In continuing his tradition of great articles, economist Thomas Sowell elaborates more on the whiney, liberal mentality that screams b-b-b-but, it's not Fair! and seperates the emotion that the left has in such abundance and substitutes it for common sense. Here is the link to the entire article. Here is what I thought were it's key components.
"In keeping with the rhetoric of the prevailing ideology, our education professor refers to "privileged" parents and "privileged" children who want to "forestall any progress toward equity." In the language of the politically correct, achievement is equated with privilege. Such verbal sleight of hand evades the question whether individuals' own priorities and efforts affect outcomes, whether in education or in other endeavors. No need to look at empirical evidence when a clever phrase can take that whole question off the table.
This verbal sleight of hand is not confined to education. A study of incomes of various groups in Toronto concluded that Canadians of Japanese ancestry were the most "privileged" group in that city. That is, people of Japanese ancestry there had higher incomes than members of other minorities and higher than that of the white majority in Toronto.
What makes the "privileged" label a particularly bad joke in this case is a history of blatant discrimination against the Japanese in Canada in years past, including a longer internment during World War II than that of Japanese Americans. But, to some on the left, the very concept of achievement must be banished by all means necessary, regardless of the facts."
This verbal sleight of hand is not confined to education. A study of incomes of various groups in Toronto concluded that Canadians of Japanese ancestry were the most "privileged" group in that city. That is, people of Japanese ancestry there had higher incomes than members of other minorities and higher than that of the white majority in Toronto.
What makes the "privileged" label a particularly bad joke in this case is a history of blatant discrimination against the Japanese in Canada in years past, including a longer internment during World War II than that of Japanese Americans. But, to some on the left, the very concept of achievement must be banished by all means necessary, regardless of the facts."
I don't know about you but I cringe everytime I hear a bureaucrat or politician utter the word "equity" as much as I would if they used the word "blood", "soil" or volk. There is no such thing as fairness in this plane of existance, no mater how much those on the left would wish that acheiving it meant only caring enough and supporting the right causes.
20 comments:
"B-b-b-but I need 5 yachts otherwise my mistress will leave me for a richer investment banker!"
"B-b-b-but I need a solid gold toilet to complete my precious-metal bathroom decor!"
"B-b-b-but I earned this money because my daddy's daddy worked really hard and I popped out of the right vagina!"
I forgot to add a little gouda to go with that whine.
Another simple minded posting that I will not lower my IQ on.... Manic and desperate.
How so Tink? Did you notice the statistic on Japanese Canadiens?
Ginx, if you read the linked article, I don't see how you comments are relevant.
Once again, I really will not discuss this with you.... Desperate and manic.
You see, I see through you.
An earlier post I talked about how the only country in the world that has exercised nuclear attacks is the US with Hiroshima. You really wanted to talk about that because you encouraged me to post something on my blog because you had been researching Hiroshima and you feel very articulate on that topic right now. So, to bait, you put in Canadian history, thinking that I would remark about Hiroshima, and then you could begin your nationalistic rant and deluded conjectures about it. But, here is the catch. I do not have the time, nor do I care.
Sorry.... Next.
Actually, if you think for a moment that I even remembered that you brought up the dropping of the atomic bomb on another thread, you are mistaken. I 9we) discuss a great number of things everyday and it can be difficult keeping track of all of them. If you like, this is the thread I was referring to earlier. I don't feel confident in discussing it in any depth but the writer's viewpoints did make me think.
In relation to the article by Sowell, it mentions how a California high school is eliminating science classes in order to save money to bring the slower students up to speed.
I remember a certain blogger mentioning how atheists/science fetishists howl with pain at the very thought of Darwinian evolutionary theory being taught in the classroom alongside Creationism, while at the same time never realizing that the Left would be eliminating science classes altogether in the name of fairness.
It's definitely a balancing act in today's world.
On the one hand we do want to try to create systems that allow for individuals to learn and grow and better themselves. On the other hand we do not want to, in our attempt to broaden access, make it so that people who work hard do not reap the benefits of their labor.
I can't help but think of a recent, personal, experience. We used to live, and my oldest son graduated from High School, in Long Beach, CA. Long Beach, CA has the largest population of Cambodians in the world outside of Cambodia itself. My son had many Cambodian friends. I am not familiar with all the details of Cambodian history but I do know that it's definitely a 3rd world country and many of his friends' families had to flee the country when it was overtaken by the Communist Khmer Rouge. So many of his friends parents were first generation immigrants to this country and were poor. English was not the first language spoken in their home, they tended to live in multiple family arrangements, and many of their parents worked more than one job. Yet every single one of my son's Cambodian friends attended college, every single one of them is a hard worker who believes that he or she will be successful in proportion to their hard work. When these young Cambodians have come to our home for a meal or stay the night and we've hung out and talked, they have shared about experiences they've had with being discriminated against, but they have not allowed those experiences to define who they are or where they are going. These young Cambodians have encouraged me that success can come to those who are willing to work hard for it.
What in the hell does dropping the Bomb on Japan twice have to do with the relativity of this article. Harry Truman did that to save millions of American lives doing battle on the enemies home grounds. ( A loosing porposition) Remember they drew first blood when they attacked Pearl Harbor trying to spread their domain over the Pacific. The sad part of it as in any war, the civilians paid the ultimate price. I am sure had Japan had the logistics figured out they would have slaughtered many of the American population if they attacked the main land.
Most people of Japanese ancestry that I know are hard working and dedicated people. They earned their ranking in the economic scales through hard work and smarts. They didn't get it through welfare and food stamp programs.
Most Republicans are old because you have to have grown up in a different era to still believe there is opportunity out there. I'm a college graduate who has been unemployed since last May, and while I don't personally take a penny from any government program, I am also very privileded. It is this privilege that allows me to continue looking for decent opportunities during this particularly dry economic climate.
If I didn't have privilege, I would have mountains of student loan debt, no job, and I would be forced to take a minimum wage position making half as much as I made at my last job. It's not about pride, it's about the fact that a minimum wage job does not even pay the bills, and certainly wouldn't pay off student loans. Like most people on minimum wage, I would need government aid.
Republicans who bitch about hand-outs are living in a fantasy world with decades of work experience and retirement funds. If you think welfare and food stamps are some sort of "lifestyle" we need to discourage, I would like you to politely go fuck yourself. Living like that is hardly living at all, and your contempt for those barely able to get by is enough to make me laugh when you go to retire and find out you've been screwed over.
And when you come for a hand-out, I will understand, because America is full of wolves, and people who vote Republican are nothing but sheep.
Ginx- So proud of you... Very few people who come from "privilege" have empathy for those who do not.
Not really. Most people of privilege have an education and the time to volunteer with the less fortunate. I laugh at people who say they're poor and have to eat spaghetti when some people eat cat food because it's all they can afford.
Forgot to mention: I'm a huge jackass. Privilege does have its inevitable side effects.
What nation has more opportunity than the US?
Ginx, I think a box of spaghetti, and a can of sauce would go alot further,make more meals and be less expensive per meal than cans of cat food. (The good cat food anyway)
It does not, nor can speghetti be made without a stove.
Every nation with a lower unemployment and incarceration rates has more opportunity.
Then you are assuming that the poor person does not live where there is a stove. If that's the case there are soup kitchens and food banks provided by loving Christians in many cities. Do the atheists do that?
Every nation with a lower unemployment and incarceration rates has more opportunity
Low incarceration rates? What do you think that would do to the crime rate if we took the next logical step and released a bunch of criminals? If we didnt lock up so many people here, you would be crying because some repeat offender stole your bike or worse.
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