2 posts tagged “racism”

At the heart of the Civil Rights movement was the demand that people be judged NOT by the color of their skin, or whether they were male or female - and most importantly that our government had no right to explicitly single out a race or gender for special treatment.  The genius of Martin Luther King, Jr. gave the modern Civil Rights movement the voice it needed to press hard for the goal of equal treatment under the law, and what takes the cake is he led the movement to non-violent protest and it worked beautifully.

Contrast that to today.  "Civil Rights" leaders today have been pushing for "hate crimes" legislation (which, in fact, singles out a particular group for special treatment under the law).  Phrases like "social justice" and "judicial empathy" are the verbal soup du jour....when the implementation of those aims perverts the purpose of law in a vain and destructive attempt to guarantee "equal results" instead of "equal treatment under law".  In a recent post on NBC regarding President Obama's Supreme Court nominee Judge Sotomayor, the writer's even questioned "would Republicans dare vote against the first Hispanic?"  What happened to judging someone by their merits and abilities?  If a Republican or Democrat in the Senate votes against this nominee, that somehow makes them racist/anti-Hispanic?  And if that Senator is listening to a majority of constituents who happen to say "no" to her confirmation, does that make those citizens racist?  I contend that the elitists in our culture are still looking down their nose at the average American as ignorant and racist.  How dare they label anyone racist when they, apparently, are the ones obsessed with categorizing everything along racial lines.  How ironic that these elitist racists pine for days or real equality, when they are the very ones labeling anyone with a legitimate difference of opinion as racist.

Don't get fooled by all this talk of "empathy" and "caring" when it comes to judicial appointees.  What we need are people who will interpret the law with (pardon me for yelling) IMPARTIALITY!  Our executive and legislative officials can conjure up all the tears and empathetic responses they want.  However, once the law is written, it needs to be interpreted in a consistent and impartial manner.  The fact that our courts have strayed far away from this view of the law (especially since the "Warren Court") is a direct culprit of the capricious nature of court decisions today.  Ask yourself, why do businesses not want to take most cases to trial, and instead prefer to settle even if they are 110% sure they are in the right?  They have no idea what kind of judge they will get - and since law is not being interpreted consistently and impartially, they can't gamble their fortunes (literally and figuratively) on the whims of someone who may think it's their job to right all the real or imagined wrongs of society instead of simply applying the law to a concrete situation.

It is incredibly dangerous for judges to embed & entrench their own bias in the law.  It undermines both the reliability and predictability of our judicial system, as well as erodes the democratic process by drowning out the voice of the people and their elected officials who made the law to begin with.  A judge that wants to "make policy" is in the wrong job.  They should have become a legislator...or a lobbyist.

I just have to pass this along (taken from http://blogs.chron.com/sciguy/archives/2008/07/is_black_hole_a.html):

Is "black hole" a racially insensitive term?

Apparently to some. From the City Hall Blog at the Dallas Morning News:

A special meeting about Dallas County traffic tickets turned tense and bizarre this afternoon.

County commissioners were discussing problems with the central collections office that is used to process traffic ticket payments and handle other paperwork normally done by the JP Courts.

Commissioner Kenneth Mayfield, who is white, said it seemed that central collections "has become a black hole" because paperwork reportedly has become lost in the office.

Commissioner John Wiley Price, who is black, interrupted him with a loud "Excuse me!" He then corrected his colleague, saying the office has become a "white hole."

That prompted Judge Thomas Jones, who is black, to demand an apology from Mayfield for his racially insensitive analogy.

Mayfield shot back that it was a figure of speech and a science term.

Judge Jones should be very glad that the central collections office has not become a white hole, a theoretical object that ejects matter from beyond its event horizon, rather than sucking it in. It wouldn't be fun for Dallas to find itself so near a quasar.

Anyone wanting to know a good deal about black holes should read the excellent new book, The Black Hole War, by Leonard Susskind, which has just been released. I'm in the middle of it, and the book's a fascinating tour of modern physics written for the layman. It's just been marvelous so far.

Really?  Have we truly arrived at a day and age where nearly everything is viewed through the lens of racist outrage?  Are you telling me that both Commissioner Price and Judge Jones did not know that Mayfield used the term in a very common way?  And what am I in danger of being called if I suggest that if they did not know what Mayfield meant that they had no business being county commissioners?

Can someone tell me what is truly being gained in the so-called "public race discussion" today?  Anyone who really wants to talk about substantial issues faces the hard sell of taboo topics.  If you even want to come to the table with the intention of truly accomplishing something, it requires you (in many cases) to put your career and reputation at the mercy of those who are masters at churning out catchy 10-second sound bites about how racially insensitive you (and the rest of your 'kind') are.  Years ago when I lived in Atlanta, my boss on a 3rd shift job was a black man named Ron.  We became good friends, and it was a world of relief for both of us to openly discuss our differences, and not at any point fear that the other would resort to the "victim" mentality.  It wasn't strange for he and I both to use words like “black" and "white" - neither of us were looking for reasons to be offended by the other.  To this day I believe he and I helped each other better understand our races, and not just one another.

I know that I can't separate my opinion from who I am - I am a white male thirty-something (heck, that's the "trifecta" of liberal anathemas), and yet I cannot find a nationally known civil rights leader worthy of the mantle of Martin Luther King, Jr.  Like Mulder, "I want to believe" that someone is truly out for the best interests of our nation becoming a cohesive unit of races that support, admire, get amused by, celebrate, debate with and fight for each other.  But what I see from many of the "nationally" known (and self proclaimed heirs to Dr. King) smacks of power-tripping, bitterness, divisiveness and "victimhood".  Maybe I'm an anomaly, but I don't think so.  My parents taught me that discrimination was wrong.  My childhood taught me how to befriend an Iranian boy named Afshin who could barely speak English when we met in 6th grade.  A super-talented Korean at my old company challenged me to become the best programmer I could be.  A good friend - Steve - (African American) from my last job is someone I've laughed more with than anyone else in YEARS.  I laugh even when I imagine hearing his laugh.  Dare I say that I (along with many of my childhood friends) grew up without racial templates and talking points?  Operating from the basis of a "racial template" in my life is so far from second nature, I don't think I'd know HOW to do that.  What grieves me the most is that the previously mentioned (yet un-named....) "nationally" recognized civil rights leaders seem to be doing more to breed a new generation of racism and hate than they're doing to solve real problems.  For the life of me I can't imagine why they would want to do that - the only logical answer is it's simply a way to hang onto power.

In the meantime, I think NASA should officially declare the existence of "Grey Holes" - lest the black holes be offended by comments that "they suck" and white holes be offended by comments that "they blow".