A Silver Lining? Yes, to all of the above. However, AA had one accidental (?) fallout: spreading black amongst the entire (entire) nation. For example, the Utah Territory, as it was formerly called, now has many more blacks, to include my nephew, than the near “white ocean,” where I lived, prior to the 90’s. Why did I pick on Utah, my home? Well, because pigment bigotry remains a part of Mormon Doctrine & Covenants, despite a publicized 1978 presidential revelation. Discrimination against non-Mormons was a Brigham Young directive. Blacks & browns, such as my adopted Vietnamese sister? Double trouble, baby. I accidentally ran into Rev. Francis Davis, the chaplain of the U of U football team, a few years ago. Blacks are now, unavoidably, everywhere, and [mostly] accepted. A peer’s daughter was a successful gymnast at the U of U. Now, when visiting, a “sea of brown,” exists. It would seem that AA gets some accidental credit for this? As Shelby Steele (who, naturally, fled a tenured U of U teaching position at the U of U, due to death threats) and Martin Luther King, Jr. state: the next step is the raising men and women of good character. Thankfully, this is where individuals such as you and Rev. Davis are gaining traction. Please keep up the good work. Love, Charles
My kids were homeschooled and a fellow homeschooling family we know are black. One of the boys is like Glenn. When he was 12, for fun, he would make up complicated math problems and then try to solve them. All the other kids would watch him. He is a real math genius. I always felt it was unfortunate that people who didn't know him like us would think he got into MIT because of Affirmative Action not because he was a genius with a perfect score on the math portion of the SAT.
I have always felt that affirmative action was an insult. Being a women who broke into a man’s field in the 70s it was hard But at no time did I ever want to be treated differently. The best manager I had that taught me what it meant to lead was a tough as nails women manager. She did not pull any punches in her expectations of me. When I was promoted into the executive leadership I knew I earned it. The best present I could give to my minority and women employees was to do the same. I remember one in particular who was a black man who had been there for 15 plus years and although technically great lacked the leadership skills to move beyond the second level entry. I read all his performance evaluations and knew he wanted very much to move up. I decided I needed to get to know him personally a bit more. What was he like outside of work. What I found shocked me. In his outside world he was a strong leader in several areas now you could conclude that the system was biased or racist and I am sure there was some of that. But the worse part of the racism is having low expectations to avoid conflict. Well my women boss taught me well and at a one on one I confronted him on this issue how in the world did he have all these great leadership qualities outside of work but not inside. I gave specific examples and he was shocked but it opened a door and all his assumptions and frustrations came out and they were quite actionable for both him and I. The end result was he slowly but surely transferred those leadership skills to his work and he moved up to where he should have been. This was not an isolated case. It happened to me again and again. I believe the managers/leaders who engage in low expectations are both lazy, fearful and incompetent. A system such as affirmative action just encourages this and even rewards this incompetency and further exasperates the fear that stymies real relationships such that honest communication can take place
Just recently, I found myself in a continuing education class on social justice and equity crap that isnow MANDATED by the licensing board, taught by a young black guy who was also hired as the head of a major department long before his time should have come for that job. The kid was far from stupid but in over his head for his station. I don't think it will bother him that much that he's got earnings and prestige before his time. The white people attending the course were fawning over him. That's the feedback he gets every day. And nobody will tell him that what he's "teaching" in that course is an incoherent bunch of nonsense. Anyone doing so would expose himself to all kinds of negative consequences. DEI is a power grab and a bonanza for black people, not a freaking "burden", except for Glen, John and what, ten other people in the country?
I don’t know if you were directly answering a question I asked in a previous thread that was responded to as ‘stupid’ by some people, but you did. Excellent response. I enjoy your work. I enjoy reading Thomas Sowell as well. Basic Economics is great 👍
I was the first woman engineer almost everywhere I went in the 1970’s. I didn’t feel discrimination in undergrad or grad school but in industry I was told about how women didn’t belong at work, about all the stupid women they knew, how men wouldn’t want to work for me and how I ruined the collegial atmosphere. Surprisingly some of these men came back later and told me they were wrong about me and they thought I did a great job. The problem with affirmative action is that it results in people thinking they deserve the grades they get, the schools they get it and the jobs they get. When they finally get told they are not cutting it they are shocked. Companies in one city where I worked put together a program to mentor minorities in Engineering. I was assigned a student (who actually came from a more affluent background than I did) who didn’t show up on time, wasn’t able to work independently, and had very poor communication skills. At the end of the summer there was a big banquet where “scholarships” were given out. Students with C averages were getting full scholarships for the next year. In high school I was a National Merit Finalist and I didn’t get a fraction of the money these students.got. So now they expect the same treatment the rest of their careers. That is why they need safe spaces. People that are qualified don’t need safe spaces. They just want the opportunity to do what they were created to do. I was repeatedly discriminated against because I was a woman. Did I complain - no I just worked harder.
A Silver Lining? Yes, to all of the above. However, AA had one accidental (?) fallout: spreading black amongst the entire (entire) nation. For example, the Utah Territory, as it was formerly called, now has many more blacks, to include my nephew, than the near “white ocean,” where I lived, prior to the 90’s. Why did I pick on Utah, my home? Well, because pigment bigotry remains a part of Mormon Doctrine & Covenants, despite a publicized 1978 presidential revelation. Discrimination against non-Mormons was a Brigham Young directive. Blacks & browns, such as my adopted Vietnamese sister? Double trouble, baby. I accidentally ran into Rev. Francis Davis, the chaplain of the U of U football team, a few years ago. Blacks are now, unavoidably, everywhere, and [mostly] accepted. A peer’s daughter was a successful gymnast at the U of U. Now, when visiting, a “sea of brown,” exists. It would seem that AA gets some accidental credit for this? As Shelby Steele (who, naturally, fled a tenured U of U teaching position at the U of U, due to death threats) and Martin Luther King, Jr. state: the next step is the raising men and women of good character. Thankfully, this is where individuals such as you and Rev. Davis are gaining traction. Please keep up the good work. Love, Charles
My kids were homeschooled and a fellow homeschooling family we know are black. One of the boys is like Glenn. When he was 12, for fun, he would make up complicated math problems and then try to solve them. All the other kids would watch him. He is a real math genius. I always felt it was unfortunate that people who didn't know him like us would think he got into MIT because of Affirmative Action not because he was a genius with a perfect score on the math portion of the SAT.
For a future q&a I'm hoping John and Glenn will address this that just came out.
radleybalko.substack.com/p/the-retconni…
It would be fascinating to have you interview Yoseph Haddad, an Arab Muslim Israeli. https://www.youtube.com/@-yosephhaddad9088
I have always felt that affirmative action was an insult. Being a women who broke into a man’s field in the 70s it was hard But at no time did I ever want to be treated differently. The best manager I had that taught me what it meant to lead was a tough as nails women manager. She did not pull any punches in her expectations of me. When I was promoted into the executive leadership I knew I earned it. The best present I could give to my minority and women employees was to do the same. I remember one in particular who was a black man who had been there for 15 plus years and although technically great lacked the leadership skills to move beyond the second level entry. I read all his performance evaluations and knew he wanted very much to move up. I decided I needed to get to know him personally a bit more. What was he like outside of work. What I found shocked me. In his outside world he was a strong leader in several areas now you could conclude that the system was biased or racist and I am sure there was some of that. But the worse part of the racism is having low expectations to avoid conflict. Well my women boss taught me well and at a one on one I confronted him on this issue how in the world did he have all these great leadership qualities outside of work but not inside. I gave specific examples and he was shocked but it opened a door and all his assumptions and frustrations came out and they were quite actionable for both him and I. The end result was he slowly but surely transferred those leadership skills to his work and he moved up to where he should have been. This was not an isolated case. It happened to me again and again. I believe the managers/leaders who engage in low expectations are both lazy, fearful and incompetent. A system such as affirmative action just encourages this and even rewards this incompetency and further exasperates the fear that stymies real relationships such that honest communication can take place
Been away a long time, still this sounds like playing on a rusty violin.
Just recently, I found myself in a continuing education class on social justice and equity crap that isnow MANDATED by the licensing board, taught by a young black guy who was also hired as the head of a major department long before his time should have come for that job. The kid was far from stupid but in over his head for his station. I don't think it will bother him that much that he's got earnings and prestige before his time. The white people attending the course were fawning over him. That's the feedback he gets every day. And nobody will tell him that what he's "teaching" in that course is an incoherent bunch of nonsense. Anyone doing so would expose himself to all kinds of negative consequences. DEI is a power grab and a bonanza for black people, not a freaking "burden", except for Glen, John and what, ten other people in the country?
I don’t know if you were directly answering a question I asked in a previous thread that was responded to as ‘stupid’ by some people, but you did. Excellent response. I enjoy your work. I enjoy reading Thomas Sowell as well. Basic Economics is great 👍
I just want to thank John for using the word “goodly”. His word choice often cheers me up.
I was the first woman engineer almost everywhere I went in the 1970’s. I didn’t feel discrimination in undergrad or grad school but in industry I was told about how women didn’t belong at work, about all the stupid women they knew, how men wouldn’t want to work for me and how I ruined the collegial atmosphere. Surprisingly some of these men came back later and told me they were wrong about me and they thought I did a great job. The problem with affirmative action is that it results in people thinking they deserve the grades they get, the schools they get it and the jobs they get. When they finally get told they are not cutting it they are shocked. Companies in one city where I worked put together a program to mentor minorities in Engineering. I was assigned a student (who actually came from a more affluent background than I did) who didn’t show up on time, wasn’t able to work independently, and had very poor communication skills. At the end of the summer there was a big banquet where “scholarships” were given out. Students with C averages were getting full scholarships for the next year. In high school I was a National Merit Finalist and I didn’t get a fraction of the money these students.got. So now they expect the same treatment the rest of their careers. That is why they need safe spaces. People that are qualified don’t need safe spaces. They just want the opportunity to do what they were created to do. I was repeatedly discriminated against because I was a woman. Did I complain - no I just worked harder.
"Please, will you get your hands off of my dignity? Let me succeed or fail based upon my abilities. Don't patronize me, goddamnit!"
Now THAT says it all right there.
Keep kicking ass, Glenn.
Let's face the facts. For every one of you guys, there are hundreds that are in their position because of the mammyfication of our institutions.
What a f'n burden.
It's not as if no black person succeeded before affirmative action.
https://sezwhom.substack.com/p/re-revisionist-history
I knew there was a reason I like you!!!