My own feelings are rather mixed in the issue, though I’m landing more on the side that policies that are inherently racist (and they are, by definition) ought to be phased out. We have our own personal interests in this, as our offspring has had the table tilted against him, having needed higher SATs to get in than were needed by other ethnicities, deemed “disadvantaged”. Asians need SAT scores a full 20% higher than African-Americans to get the same university place, and this issue is now being litigated in the Supreme Court. [And said son is in UCLA studying Constitutional law…].
Here below are rhe final paras of Andrew Sullivan’s piece in Substack. Sullivan is one of America’s best known public intellectuals. Glen Lowry, who Andrew quotes, is — relevant in this discussion — African-American.
/Snip:
The logic of affirmative action is racist and rooted in a toxic past. It is harming poor immigrants, punishing hard workers, and wreaking psychological havoc among its beneficiaries. It is the solution to a fake problem — the ludicrous idea that Ivy League colleges are white supremacist institutions — and a distraction from the real and far more intractable ones.
Glenn Loury, who once supported affirmative action, recently said:
Do you want representation or do you want equality? … Are you interested in developing the human potential of the African-American population? Or are you merely interested in covering your ass? By being able to present an optics that shows that you're a diverse and inclusive institution?
No, I'm not against affirmative action. But I'm against hypocrisy. I'm against condescension. And I'm asking people to imagine what kind of country we are going to be. Really? We are going to do this for another 30 years? We are going to do this for another 50 years?
I hope we don't. I really do.”
