Mascot Politics

[Terri]

By Thomas Sowell
May 27, 2008

Years ago, when Jack Greenberg left the NAACP Legal Defense Fund to become a professor at Columbia University, he announced that he was going to make it a point to hire a black secretary at Columbia.

This would of course make whomever he hired be seen as a token black, rather than as someone selected on the basis of competence.

This reminded me of the first time I went to Milton Friedman's office when I was a graduate student at the University of Chicago back in 1960, and I noticed that he had a black secretary. This was four years before the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and there was no such thing as affirmative action.

More

[welder4]

It is another form of slavery using someone to advance an agenda , it is sad we have this happening today and to look at it close is scary because we want the best quailfied person for the job and it makes it impossible to do that .

[thomas]

So what is this article saying about Barack Husain Obama?
The Old Chief

[Jack Reacher]

You would think that black Americans would resent and/or resist such a condescending attitude held by liberal democrats. That they would have long grown weary and suspicious of the political shenanigans that the dems resort to around election time.

Trophies? Maybe. But it appears to me that the liberal democrats treat the African American population as "real property". Sound familiar?

With well-financed "straw bosses" like Sharpton, Jackson, et-al, to keep the folks in line there's never much doubt as to whom they will follow.

One day a real African American leader will emerge and heads are going to roll.

JR

[Jamble]

One day a real African American leader will emerge and heads are going to roll.

I wish Dr. Sowell would take that post. He is brilliant --always sees things for what they are and states his case in simple powerful terms.

He's probably too smart to get involved in politics tho.

[Savvy Sue]

It is a far cry from the words and hopes of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who longed for the day when a man would be judged for the content of his character rather than the color of his skin.

[clovers]

As always, Dr. Sowell is the voice of intelligence and reason. What better proof that race does not determine intelligence, nor does Affirmative Action guarantee positive results?

[FlaJim]

So what is this article saying about Barack Husain Obama?
The Old Chief

Afraid so, Chief. Hussein's our first affirmative action presidential candidate. Let's face it: The guy's so out of touch, living in his elitist red-carpeted existence, he'd be high comedy if he wasn't taken so seriously as a deep thinker. Statements were made to that effect on the Senate floor.

Affirmative action has had the opposite effect of what was interpreted by the courts and other liberals. In fact, former Sen Daniel Moynihan said many times that affirmative action was definitely NOT one of the provisions of the so-called civil rights acts of 1965.

Today's result is that I and many others refuse professional services from blacks who've received their accreditation since 1970 because we don't know if they're actually capable or were graded on 'the curve'.

[ddrinsp]

No one can say it "like it is" as clearly and with as much insight as Thomas Sewell.

When students become “merchandise” it becomes hard for many to compete. Selection of schools based on a student’s needs would give them a better edge.

How very sad that African-Americans are being used as pawns. Unfortunately, it may take many more years in the prevailing system before this becomes apparent to the black community.

[DRLJR]

The article is right on the point. The reason many Black American's do not recognize what is happening is that since the 1960s the education system has been converted from education to indoctrination. But this is the nature of Socialism. There is that word again - Socialism. Our Founding Father's would have described it as "being a Royalist" or "the King is always Right" attitude. But it comes down to the same thing of "Those in power are always correct and must always be obeyed - even if they are wrong". Rule by the minority. Everyone can probably think of a lot of countries that are following or have followed the same model.

As for "Affirmative Action Programs" there have been no affirmative action programs in existence since the 1960s in California, to my knowledge, which is where the 1st programs started. From the descriptions of Affirmative Action programs I read about it involved the following

1) Reach out to those who were excluded
but may be qualified.

2) Evaluate the applicant based upon their
REAL qualification. Ignore Race and other
items that are unrelated to performing
the job.

3) Hire the best person for the job. Not the
best White, Black, Yellow, Green, Tan, etc.
person for the job. Hire the best person.

The programs going under the name "Affirmative Action" are quotas. And to refer to these program as "Affirmative Action" is to lie. To illustrate this lie consider this real life event.

In the 1980s in Boston two Firefighters (brothers?) applied for higher rank and scored around 1150 on the written test. The requirements for passing was 1200. They were denied promotion. A year later they scored around the same 1150 and were promoted. They were then brought up on charges related to fraud. The 1st year they applied as "White" and the 2nd year as "Black". They won their case and retained their promotion. WHY? The two men each had one Black and one White parent. So are they "Black" or are they "White"? The Fire Department had a double standard - one for Whites and one for Blacks.

Everyone talks about having a color blind society but in order to have one society must eliminate double standards and hold everyone to the same standards. But "Liberals" (really Socialist) can not afford to do this or they will lose power. They need to be able to say to the "underclass" you are being denied this or that and you should be able to have this or that even if one has not "earned" it.

This is the other side of "Mascot Politics" making people think they have a right or privilege to something when one has not worked or earned it. For instance, if I do not work at and do my job correctly and am fired, I do not have a right to claim discrimination. I was fired for cause. But today how many people are not being held accountable for their own actions?

One thing we have to do today is to try and make people think so they are not led to their own destruction by people who are interested in only getting and maintaining their own power and position regardless of the harm done.