Re: Is white racism nec. all bad?
Donald Edwards (warrl@blarg.com)
15 Apr 1995 20:23:38 -0700
Robert Hartman (hartman@informix.com) wrote:
"In article <3lus1p$4sv@ncar.ucar.edu>,
"Gary Strand <strandwg@ncar.ucar.edu> wrote:
">rh> Robert Hartman
">
"> In any case, how does opposition to a specific federal government program
"> (ie, AA) lead to complicity in perpetuation of racism?
"Well, if we admit of racism, and those are the only measures being
"taken to systematically combat it, then it seems pretty obvious to me.
What if we believe that those measures, *allegedly* being taken to
systematically combat racism, actually reinforce and institutionalize
it? <Note: this doesn't require that our belief be *correct*.>
Surely it is not racist to protest against racist laws?
"> What of Thomas Sow-
"> ell, Ken Hamblin and others who oppose AA? What about those who oppose AA
"> not on its underlying principle but rather its specific provisions, and who
"> propose different ideas?
"If they propose different ideas for addressing the issue, and those
"ideas actually do address the issue rather than simply putting up a
"smoke-screen around the issue, I'd love to hear what they have to
"say. I don't think anyone should be wedded to specific provisions
"if other provisions can work better. If there are other provisions
"that can, let's use them!
">rh> Simply abolishing AA won't resolve the underlying problem of covert or un-
"> conscious racism
Name three things which, over a period of less than several generations,
*will* resolve *unconscious* racism... and which do not involve mind
control.
Do not forget that the enforcers or moderators may themselves be
guilty of unconscious racism.
"> and the resulting systematic denial of equal opportunity
"> to minorities.
Individual actions, without state enforcement or monopoly protection,
cannot result in systematic denial of equal opportunity. The closer
they come, the more profit to be made by providing that opportunity.
"> If anyone has a better approach for dealing with that,
"> let's hear it!
Get the government out of the business of enforcing race-based
edicts on non-government, non-corporate enterprises, associations,
and organizations.
"> Howzabout apportioning opportunity to those who need it, ie, the poor and
"> those least-prepared for today's society, rather than just minorities by
"> race and/or gender?
"Well, among those, who do we target first? First-come first served?
Among the minorities, whom do we target first?
"Even at the lowest levels of society, there are still racist biases.
"Unless those biases are explicitly addressed, what is to prevent the
"people administering those very programs from continuing to perpetuate
"those very biases?
The same thing that stops the administrators, judges, etc. who implement
Affirmative Action from continuing to perpetuate them...
You DO know what that is, don't you?...
"You may think I'm splitting hairs, and maybe I am. But we need to
"think about this issue in operational terms. If we agree that racial
"inequality is a bad thing that has to end, how do we check to make sure
"we're making progress toward ending it? What explicit criteria can we
"use to indicate our progress as a society toward that goal?
The absence of law or government policy coercing or subsidizing
race-based decision-making processes.
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