Ward Connerly At Denison

Ward Connerly took his message opposing racial discrimination to Denison University in Ohio yesterday, and the report today of his speech reveals more than it intended of what students are learning (or not) about race.

“I found a lot of holes in his argument,” Denison junior Abeje Maolud-Sneed said. “We’re dealing with a system of institutionalized racism.”

And the faculty?

“I don’t think that affirmative action laws, when rightly applied, discriminate against whites,” said Professor John Jackson, director of the Center for Black Studies at Denison. “The problem with Mr. Connerly’s position is that he doesn’t make the distinction. … Discrimination against anyone, regardless of race, is prohibited.”

I wonder if Professor Jackson believes that racial preferences — when “rightly applied,” of course — award preferences based on race.

Say What? (6)

  1. KRM March 3, 2004 at 7:36 pm | | Reply

    If it work against the people we don’t like, then it isn’t discrimination. Perhaps we should just get it over with and define white males as 3/5 of a person.

  2. Stephen March 4, 2004 at 9:34 am | | Reply

    Well, as a white man, I have to say that we are partly at fault for having become 3/5 of a person. It’s always a good idea to look inside for the explanation.

    We all made a serious mistake during the civil rights era of the 50s and 60s. We bought into an argument that is just ferociously stupid and self-defeating. Once white men conceded that argument, we had no defense, and we still have none to this day.

    Here’s the argument that the civil rights movement really made: There is something innately evil about whites, something that predisposes them to discriminate, enslave, torture and abuse. Really. If you don’t believe this, just observe the behavior of white men. They’ll apologize for anything, even before the apology is requested. White men bought it.

    The error we made during the civil rights era was in not recognizing that every other race behaves precisely as whites do. That is, they take care of their own first. If America had been 90% black in the 50s, whites would have had to fight their way out of second class citizenship.

    This error was made for dramatic effect, and now it cannot be reversed. In order to plead the cause of black civil rights, it was necessary to picture one side as absolutely evil and the other side as possessing all superior moral qualities.

    And we will live with the consequences for a long time until we look within and find a solution that really addresses the mistake we made. It’s easy to blame others. White men really did make a very serious mistake in ceding the moral high ground. Once we did this, the beating started and it won’t stop until we change ourselves. For a start, notice that no other group does this. No other group concedes the moral high ground.

  3. Mick March 4, 2004 at 2:04 pm | | Reply

    Stephen,

    I think youll notice the glimmering of a shift in mindset with the next generation of white males.

    Im in my late 20s and grew up with the understanding that I, as a white male owed everyone (women, gays, minorities) something because I was inherently evil based on things that happended long before I was born. This was particularly ingrained me in the early to mid 90’s (highschool to college years), not by any particular person necessarily but in the general attitude of the culture and leftist professors. I bought into it without question and often apologized profusely for things that occured centuries ago!

    Then I woke up. I later came to learn quite a number of others did as well and more are still doing so. It comes from being tired of apologizing and not being sure why youre apologizing, just that its what youre supposed to do.

    I think the fact that were seeing an increase in conservative attitudes on college campuses is a result of this.

  4. StuartT March 4, 2004 at 7:21 pm | | Reply

    Stephen: You are right.

    Mick: I hope you are right.

    Both of your comments reminded me of a reaction I had to John’s recent “Ward of the state” post. A reaction I was not sufficiently motivated to publicly declare at the time.

    In it, he opined that racial discrimination in the pursuit of “diversity” was less unjust than the historically typical variation involving presumed racial inferiority. I would agree. But it is precisely the latter strain which is our current societal pathogen.

    There is indeed a presumption of racial inferiority in America—white inferiority. Whites are bigoted, venal, provincial, and can’t dance. They are poor in sports, musical imitators, and cultural ciphers (or vampires, depending on the critic). Most importantly, as Michael Moore trumpeted from the cover of his best-selling book, they are just plain stupid. Everywhere in the vernacular, “white” is becoming a generally accepted pejorative. While “black” has evolved to be the emblem of cool, hip, sleek, and sexy. Blacks don’t discriminate or commit crimes (at least ones not foisted upon them by a racist legal system). They are selfless moral exemplars struggling peacefully to rise above the yoke of white oppression—and are extraordinarily stylish in doing so.

    This is the belief system that our children, as Mick mentioned, are being indoctrinated to–and it is pure poison.

  5. Richard Nieporent March 4, 2004 at 9:44 pm | | Reply

    StuartT

    There is a culture war going on and we are losing. Actually, we have lost the war, but we don’t want to admit it. At best, we are fighting a rear guard action, but the “progressive” forces of diversity will soon overwhelm us. See you in the re-education camp.

  6. StuartT March 4, 2004 at 11:19 pm | | Reply

    Richard,

    As our (thankfully former) leader Bill Clinton was wont to say–I feel your pain.

    The only thing I would disagree with you on was the loss of the culture war. There was no war to speak of; a rhetorical shot was never fired. It was an abject cultural surrender. And men Mick’s age or younger are the virtual POWs.

    Though if Al, Jesse, or Maxine ever had their untrammelled way, you and I would see the inside of a real re-education camp. Of course, in the grand Mugabe tradition, we’d likely not make it that far.

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