re: Affirmative Action

I want to answer Hodge's argument on Equal Opportunity and Education, but since this is so complex, I want to start with premises and begin with his affinity for affirmative action.

On affirmative action: BAD, BAD, BAD. Affirmative action proponents see it as a means to an end. The problem, however, is the dangerous "means." Yes, on average, whites have it easier than blacks, men than women, blacks than latinos, tall people over short, Japanese over Chinese, Southern Indian (non-Muslim) over Northern Indian (Muslim), etc. There are thousands of sociological theories to these questions, but the fact remains - they exist, and always will. Some groups will just win for a while and maybe they'll switch later (such as the Yankees and the Red Sox).

Á mon avis, the only answer is to stop surveying, studying, and speaking about race. Period. I know this is theoretical/visionary, but pragmatic answers (affirmative action) will only take us so far. We need to recognize that there are NO INHERENT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN BLACKS AND WHITES. Yes, blacks came over here as slaves until the early 19th century. Yes, they were treated unimaginably awfully in the South up until even the late 20th century. But, let's put things in perspective. Most of our ancestors lived through awful conditions; ghettos consisted of poor Irish and Italians through the 1940s, the Jews came during a holocaust (most without family,) and try to imagine a Mexican running for President of the US this year.

The reason why Italians, Jews, and Irish managed to move up the social ladder and get out of the original ghettos (or at least turning the ghettos into thriving metropolitan areas like Brooklyn, Queens, and New Jersey) is because we don't recognize an inherent difference between them all ANYMORE. At one time, we certainly did, but we can not seem to get over the "black problem." I've always cringed when someone describes a situation (especially dangerous) with a phrase like, "a large black guy."

CNN presidential polls don't poll according to Italian/Irish descent. They don't poll according to tall/short people. Yet, this country is obsessed with knowing how many blacks are voting for Obama and latinos for Hillary. Why can't we just stop caring about polls comparing blacks, latinos, and whites?

Full circle. This all relates to affirmative action, because AA tries to solve a problem (urban schools are piss-poor) with a racial solution (give blacks more help). Urban schools are unthinkably bad for such a great economy, but don't forget about the Serbs, Russians, and even rural-poor farmers who are rushing to the cities. Programs like school vouchers (which I agree with and will be sure to address on a later post) and busing (which I am against as just a "quick-fix" solution that helps very few) are at least using the right mentality.

Urban schools are an urban problem caused by high populations with little management, no accountability, and an economic disincentive for teachers due to high taxes, high rents, and low wages. If the cities were filled with poor whites or Arabs (like in Paris' banlieues), the same problem will exist; this is not a race problem.

-timmy

PS.
Not all blacks "came from" Africa (technically, we all probably came from the Middle East) and there are plenty of white "African-Americans," so I refuse to use that term.