“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.