Wednesday, September 20: This post is closed to commenting, but if you’d like to respond, send me an e-mail.
Update (3:39 p.m.): One day, liberal types will have to dispense with the euphemism minorities when referring to blacks and hispanics because whites are becoming minorities in certain sections of the country. People using the word don’t mean it in the sense of “a group differing, esp. in race, religion, or ethnic background, from the majority of a population.” They mean “black people.” This will become obvious as whites diminish in number.
Apparently, some people who consider themselves hispanics also call themselves white. In 2004, Texas consisted of 83.3 percent “White Persons,” but 49.8 percent were “not Hispanic.” We may presume that most or all of those are of European descent.
I wonder if whites of European descent in Texas are now eligible for skin color-based government contracts and admissions? Celebrate diversity!
Must-read: Failure of Proof.
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Value — relative worth, merit, or importance
Diverse — of a different kind, form, character, etc.
I’m working on an ambitious project, and I need your help.
Personal Note
First, I have a confession. I don’t like being the only black person in a large group of white people. I’m a politically conservative, Reformed Christian blogger, so when I attend related conferences and meet-ups, I’m usually the only black person. Whether we end up talking to one another or not, I find it comforting to see another black person in the room. I feel at ease.
A former officemate got a taste of being “the only” when she stopped by a store in a black neighborhood. She said that for the first time in her life, she was keenly aware that she was “the only.” It was a little disconcerting. I told her, “Welcome to our world!” Black people are used to this feeling, as we are a racial minority. If we want to compete and succeed in mainstream society, we learn to deal with it.
We humans have a natural affinity for people who look like us and/or are related to us, in my unscientific opinion. This affinity often translates into race.
But I wouldn’t dream of demanding that groups cater to my desire to see more brown faces and then accuse them of racism if my desires go unfulfilled. My personal preferences shouldn’t dictate policy, public or private, or force others to accommodate me.
Diversity: Only Skin Deep?
School after school, government agency after government agency, and business after business, tout the value of racial and “cultural” (code for race) diversity. For example, the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse is raising tuition to offer scholarships to “low-income and minority students” to boost diversity. At Virginia Tech, part of a professor’s performance evaluation is whether he/she “promoted” diversity.
By diversity, people almost always mean racial or code word cultural. They rarely mean diversity of ideology, political affiliation, or viewpoint.
I have no problems with racial diversity. I have a problem with the obsession with racial diversity, especially for its own sake, at the expense of fair and consistent treatment and what I perceive to be lowering of standards to achieve it. I have serious problems with the perceived apathy that universities and businesses seem to have toward diversity of viewpoint.
The Supreme Court is set to hear two race-related cases. White parents in Seattle, Washington, and Jefferson County, Kentucky, are suing the school districts for race discrimination. To “meet compelling educational goals,” the districts use illegal race quotas, which discriminate against whites (and Asians?) in application.
In Grutter v. Bollinger (2003), the Supreme Court said that the University of Michigan law school’s race preference policy “does not unduly harm nonminority applicants.” The court held that racial diversity was a “compelling interest” that justified racial discrimination.
The whole Civil Rights movement was based on the idea that government-mandated racial discrimination was odious and needed to be eliminated. Such a sentiment now seems ancient. Sometime during the 1970s, race preferences abolished this idea.
Because blacks weren’t entering professions or being admitted to colleges quickly enough for the powers that be, and because whites began to leave areas where blacks started moving in, perpetuating “segregation,” the government reversed course and mandated reverse discrimination to quicken the pace of black hiring and stem the tide of “white flight.”
The Value of Diversity
The burden of proving a thing is on the one making the assertion. For instance, if you’re going to argue that whites and Asians should be discriminated against in favor of blacks and hispanics because diverse skin colors are good (or fair or noble or whatever adjective you choose), you ought to present evidence that proves the assertion. In fact, it also would be helpful to show exactly who benefits. The court in Grutter didn’t do that, and schools with separate admissions tracks for “minorities” have not met their burden of proof.
I appeal to militants, liberals, libertarians, independents, conservatives, and whoever else is out there. Mostly conservatives read this blog, so I ask you to forward this post to your non-conservative family and friends.
I need serious answers to the following questions:
1) What is the value of skin color diversity for its own sake (In schools? businesses? government?), and what is the evidence of its value?
2) Given that legal barriers to entry have been dismantled, what “compelling interest” does the government have to continue sanctioning racial discrimination?
[Clarification: Let's say a school is on a quest to diversify the student body. It has certain GPA and SAT score requirements, but to its dismay, the average black applicant's grades and scores fall below the threshold. For the sake of skin color diversity, the black student is admitted. Since the school admits a limited number of new students, whites and Asians who meet the admissions requirements must be rejected in favor of blacks with lower scores. By definition, that is racial discrimination.
Peter Kirsanow, writing for NRO, had a hard time getting numbers from colleges when he sent out a survey. Check his archives for other race preferences-related columns, especially Failure of Proof.]
3) Do you have any diversity-related personal stories, positive or negative, you’d like to share?
My bias is clearly indicated in the questions, but feel free to reframe and rephrase as you answer. You may answer in the affirmative or in the negative. For example, if you see no value in racial diversity that justifies racial discrimination, say so. You may post links to articles, court cases — whatever helps you formulate your answers.
If I decide to use your quotes, I may have follow-up questions. And I’ll need to use real names. If you prefer to answer privately, e-mail me.
Thanks for participating.
Spread the word!
