29 Haziran 2007 Cuma

SCOTUS strikes down race as a factor in diversification

I am a white male, which I am told, means I am one of the most privileged people in America and the world. Whether or not that is true is up for some debate - especially since in the last two years I have been passed over for admittance into schools precisely because I am white and male but that's not racism or sexism - it's diversification. That actually gets us to the crux of the issue with yesterday's SCOTUS decision that race is not a factor that can be used in the diversification of schools. Last night as I sat and watched the Democratic candidates for president proclaim this as destroying decades of judicial precedent I could only think "huh?". From what I remember of Brown vs. Board of Ed. the issue was black students being excluded because they were black - which is clearly wrong. In yesterday's case the problem was white students being excluded because they're white. So, the democratic theory would work like this mathematically:
school - black students + white students = racism
school - white students + black students = diversity

To which I can only respond, "What the [your expletive here]!!!!" Now clearly there are some differences in the cases. In Brown all blacks were being excluded and in yesterdays' case it was only a percentage of whites being excluded. Nonetheless, what the court decided yesterday was still in line with Brown in saying that race is not a factor that can be used in the effort to provide equality and diversity in our schools. In fact schools are allowed to decide between students and are allowed remarkable freedom in choosing between students, they're just not allowed to use race as a factor. This seems reasonable to me.

If we are going to get past race in this country then we need to stop using it as a crutch. Are there inequalities in this country that need to be overcome - heck yeah. Stealing from the rich to help the poor isn't the way to do it - that only causes bitter rich people and less bad off criminals. In the same way blocking white admittance to allow black students in isn't a reasonable method of diversifying our schools. Provide some incentive for blacks to move into predominantly white neighborhoods, give out school vouchers, redraw school district lines. Do what you want, just don't say 'you're black so you're in and you're white so you're out.' This doesn't reck precedent - it strengthens the ultimate American precedent 'All people are created equal' and discrimination on the basis of race is wrong.

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