On Affirmative Action

There is reason to be hopeful, not because the Right is right, but because many constituencies see the value of diversity, and will work to achieve it, regardless of the hyperventilating.

Photo by Dom Fou on Unsplash

I can’t say that I ever was negatively affected by Affirmative Action. I don’t think I ever didn’t get in to university, or a job, or - well - anything because as a white male, some disadvantaged minority “took my spot”.

Do I know this for certain? No. But then again I am solidly a white collar worker who has probably had doors opened, barriers lowered, and implied biases pave the way. I also happen to be pretty damn good at what I do. Maybe if I was looking to be a fire fighter, or a police officer I would have more direct negative consequences to report.

I know that because of the luck of the draw, being born in the mid 1960’s, being white, being academically gifted has opened doors that are either closed, or stuck for other demographic groups.

That is not my fault, and I don’t feel guilty about it.

But - and this is a YUGE but - I do know that other groups do not get this gilded path handed to them. That is why I have tried throughout my career to extend a hand to those under-represented groups in my profession to help them get into the game.

Hell, I wrote about it on my professional ‘Stack:

The DEI boogey-man

In summary, having women, people of color, people with different backgrounds have always expanded the dynamics of the team, their different lived experiences add greatly to the tapestry of the team, and each and every one of them has enriched my life, expanded my viewpoints, and in general has improved everybody’s performance on my teams.

Without exception.

This is why I think the Affirmative Action being ripped from the criteria for college admissions is a bit shortsighted. I want those well qualified, well rounded people to work with regardless of their background.

What are the biggest A-Holes saying?

I get that a solid majority of Americans (USA Citizens) were against keeping AA in the admissions criteria. They feel (wrongly in my opinion) that as a country we have atoned for the sins of chattel slavery. They feel that racism is in the past, and that AA does a disservice to the very demographic they are part of.

I disagree, one does not undo 300+ years of slavery, and systemic racism both de-jure and de-facto in 40 or 50 years. Sorry anti CRT goombahs, but there is still plenty of entrenched racism in this country, no matter how much you verbally say it ain’t so. It is there, it is at times subtle (and also at time quite in your face) but it still defines the Black¹ experience.

Then I get to the spiel by Talking Points USA’s Charlie Kirk. He said, out loud, on his radio show last week that because Michelle Obama, and Ketanji Brown Jackson said that AA benefited them, getting them considered, that they admitted that AA was racist. He went on to say that their seats at Yale should have gone to a white dude (it is always a white dude, ain’t it?) and went on to rail about how unfair it is.

Wah wah wah, poor widdle babee.

The reality is that there are plenty of Black candidates who are fully qualified, and in general don’t get consideration.

I have one thing to say for the shitbags of the world like Charlie Kirk who jump to “a white male was denied his rightful place at an elite college” arguments. You are going to be disappointed when the percentage of the incoming class that is ethnically white doesn’t grow, and indeed might shrink, as the massive volume of Asian “tiger mom” herded kids will become the largest block.

See, it isn’t that “Whites” are superior, or that “Blacks” are inferior, or that “Asians” are more disciplined (even though they are maniacally driven by their parents and their cultural work ethic). It is just that there aren’t enough seats to go around, and pretty soon, you will see these right-wing snowflakes whinging² about how unfair it is that so many Chinese/Korean/Japanese/Indian students are flooding the roles of the primo colleges.

And I will be here to sip their tears of unfairness.

Final Thoughts

The reality is that AA was only a major issue at the most selective colleges. And they know damn well that diversity (ooh, another right-wing trigger word) does make for a better student body, and that they will find other ways to ensure that the White Nationalist wet dream of all White campuses is not ever going to happen.

For fuck’s sake, most major employers like that elite schools turn out outstanding people of all backgrounds and WANT them to continue to have diverse student bodies.

And for the snarkiness of The Bulwark’s Mona Charen and Cathy Young that AA promotes unqualified people into these elite institutions, they can fuck right off. You still have to have the juice to get in. They don’t admit knuckle dragging unqualified people via AA. No, those chuckleheads get admitted on Legacy Admissions. Because without Legacy Preferences, Jared Kushner would have had to start at a community college and transfer to a state school instead of his father buying his way in with a huge donation.

Thus, while this lopsided SCOTUS did the predictable thing, the Charlie Kirks of the world are gonna be shocked at the ultimate result.

It will be DELISH to watch.

1. Here is where I am unsure of the term of art. I know that the N word and Colored are strictly taboo (apparently some congress critters are locked into a 60’s mindset though), but I *think* it is proper to capitalize “Black.” If I am wrong, please correct me in the comments.

2. My spell checker barfs on “Whinging” it is a British English term, and I like it a LOT more than “Whining” so if it bugs you, too bad, this is my newsletter ;-)

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