“Um, I’m white and I’m sure I have already been turned down for placement in schools or jobs where a qualified, but otherwise lower-scoring under-represented minority person was selected in “my” spot. I have no problem with it.”

Response:

Uhm, why not? You truly must be privileged if losing out to a person with lower qualifications leaves you feeling so…sanguine. I envy any man who, after working long and hard to secure his future, is denied his rightful place to someone who, perhaps, did not work as long and hard and then feels not a twinge of bitterness or dissatisfaction. One wonders how you have achieved this Zen like acceptance of something so, well, unfair.

I, on the other hand, and I am sure plenty of others, would have the tendency to rail against such unfairness. And we would be perfectly within our rights. Having grown up poor, with no inherent advantages accrued to me by the fact of the station of my birth, I might be a bit less sanguine. I might even be motivated to do something about it, like directing my energies to ending the policies that treated me so roughly. And I would be doing so in the name of justice. Maybe even social justice. Perhaps I might even fancy myself as walking in the footsteps of the greats, such as MLK. But then, I often have delusions of grandeur.

The fact of the matter is that I value fairness and honest dealing above all else. And, were I to lose my opportunity at a better future due to a policy that is inherently unfair, I would not be quite so forgiving.

This last bit is particularly important in that not only do we have public institutions building racial preferences into hiring and advancement procedures, but we have laws that, basically, make it a crime to exhibit “hate” in the commission of another crime, a concept I have never really wrapped my head around. It seems strange in America these days, but I am not sure I see any way back.

Some will argue, of course, that preferences based on race were, at one time, necessary. Just as many conservatives will argue that the more onerous provisions of the Patriot Act were, in their time, necessary. The problem with these arguments is that they neglect to take into account that these laws play fast and loose with Constitutional truth. We may feel they are necessary, and surely they are filled with good intentions, but do they pass Constitutional muster? I have the uneasy feeling that they do not, and that we turn a blind eye to that fact to further goals of social justice or security. And once we start down this path, the Constitution, and the protections that it affords, become ever more malleable and open to being interpreted in the context of the transient, and unsound, standards of the day.

Perhaps that is why we tend to frame everything in terms of “war”: war on poverty, war on drugs, war on terror, war on racism. In times of war, expediency is key, after all.

Well, just some random thoughts. Hope you are well on this fine day, the day of our independence.

Mayor DeStefano,
I was thinking that you really have a great opportunity to show the residents of New Haven and for that matter the United States that you are not a hypocrite. You can choose to step down as Mayor and give your position to a black person. If you truly believe in affirmative action, than you should live by your beliefs. After all who is more priveledged to hold your office than a white man. Give it up for the betterment of society. Also make sure that ALL of your boards are representative racially. This afterall has nothing to do with democracy or credentials its all about color, as long as it doesnt affect YOUR job.

Similarly… for years, I have told my friends (especially the liberal ones in favor of higher taxes) that anyone in favor of higher taxes should be required to pay higher taxes. Of course, they are always welcome to make a “donation” to help pay down the public debt.

Thank God the Supreme Court righted the wrong of this travesty, overturning Sotomayor and the liberals who started this mess (what was her rate of overturns – 60%?).
While racism does seem to be the wound that never heals, I would call it the gift that keeps on giving. Too many people have made their careers keeping it alive while the majority of American people have long been over it. The only good to come out of this was that the American public got a peek at the liberal agenda, Sotomayor and the way that Obama thinks.

Always interested in seeing you on Fox and hearing what you have to say!
Happy Independence Day!

EXACTLY! you think Katie and the others would like affirmative action and diversity so much if they had to resign to make room for minority anchors?

I guess we all know the answer to that.

thanks, Nancy, for writing …

Bernie

MAC

thanks for the note. re the above, i agree. completely. it’s just that i don’t think the firefighters in new haven should pay a price for what some bigot did in memphis. and second, my gripe is with the people who dole out the racial goodies but when given a chance to put their money where their mouth is — by giving up their own jobs — they suddenly don’t think affirmative action is such a great idea.

but i sincerely that you for the intelligent comments …

Bernie

Why don’t you go on MSNBC and ask Keith Olbermann or Chris Matthews (or Rachel Maddow or Andrea Mitchell) to sacrifice for the sake of racial diversity? Or better yet, how about a test for news anchors that is based on affirmative action principles?

I just saw you on O’Reilly, Bernie, and I think you could have elaborated a bit more on why 87% of Dems and only 48% of Republicans believe the Global Warming propaganda. The reason is not just a distrust of the mainstream media, though that’s part of it. The main reason is that the left have realised that Global Warming mitigation policies will have a global wealth redistribution effect. Wealth redistribution, either nationally or globally, is what the left is all about. Anything that might shut down industries in the West and send those jobs to the Third World is good as far as the Left is concerned as it reduces the global wealth disparity that they find so offensive.

Third World countries like India, China and Brazil have successfully argued that because the West has been enjoying the benefits of industrialisation for a hundred years or more, AND pumping out gasses all that time, the West should be the first to make the drastic cuts.

Actually, India, China et al don’t believe in the global warming scam for a moment. They see it for what it is: another self-indulgent guilt-motivated fad that the fashionable in the West are so well-known for. They’re not afraid to look at the temps and see that the warming of the 90’s is over. But they DO know not to spoil it when their rich competitors look like shooting themselves in the foot and sending some industries their way. They’ll play along with the scam if it means a few million Western jobs will be sent in their direction.

Don’t worry too much about this all coming true, however. Global temps have been falling for 7 years and are now at about the 20thC average, and not even the mainstream media can pull off hiding that for very long. Eventually the facts will seep out. The people who should be worried now are the politicians and bureaucrats who’ve championed this hoax for so long. The planet’s not playing ball. Their dream is turning to dust as they watch. That’s why Obama is trying to rush through legislation, before it sinks in to the independents that man-made global warming is just not happening.

Excellent idea. If the liberals were sincere about their beliefs in affirmative action, they should be more than willing to give up their own jobs to a minority and set the example that they want everyone else to follow.

Keep up the great work!

di