One of the interesting research findings from the private versus public opinion poll that Mr. Roscoe linked to is that double the amount of black respondents privately admitted that they thought public schools were focusing too much on racism, than the number who pretended to agree publicly. In other words, there are a lot of black respondents who feel pressured to publicly support emphasizing racialism, even if privately they have doubts. That's rather fascinating. The poll question on systemic racism was not broken down by the race of respondents, so we don't know if a similar pattern would emerge for that question.
It's a shame, because I don't see how focusing on a racialized view of the world can possibly lead to anything but more distrust, paranoia, and reactionary stances. I can only speak for myself, but throughout the 90s and early 2000s, it was entirely normal for me to view a friend, neighbor, or colleague as just a friend/neighbor/colleague who happened to be Polynesian/Indian/Black whatever. Since 2014 or so, that is no longer possible. Race is always top of mind and supposed to be the most salient thing about a person. It's just relentless. Every news story and radio program, on seemingly any topic in the world, always has a portion nowadays when they bring race in, no matter how remote the topic would otherwise seem. I have to think that eventually this obsession will become boring and people will move on. But who knows. Back in the 90s I would have never imagined that obsessively talking about "Black people" this and that and "white people" blah blah blah in every serious news source in the country would ever be a thing.
Collectively, we accept an erosion of standards because we have gotten used to being geopolitically unrivaled. Times are good. There is plenty to go around. Our survival does not appear to be at stake. But once we get our a$& kicked because we have become fat, happy, complacent, and mediocre, we will very quickly recommit to excellence. It is unfortunate that this is what it will take, but perhaps human nature.
Also, I disagree that we should accept racialization simply because activists insist we do. If the GOP could move past Trump, it would annihilate Democrats electorally because most people in 2022 are repelled by race-obsession. This comes down to electoral power, and the activists won’t have any of it if the GOP decided it wanted to win.
Great opinion piece that I would like to point out a couple of issues with (although "issues" may be too strong)... 1) "African Americans" are not a homogeneous community, but rather a mis-grouping of disparate groups based on an immutable characteristic; 2) when it comes to STEM, not all STEM jobs are created equal, and a lot of STEM degree disciplines are things people stumble into because they are not widely known about or available at every college; and 3) exposure to different jobs/disciplines along with cultural value can skew things and limit any kind of progress into higher paying jobs.
I feel one way to "level the playing field" is to begin interventions in infancy and early childhood. A study in 2018 showed that "Language-based interactions between children 18 to 24 months of age and adults predicted intelligence quotient (IQ), verbal comprehension, and expressive and receptive language skills at 9 to 13 years old."
I feel that nurses should pay a visit to all homes after the birth of a baby and identify "at risk" families (black and white). Then services should be offered (parent education, drug/alcohol treatment...) to improve the environment for children in the home. Parents should be taught about the importance of language interaction with their infant, and to encourage creative play/limit screen time.
If a prejudice exists, performance will quickly eradicate it. The issue is not "keeping a good man down" but rather "reserving some seats" for those that haven't been able to prove their worth through various performance proxies (test scores, NFL draft combine results, etc.)
At some point regardless of how many spots at Harvard you reserve for blacks, or NFL camp positions for Indian American defensive backs--there comes a point where it's simply time to perform. What we are seeing time and time again is that many times the candidates that were admitted through relaxed standards cannot compete at the level of the population as a whole. Wasn't a Georgetown Law professor punished for simply discussing that with a colleague?
We have to prioritize performance of key functions of our society (medical education, law enforcement) over the skin color of whatever individuals are performing those functions.
Where is Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. when needed? I’m white and deeply influenced by his teachings. I’m also deeply puzzled when black leaders seem to have forgotten him. Articles like this with not one citation from the man who would make all the difference.
Racism = blacks. Asians, Jews, Hispanics, Indians, and Europeans are not part of the equation. Poverty, crime, lack of education, imprisonment, single parent homes, welfare, and abortion all have black representation higher than demographics. THIS is the reality of “race” in America. Treatments are elusive absent accurate diagnosis.
It starts in the public schools and inner city ones, where most Blacks attend, are the worst. They do a good job of educating kids; for jobs that disappeared thirty years ago! The irony is that while Black “leaders” and White liberals blame America and Whites in general it’s mostly Blacks & liberals that control the schools.
It starts in the public schools and inner city ones, where most Blacks attend, are the worst. They do a good job of educating kids; for jobs that disappeared thirty years ago! The irony is that while Black “leaders” and White liberals blame America and Whites in general it’s mostly Blacks & liberals that control the schools.
Back on 1968, it was clear that we had to improve public schools in the inner cities .... they got worst! Now it is clear that what we need is Universal School Choice, so that every one can afford to go to a good school! That every school needs to win the support of the students' parents! All schools should be available to our students .... all schools should have to complete for our students .... no more protection for government schools .... students and their families come first!
No, we can't "de-racialize" our country, and there are aspects of cultural heritage - for black Americans, for Jews, for Italians, for Irish, etc. - that are worth handing down. But what we can do is put a greater emphasis on the values we have in common, and there are many.
I know how we can fix this; everyone assert that they are a black female; since there are now no factual unambiguous legal definitions of black or female, it can survive a challenge. There it is; 100% of all staff now are both black and female. Rather than getting screwed by racist discrimination, become the victim and win a raise.
You can count me among those trying to de-racialize America. These categories are largely fictional, and upholding fictions a second longer than necessary allows for delusions to rule the day. They incline people toward bizarre generalizations rather than being curious about individuals. Ethnicity and culture are beautiful, and we don't lose anything by jettisoning "race" here. You'd have a hard time traveling through south and central america and find people who cling to "hispanic" over their regional identities (eg Argentinian, Ticos, etc.) all of which are very distinct to them and not fungible with that general term. Not to mention that European "white" Spanish and Portuguese people are included here, and "latinos" come in every shade of the crayon box. Brazilians have a huge percentage of their population originally from the transatlantic slave trade (far more than America). etc. etc. I can do the same for most any of these ridiculous categories. The fact that these are the pillars for social policy and, increasingly, medical policy(!) is obnoxious and myopic. If there are "disproportionate harms" then an intense focus on individual suffering and class-based grievances will help a disproportionate number of the "right" people. I'm all for relentlessly debugging policies to make sure they're fair, but vilifying achievement won't help this nation grapple with it's many grave dangers in energy, medicine, etc. I see the counter-argument, and am "mixed" race myself, but it ultimately fails the utility test for me.
I haven’t thought through all of this, but I always start thinking about complex issues from a systems perspective in terms of multidimensionality, connectedness, and dynamics. This is a great overview of a complex issue that involves multiple, connected, and dynamic dimensions. As with any complex issue, moving forward or resolving problems that the issue entails will also require dealing with complexity. That includes thinking about how to address multiple aspects of racism in multiple ways, as well as how multiple approaches may inform each other. With regard to the spectrum of going from being inclusive and forcing institutions to reflect America’s demographics to an uncompromising pursuit of excellence, it is useful to think about how the poles are not necessarily dichotomous, opposing, or mutually exclusive. Each is complex, i.e., made up of multiple, connected, and dynamic dimensions. And maybe they can be structured in mutually supportive ways.
One of the interesting research findings from the private versus public opinion poll that Mr. Roscoe linked to is that double the amount of black respondents privately admitted that they thought public schools were focusing too much on racism, than the number who pretended to agree publicly. In other words, there are a lot of black respondents who feel pressured to publicly support emphasizing racialism, even if privately they have doubts. That's rather fascinating. The poll question on systemic racism was not broken down by the race of respondents, so we don't know if a similar pattern would emerge for that question.
It's a shame, because I don't see how focusing on a racialized view of the world can possibly lead to anything but more distrust, paranoia, and reactionary stances. I can only speak for myself, but throughout the 90s and early 2000s, it was entirely normal for me to view a friend, neighbor, or colleague as just a friend/neighbor/colleague who happened to be Polynesian/Indian/Black whatever. Since 2014 or so, that is no longer possible. Race is always top of mind and supposed to be the most salient thing about a person. It's just relentless. Every news story and radio program, on seemingly any topic in the world, always has a portion nowadays when they bring race in, no matter how remote the topic would otherwise seem. I have to think that eventually this obsession will become boring and people will move on. But who knows. Back in the 90s I would have never imagined that obsessively talking about "Black people" this and that and "white people" blah blah blah in every serious news source in the country would ever be a thing.
Collectively, we accept an erosion of standards because we have gotten used to being geopolitically unrivaled. Times are good. There is plenty to go around. Our survival does not appear to be at stake. But once we get our a$& kicked because we have become fat, happy, complacent, and mediocre, we will very quickly recommit to excellence. It is unfortunate that this is what it will take, but perhaps human nature.
Also, I disagree that we should accept racialization simply because activists insist we do. If the GOP could move past Trump, it would annihilate Democrats electorally because most people in 2022 are repelled by race-obsession. This comes down to electoral power, and the activists won’t have any of it if the GOP decided it wanted to win.
Great opinion piece that I would like to point out a couple of issues with (although "issues" may be too strong)... 1) "African Americans" are not a homogeneous community, but rather a mis-grouping of disparate groups based on an immutable characteristic; 2) when it comes to STEM, not all STEM jobs are created equal, and a lot of STEM degree disciplines are things people stumble into because they are not widely known about or available at every college; and 3) exposure to different jobs/disciplines along with cultural value can skew things and limit any kind of progress into higher paying jobs.
I feel one way to "level the playing field" is to begin interventions in infancy and early childhood. A study in 2018 showed that "Language-based interactions between children 18 to 24 months of age and adults predicted intelligence quotient (IQ), verbal comprehension, and expressive and receptive language skills at 9 to 13 years old."
I feel that nurses should pay a visit to all homes after the birth of a baby and identify "at risk" families (black and white). Then services should be offered (parent education, drug/alcohol treatment...) to improve the environment for children in the home. Parents should be taught about the importance of language interaction with their infant, and to encourage creative play/limit screen time.
https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/142/4/e20174276
Any chance you might worry about China, Russia, Upper Volta, and Mexico before worrying about America?
Any chance?
If a prejudice exists, performance will quickly eradicate it. The issue is not "keeping a good man down" but rather "reserving some seats" for those that haven't been able to prove their worth through various performance proxies (test scores, NFL draft combine results, etc.)
At some point regardless of how many spots at Harvard you reserve for blacks, or NFL camp positions for Indian American defensive backs--there comes a point where it's simply time to perform. What we are seeing time and time again is that many times the candidates that were admitted through relaxed standards cannot compete at the level of the population as a whole. Wasn't a Georgetown Law professor punished for simply discussing that with a colleague?
We have to prioritize performance of key functions of our society (medical education, law enforcement) over the skin color of whatever individuals are performing those functions.
Where is Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. when needed? I’m white and deeply influenced by his teachings. I’m also deeply puzzled when black leaders seem to have forgotten him. Articles like this with not one citation from the man who would make all the difference.
Racism = blacks. Asians, Jews, Hispanics, Indians, and Europeans are not part of the equation. Poverty, crime, lack of education, imprisonment, single parent homes, welfare, and abortion all have black representation higher than demographics. THIS is the reality of “race” in America. Treatments are elusive absent accurate diagnosis.
It starts in the public schools and inner city ones, where most Blacks attend, are the worst. They do a good job of educating kids; for jobs that disappeared thirty years ago! The irony is that while Black “leaders” and White liberals blame America and Whites in general it’s mostly Blacks & liberals that control the schools.
It starts in the public schools and inner city ones, where most Blacks attend, are the worst. They do a good job of educating kids; for jobs that disappeared thirty years ago! The irony is that while Black “leaders” and White liberals blame America and Whites in general it’s mostly Blacks & liberals that control the schools.
Back on 1968, it was clear that we had to improve public schools in the inner cities .... they got worst! Now it is clear that what we need is Universal School Choice, so that every one can afford to go to a good school! That every school needs to win the support of the students' parents! All schools should be available to our students .... all schools should have to complete for our students .... no more protection for government schools .... students and their families come first!
I was very impressed with Mr. Roscoe after reading the piece and was even more so after reading his reply to comments.
No, we can't "de-racialize" our country, and there are aspects of cultural heritage - for black Americans, for Jews, for Italians, for Irish, etc. - that are worth handing down. But what we can do is put a greater emphasis on the values we have in common, and there are many.
I know how we can fix this; everyone assert that they are a black female; since there are now no factual unambiguous legal definitions of black or female, it can survive a challenge. There it is; 100% of all staff now are both black and female. Rather than getting screwed by racist discrimination, become the victim and win a raise.
You can count me among those trying to de-racialize America. These categories are largely fictional, and upholding fictions a second longer than necessary allows for delusions to rule the day. They incline people toward bizarre generalizations rather than being curious about individuals. Ethnicity and culture are beautiful, and we don't lose anything by jettisoning "race" here. You'd have a hard time traveling through south and central america and find people who cling to "hispanic" over their regional identities (eg Argentinian, Ticos, etc.) all of which are very distinct to them and not fungible with that general term. Not to mention that European "white" Spanish and Portuguese people are included here, and "latinos" come in every shade of the crayon box. Brazilians have a huge percentage of their population originally from the transatlantic slave trade (far more than America). etc. etc. I can do the same for most any of these ridiculous categories. The fact that these are the pillars for social policy and, increasingly, medical policy(!) is obnoxious and myopic. If there are "disproportionate harms" then an intense focus on individual suffering and class-based grievances will help a disproportionate number of the "right" people. I'm all for relentlessly debugging policies to make sure they're fair, but vilifying achievement won't help this nation grapple with it's many grave dangers in energy, medicine, etc. I see the counter-argument, and am "mixed" race myself, but it ultimately fails the utility test for me.
I haven’t thought through all of this, but I always start thinking about complex issues from a systems perspective in terms of multidimensionality, connectedness, and dynamics. This is a great overview of a complex issue that involves multiple, connected, and dynamic dimensions. As with any complex issue, moving forward or resolving problems that the issue entails will also require dealing with complexity. That includes thinking about how to address multiple aspects of racism in multiple ways, as well as how multiple approaches may inform each other. With regard to the spectrum of going from being inclusive and forcing institutions to reflect America’s demographics to an uncompromising pursuit of excellence, it is useful to think about how the poles are not necessarily dichotomous, opposing, or mutually exclusive. Each is complex, i.e., made up of multiple, connected, and dynamic dimensions. And maybe they can be structured in mutually supportive ways.