, after all, the suit itself and its merits.
Can you quantify this number in percentages “Most “mainstream†blacks”
mainstreamquestion is LaShawn, based on the fact your views are very unpopular in the black community how immersed are you in the black community? My point being that saying “Most “mainstream†blacks†in any context is unfair because it is based on your own independent views.
A few things that struck me about the article. First, the universities Chancellor said, “I don’t think that discriminates against whites, but that’s part of what we need to talk to them about,” Wendler said. The university has “lots of other fellowship programs that are open to all people.”
So there you have it. He admitted exactly what the Justice Department alleges.
Not only that, but Obama, who complains that the Bush Administration is suing the university to distract the public from its sagging popularity never disputes the allegations or provides evidence that the university doesn’t discriminate. Instead he does just what he complains the Bush Administration is doing — he changes the subject.
Most annoying of all is the fact that in the last paragraphs the writers finally admit that the univeristy is, in fact, violating the law. Something they should have started the article with. Ah, but the liberal media can’t do that now can it? Only when criticizing conservatives are the laws inportant.
This is a very unbalanced and myopic post. I think the major reason is the point of view of the author and the many commenting supporters: the perspective that programs that promote racial justice and demographic equity somehow give an advantage to groups who are at parity with the rest of society.
I think 3 passages in the post illustrate this:
1) I’ll start with the cynically written:
“According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the government is suing Southern Illinois University (SIU) for discriminating against whites, Asians, males, and anyone else who’s not black and female:”
You mean black -or- female don’t you? Because WHITE females benefit from these programs also. In fact, it is well known that whites have benefited more than even blacks from affirmative actions, because the overwhelming majority of female-targetted programs get in the hands of white women. (I support these programs btw).
You also left out chicanos, other latinos, south east asians and other disadvantaged minorities. This is a well-worn tactic of marginalizing blacks to drive an issue.
2)”So how do schools discriminate against whites and Asians, for example, to the benefit of “minorities?†Southern Illinois University, like so many universities, designates certain scholarships for non-white and non-Asian students. Their Bridge to the Doctorate program awards money to “underrepresented minority students to initiate graduate study in science, technology, engineering and math.†We all know that “underrepresented†is code for “black,†but they can’t say that. Why? Because it is illegal.”
Under-represented isn’t a code word. The fact there are under-represented and disadvantaged groups in the US is a fact. And it doesn’t take a genius to figure out who these groups are. (BTW, only 8% of the students in SIU’s graduate program are black and/or hispanic). Calling “underrepresented” a “code word” is a nice way to distract from the fact that it is a reality. I agree with Obama, when the number of american-born minorities are at a dearth in this country, it seems very cynical and foolish to take actions that reduce that number.
3)”Skin color-based scholarship programs in public universities can’t be defended legally or morally. If blacks advocate skin color preferences because they’re afraid of getting left behind socially, educationally, and economically, they need to improve performance and generate opportunities for themselves rather than using public funds to “level the playing field,†which is nothing more than a moronic baseball analogy that didn’t make sense 40 years ago and makes less sense now.”
Of course they can be defended morally and legally (I’ll leave aside the legal and moral defense of another set of actions–the current administration’s adventures in Iraq— for another post). That’s why Nixon, who was openly hostile to the idea of black and female progress, gave lip-service to ongoing affirmative action programs. That is why Bush has never endorsed a complete repeal of minority and women scholarships or fellowships. Indeed, the government should next sue itself, because there are many DOE, DOD, and other executive fellowships and programs that are set up exclusively for underrepresented minorities and women. If this wasn’t a cynical attempt to placate Bush’s black-fearing base, but a genuine attempt at “colorblindness”, wouldn’t Bush order an end to these many scholarships that it controls? Bush could repeal them all if he wanted to.
Didn’t make sense 40 years ago? I guess so—if you were a white person watching those uppity minorities get pummelled on TV in your cozy living room, in the middle of a government-subsidized suburbia, which likely had a neighborhood-covenant restricting nonwhites. I guess in that context you would find the concept of an uneven playing field moronic.
It is only by ignoring societal and historical context can people make an assertion that such programs and initiatives are “moronic” now.
I’m a conservative of libertarian temperment. Both my senators are statist liberals. Does that make me underrepresented?
Let me clarify the first paragraph above. I am saying that the groups who benefit from such scholarships and fellowships AREN’T at parity with the rest of society.
At last, the battle is on. Let’s see if they stick with it or chicken out. It will be a difficult fight. The racists - a.k.a. liberals - who have a chokehold on American society will, as usual, deafen us with their shrieks of “racism”. Their persistent racism is why I finally abandoned the Democratic party five years ago.
If successful, this project will, we can hope, end the stigma which haunts “affirmative action babies” throughout their careers. As things stand now, our officially approved races and genders are getting scrod. Maybe someday when I, looking for competent employees, read a resume for a black or Hispanic or woman, I won’t have to account for the fact that the words don’t mean the same as they do on a resume for a white guy or an Asian. Then perhaps the word “equality” may start to mean something real.
Level playing field for everybody? What an idea!
Uh, Obama is no liberal. He is a communist/socialist. Despite that fact I voted for him over theocon Keyes. I can’t abide theocons.
Keto,
Your post is thoughtful, but falls short of convincing me. Mostly because I already know what you’re going to say after reading just a sentence or two.(Brief example: the obligatory Iraq non-sequitur.) Surprise us with a few opinions that don’t cleave to the ideological line, and you suddenly become a much more interesting poster.
A couple of thoughts. First, “level playing field” came into use less than 30 years ago. It is not a baseball analogy (baseball fields are not level; they’re not even a uniform size). It was introduced by economic theorists who needed a visual image of market equality.
Second, you do know that women are now a considerable majority in college enrollments, right? (On the order of 10% more women than men, and the gap is widening). They are not under-represented, they are over-represented.
Third, as Eibl-Eibesfeldt so magnificently described (and many later ethologists corroborated), humankind has a deep, hard-wired urge to separate itself into in-groups and out-groups. Almost any difference will do, but race is one of the most irresistible because it is so visual. As long as we have official programs that emphasize racial differences, we will never have racial equality. Emphasizing race triggers the in-group/out-group instinct, and attaching material benefits to one group at the expense of another insures only that the distinction will be hammered deeper and deeper. In short, the message of science is that if you wish for racism to continue, then treat races differently.
I personally believe the only real solution is for the races to intermarry and blend until the distinctions disappear, because education about our xenophobic impulses is no match for the emotion they engender.
Fourth, under-represented isn’t a code word, it’s a euphemism. My BS detector goes off whenever I run across a euphemism, because I then know that someone is trying to manage my perception…and not for my benefit. I prefer to manage my own perception.
Fifth, you were silent about Asians, except to mention Pacific Islanders. Why? We fought and killed Japanese by the thousands just a couple of generations ago, and spent 40 years of cold war hating on Chinese…according to the standard racism ideology, there should be huge residual hatred for Asians, and therefore, lack of full participation in society. (Don’t forget the internment camps, too - right here in the US.) If the baseline standard for these university programs is minority status, why are only some minorities given the goods?
I have a few other objections, but no one reads long posts.
I do agree with you that to be consistent, the government should sue itself, based on all the other violations of Title VI that have been incorporated into government programs.
Peace.
keto,
People with an IQ of 70 are under represented in math, hard science, and engineering programs.
What should be done? Train them to design airplanes? Fine by me if we can get a bunch of those favoring affirmative action to fly in such aircraft.
Perhaps nuclear reactor design is a better fit.
Personally I think a system that allows only the smartest people into such programs is a very good idea.
If that means mostly asians and Jews - so be it. It is better that our civilization work well, rather than that the disadvantaged (by lack of training or brain power) be made to feel good.
Forty-one years and counting from 1964. So now our magical “Justice Department” suspects that racial quotas, gender pandering, chivvying homosexuals into every crack (no pun), might possibly reflect –how you say?– “discrimination”?
Two sets of studies: The first notices that from the mid-1980s, virtually every senior (male) academic administrator in this counrty began his career as a draft-dodger from Vietnam. Second, multiple assessments correlate academic quotas on any basis with sharp declines in alumni distinction plus severe shortfalls in financial support. The more inflated your “diversity”, the worse your graduates’ performance, the less their subsequent donations to your school.
It will be interesting to see an East Asian/Oriental analog of Obama the Hippity rise to address the Senate and tell him straight: You’re a phony wedded to a racist cause, and if you don’t know that or admit it, you’re in deeper trouble than you know. Can you imagine Teddy kennedy shaking uncontrollably, Kerry clutching for the Botox bottle, MzBill (if she’s still around) squeaking imprecations at anyone who dares call her stand-alone credentials into question? Pish-tush! Realty’s not that bad, once you get to know it.
Well done, LaShawn. Odious. You’ve expanded my vocabulary.
I’m not braggin’. 
Mark - You said, “I personally believe the only real solution is for the races to intermarry and blend until the distinctions disappear,”
So the solution is a voluntary, free-spirited, open-ended program of procreative racial deconstruction?
(Warning: link does contain quite a bit of crude language).
I quite agree that that’s the long-term solution, but it’ll take quite a long time. And there are a few obstacles in the way: even with no racism in the picture at all, there seems to be something in the human psyche that makes it a little difficult. It seems we’re more likely to be attracted to people who look (somewhat, at least) similar to us. Take me, for example. If you were to spread out the pictures of the women I’ve been seriously attracted to, you’d probably notice that they’re all of the same ethnicity as me — and racism is *not* the reason. (I’ve lived in my own head long enough to know if it was.) I can look at a woman of a different ethnicity and know (objectively) that she’s really beautiful, but it’s much less likely that I’ll be attracted to her than to a similarly beautiful woman of my own ethnicity. And I believe that’s the rule rather than the exception.
Which is a shame, because more mixed-racial marriages would be a wonderful thing to have happen. (Incidentally, have you ever noticed that the children of mixed-racial marriages are almost always among the most attractive around? For example, there’s a Caucasian-Korean couple in my church — he’s Caucasian, she’s Korean — and their oldest daughter is going to be an absolute heartbreaker when she grows up!)
Still, over time that’s going to be the best solution.
I think much of the fall in college enrollment by men can be attributed to this deep, pervasive and sometimes open attitude by college administrators that sexism against men is good.
LaShawn, I just wanted to let you know that I diaried about your column at RedState. Scoop doesn’t allow for trackbacks, so I thought I’d drop a note. I still enjoy your columns and remember you are always free to cross-post if you want to try to pick up new readers. Best wishes.
Thanks for the link, Adam. I hope Chicago is treating you well.
I still have my RedState account, and I’ll take you up on your invitation to post.
As a fellow Saluki, it saddens my heart to read about the DOJ charges. SIU is probably one of the best run universities and its graduates are very top notch and competitive with Ivy league graduates.
On the face of the scant information, it appears both entities have done something stupid. SIU is at fault for not using their excellent faculty to develop a felowship program that is the model for the nation. DOJ for spending resources on something that isn’t much of a problem to the people of the US. But that’s now water under the bridge…
Hopefully, both parties can resolve this dilemmma and bring forth a new idea in the best interests of our nation.
BTW - I’m a military program graduate with a BS in Workforce Education and Development (WED). I completed most of my classes at McGuire AFB, NJ and took my last class at Travis AFB, CA , after returning from a year in Korea without my family. The degree has made all the difference in my post-military civilian life. I finally had the opportunity to spend a hour or so on campus during a trip back from St Louis.
Keto,
Please define what you mean by parity and then tell me just how you expect to reach parity given the vast differences in the capabilities of the humans living today. The problem is that the Civil Rights Act was passed to create a level starting field. What you do after the start is strictly up to you and the way you approach life. What programs like the ones at SIU are doing is trying to game the system and force the desired equal results rather than the equal opportunities. That is why their programs are wrong IMNSHO. I would love to see more blacks, Asians, women, Latinos, etc succeed. I would like to be able to go to a doctor and not worry if he is not a white male. In fact my personal doctor is from Burma and his partneris from Pakistan and he is a wonderful doctor. However, according to the programs at SIU he would not qualify as a minority because he is not one of the selected minorities.
What puzzles me is just who slices and dices up the selected minorities? and why do they select those particular minorities and not others? and how do they handle people who fall in both camps as some of the commenters above mention? By trying to handle all these questions and fending off those who question their slicing and dicing the academics have left us with a huge mess that should not have been there in the first place. The questions that should be asked is can you do the work, are you prepared to do the work and what will you do with what you learn while doing the work. Once you have gotten those answers, what more do you need to know about the applicant?
I know of a prominent orchestra conductor who regularly holds auditions which include both seated members of the orchestra and those trying to earn a seat.
They audition behind a curtain and he makes his selection(s) on performance alone. He has no way of knowing age, sex, ethnic identity, handicapping conditions, etc.
He went to this procedure after having been dragged through the wringer by affirmative action type complaints. The problem is, those types hate him even more, now. They just can’t stand the idea that merit comes out on top.
Let’s try this again: can anyone refute Keto’s comment that this DOJ action is simply cynical grandstanding, and that if the no race-based preferences principle were really the issue, the govt would sue itself:
Keto writes: “That is why Bush has never endorsed a complete repeal of minority and women scholarships or fellowships. Indeed, the government should next sue itself, because there are many DOE, DOD, and other executive fellowships and programs that are set up exclusively for underrepresented minorities and women. If this wasnÂ’t a cynical attempt to placate BushÂ’s black-fearing base, but a genuine attempt at “colorblindness”, wouldnÂ’t Bush order an end to these many scholarships that it controls? Bush could repeal them all if he wanted to.”
Is that true? Even though “the govt does it too” may not work as a defense for the university, you’d think they would have a response calling out the govt’s hypocrisy (having similar programs) if it were true.
Mary asks: “can anyone refute Keto’s comment that this DOJ action is simply cynical grandstanding”? She links this with Keto’s statement that: “……there are many DOE, DOD, and other executive fellowships and programs that are set up exclusively for underrepresented minorities and women.”
The only way to “refute” a “comment” is if we can examine the specifics of each of the “many fellowships and programs set up exclusively for underrepresented minorities and women.” These programs and fellowships would be available on the WEB and the requirements for applying would be laid out in detail.
Otherwise, it is all claim and no facts; ergo, nothing to refute.
Ref #9
Thanks La Shawn, I’m smiling. Your link made my day. The weasels at UC etc. have been trying every strategy known to get around the initiative. I’m also smiling at Lloyd Connerly - good grief. Ward Connerly is a really great guy.
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” MLK
I cannot say it half as well. I also cannot see that Dr. King’s dream will happen as long as things like this go on.
Blow this out your ear JESSIE JACKASSON and AL SHARPTON a university is being sued to reverse racsim
This particular sin of partiality is FINALLY being taken on by this administration.
Although this type of racial bias pales in comparison to the “whites only” admissions that occured for two centuries in this country, it is still wrong and needs be abolished.
Barack Obama, wow I had high hopes for this guy. These guys shouldnt attack this right now because it divides the country?
Didnt MLK say, “the time is always right to do what is right?”
I think that this argument is weak. Affirmative action is a remedy for past damages incurred by African Americans and others by an indisputable history of discrimination against them. Reverse discrimination is a a hoax. Those who advocate the notion of reverse discrimination usually denies racial discrimination against African Americans by whites and instead promote the strange notion victimhood of whites (usually by other whites!)
Ms. Barber there will not be a colorblind society until this society acknowledges what all of us privately know- America has an racial hierarchy and those at the top of it benefit disproportionately.
Reverse discrimination is wishful thinking.
Read the post again, carefully this time. I didn’t nor would I ever write or say that society is or should be colorblind. I said PUBLIC POLICY should be colorblind. You’re new to the blog, obviously visiting from BlackElectorate. I have little patience for people who comment but have no interest in reading the entire post.
And the “remedy for past damages” argument is weak and tired and cannot possibly justify the wholesale acceptance of lowered standards. Great thing to teach black kids, that “past damages” meme, isn’t it?
Another disgruntled black liberal.
Please read the comment policy, a few other posts, and try again. If you can make your point without attacking me, I’ll post your comment. - Admin
Lashawn, those were not attacks, just observations……
I didn’t like your “tone.” - Admin
Listen, I don’t agree with much you say but it’s still intresting to see how the other side thinks!! If my Tone offended u, I humbly appologize, and by the how did you hear my tone?..lol
Wow. I expected that you might consider my observations, as they are steeped in truth. I suppose I can’t stop you from engaging in the common practice of not allowing the conversation to veer in the direction of a complete analysis of the forces affecting this phenomena.
I respect your opinion, and the worthy dialogue.
I just wish you would respect mine.
I guess, much like, what happens in the larger society, without control over the currents in the stream, even if I or my idea has a great ability to swim, I will be slowed or even become a beached seal in the race down the river. And even be subsequently accused of somehow not playing by the rules.
Business as usual in a society (river) founded on priveledge for a select group (or idea).
Maybe one day you’ll realize that an opposing viewpoint is not an ad hominem attack.
Feel free to post my “edited” comments and remove the part where you feel you were attacked.
“Wow” is right. If you could argue the points in my post without referring to my motives or what your idea of a “black woman” should be, you may comment. Otherwise, I’ve no time for it, whether “steeped in truth” (Oh, brother!) or not. As I said before, read my comment policy. This blog is my forum, not commenters’.
Don’t like it? Shout it from the rooftops: http://www.blogger.com. - Admin
OK. Queen Lashawn. I will humbly take my perspectives to a place where they might be considered for their content or merit. My apologies if they have caused you to any undue angst by asking you to look into a larger mirror on societies dilemmas.
See what I mean? The arrogance and pure nerve. Yes, yes, please go, humbly, and find such a place where your pointed and important observations will be appreciated. Blogs number in the millions now. - Admin
We have seen instances, in this country and abroad, where discrimination results in massive problems. Prior to the Civil Rights movement, racial discrimination was all too common, but affirmative action has done a lot to eliminate the problems of the past. More needs to be done, but undoing affirmative action will set this nation back decades.
The recent riots in France were the result of societal discrimination, as the French government has no affirmative action policy, and those who are constantly discriminated against, in that case Muslims, had enough of this intolerance and took to the streets. We do not need the same thing to happen here, again.
I encourage Mr. Barber and anyone else who shares his views to consider the consequences of removing affirmative action and any other program that benefit minorities. When someone is on medication for anti-depression, they feel better, and often times as a result of this decide to stop taking their medicine. When they stop taking their medicine they are right back to where they were before, depressed. Affirmative Action is medicine for America, medicine we need to keep taking, or else we will end up right where we were before.
MISTER Barber? Oh, brother. - Admin
I enjoyed reading this column!
It seems to me that we’re forgetting why that band-aid fix (racial quotas) was created to begin with. If people of African descent wasn’t discriminated against and denied an education to begin with then this wouldn’t be an issue would it? We’ve been fighting to get an education since we were brought here,let alone a decent one! Now after Brown v. Board of Ed., the public school closings of S.Carolina,the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and so forth, someone is actually saying let’s trust that those at the top of this caste system will do “rat by us and lau us ta huv a ejacashon”. Maybe admission quotas aren’t the right answer for the problem, but do you remember when there wasn’t an answer?
Very well written, until the addendum. That comment sounded like insightful genius, but only stated the obvious, also happens to be historical fact. The reverse discrimination argument is like thinking the handicap space at the mall would be yours if the sign wasn’t painted on the ground. Good luck at SIU, not exactly the Ivy League of the Midwest.
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