A black student challenged his state’s civil rights orthodoxy, was singled out by the Governor as disadvantaged, and backed down. Governor Simon Legree and a student Uncle Tom in the benighted South?
No, this was liberal Demcratic Governor Tom Vilsack of Iowa, often mentioned these days as a presidential possibility, vetoing a mock bill outlawing the collection of racial information on college applications that a group of high school students had passed and presented to him as part of a school program.
Vilsack gave a mini-lecture on why he supports affirmative action and blamed himself and other adults for not doing enough to teach young people about the civil rights movement. He said the Democratic Party did the right thing in the 1960s by embracing civil rights, even though it continues to hurt the party in the South.
At one point, Vilsack singled out the one black student. “Candidly, honestly, he’s at a disadvantage,” Vilsack said.
Afterwards, the student, Robert Nichols, 16, of Ottumwa, who actually voted for the bill, said he wasn’t offended for being singled out. He said Vilsack’s speech showed why the bill is probably a bad idea.
“I thought things wouldn’t matter, race wouldn’t matter, but the governor made a really good point about the civil rights story,” Nichols said.
Based on his performance here, I’d say Gov. Vilsack shows great promise as a future Democratic nominee. His party can’t afford for many blacks, young or old, to get the heretical idea that they succeed or fail based on their own efforts. They must constantly be reminded that they are “at a disadvantage,” that race matters, and that they need the Democrats in power in order to prevent the evil Republicans from passing legislation, and appointing judges to interpret it, to ensure that everyone be treated without regard to their race or ethnicity.
Cobra and his ilk have not done their job with this young man. How could he reach age 16 without realizing that he is disadvantaged in America? How could he vote for a bill that was against racial preferences? Has the day come when a black child will be judged on the content of his character and not the color of his skin? Not if Cobra and the Democrats can help it. I am constantly reminded of Sidney Poitier telling his father to “get off his back” in “Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner”.
Even if the black kid had rich parents and he went to the best private schools, Vilsack can just look at him and assume that he’s academically “disadvantaged”? Is he implying that all black people are dumb?
And if this old rich liberal white man loves affirmative action, why doesn’t he give up his governorship and appoint a black man to replace him? Isn’t it HIS generation that was responsible for segregation? But of course, it’s easier to blame and punish 18-year old white kids applying for college for the sins of his generation. He gets to take all the credit, get to ease his liberal “white guilt” and make other people sacrifice.
I would like to know a bit more about this student, “Robert Nichols”, before I make any judgements. At least I know that with Vilsack on the job, there’s another state in the Union where the sun still shines brightly.
–Cobra
White Governor Confronts Black Student, Who Backs Down
White Governor Confronts Black Student, Who Backs Down
Another rich white liberal telling a black that he is disadvantaged.
The disadvantages the kid will face are the restrictions he presupposes on himself. Realizing that something has never been done, doesn’t mean he won’t be the one to do it.
The only place that success comes before work is in the dictionary.
Another rich white liberal telling a black that he is disadvantaged.
The disadvantages the kid will face are the restrictions he presupposes on himself. Realizing that something has never been done, doesn’t mean he won’t be the one to do it.
The only place that success comes before work is in the dictionary.
A year ago, the Hartford Courant , a daily in that insurance burg of Harford in the
Nutmeg State ( Connecticut), published a report about the performance of future doctors. The article made a ranking of the medical schools whose graduates received the the highest percentage of license suspensions, revocations, removal from residencies etc. Guess what 2 schools topped the list? It was Meharry and Howard , That is not really surprising isn’it? After all the average MCAT score of the entering classes are the lowest in the country. Another very pernicious claim made by race preferentialists of the ilk of Lani Guinier and Chris Edley is that black medical graduates are more likely to volunteer after graduation in serving the poor. The trouble with that kind of rationale from Cobra and his ilk is that you are dealing with human beings.I bet this wannabe doctors are more interested in having the good life. Are black premeds really different from their white or Asian counterparts? Let me cite the case of Patrick Chavis. Patrick Chavis was the poster boy for race preferences during the BAkke case. Even that poster boy of misfortune,Sen. Edward Kennedy claimed that the Chavis case was the rationale as to why we should have preferences for blacks in medical schools. Let us his examine his subsequent life however. Apparently instead of serving the poor in South Central LA, he turned to the more lucrative practice of plastic surgery. After all, here in Los Angeles, a lot of people have a fake bust, fake nose or a fake this or that (just kidding ). He was repeated ly accused of neglecting his patients, his license was suspended a couple of times. Several lawsuits were filed against him for medical practice. He left one patient dying in her own blood on the operating table. He kidnapped one of his own patients from a hospital. The state medical board accused him of ” basically witholding the most basic medical care to several of his medically compromised patients “. This walking medical disaster led a life that was a complete contrast to the quiet, uneventful life that Allan Bakke led after he got his medical degree at UC DAvis to practice in Minnesota.
He met an ignonimous end, when robbers tried to rob him of his Mercedes while he was trying to buy donuts from a Dairy Queen fast food in INglewood.Another black doctor here who was a Howard graduate murdered his lover, stuffed her body in her Mercedes and tried to shove the Mercedes down the ravine to hide the evidence. People are human beings, they make moral and ethical choices. I do not believe that the average black premed is more ethically conscientious than the average white or ASian premed. If the government is actually interested in helping the poor and the uninsured, it should require all medical school graduates to spend 5 years of their lives serving the poor.