Wednesday, August 01, 2007

The Lacrosse Case According to the JBHE

The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education was founded ten years ago because of distress that “on issues of race, the political pendulum has swung to the right. Whites, and in many cases blacks, are turning away from government solutions to the advancement of African Americans in our colleges and universities.” The journal’s editors celebrated the “forces of political correctness and multiculturalism” for pressuring colleges and universities to pursue “racial diversity.”

The JBHE certainly provided a “diverse” interpretation of the lacrosse case. Too often, however, its comments reflected the intolerant agenda that characterized the Group of 88’s response to events in Durham. This is, after all, the same journal that, in 1999, gushed about how Duke “scored a major coup in luring Houston A. Baker, Jr. away from the University of Pennsylvania,” predicting that the Group of 88 stalwart would form “a new anchor for the Duke English Department.”

The journal’s initial foray into lacrosse matters came on May 4, 2006, in an item entitled, “We Wonder: How Many White Girls Work Their Way Through College as Exotic Dancers?”

The editors proclaimed,

While it remains unclear what really happened at the party hosted by the captains of the lacrosse team at Duke University, the racial and socioeconomic divisions between the two groups could not be more stark. Most of the white lacrosse players at highly prestigious Duke University come from privileged backgrounds. Finding the money to pay for their education is not an issue. The first two men indicted in the case come from families that live in million-dollar homes. Both men attended elite private preparatory schools.

The two black women involved were from historically black North Carolina Central University. They worked as exotic dancers while in school so they could pay their way in college while supporting their young children.

Do our readers know how many white women resort to working as strippers so that they can pay for college?

To my knowledge, this item was the only piece produced in the case terming Kim Roberts a student at NCCU. (In fact, Roberts had attended UNC several years ago, though she never received her degree.) Describing Crystal Mangum as “involved” at NCCU probably was accurate—though Mangum’s status as a full-time student at the historically black institution seemed much in doubt.

JBHE editors also asserted, without qualification, that for “most” of the lacrosse players, “finding the money to pay for their education is not an issue.” The article did not reveal how they gained access to the Duke financial aid records upon which such a claim would be based.

Two weeks later, the JBHE returned to the lacrosse case, after two committees had issued lacrosse-related reports. The first—the Coleman Committee—noted that members of the team drank much too much but had no record of racist or sexist behavior, were good students, treated staff with respect, and had good records of community service. The second—the Bowen/Chambers Committee—produced a document that my colleague Stuart Taylor correctly described as an attempt to “slime the lacrosse players in a report . . . that is a parody of race-obsessed political correctness.”

JBHE readers never learned about the Coleman Committee report, which the journal did not mention. The conclusions of Bowen and Chambers, on the other hand, generated gushing praise. Mike Nifong’s (ultimately fraudulent) allegations, the editors wrote, “present a classic example of the importance of having people at all levels of the administration who are sensitive to racial issues.” Bowen and Chambers, the editors theorized, provided a path for Duke to reorganize itself into a paragon of diversity.

The journal noted Nifong’s triumphs in the primary and general election, both times describing black voters as “key” to the Nifong victories. But the JBHE also—inaccurately—implied that Nifong enjoyed robust support from the Duke student body. In commentary just after the November election, the editors claimed that “the precinct in which many Duke students and faculty reside cast a majority of its votes for Nifong.”

In fact, Nifong was swamped in the precinct in which most Duke students voted. The Recall Nifong-Vote Cheek line took 67.6 percent of the precinct tally, with Nifong receiving only 27.2 percent. (The rest went to the ostensibly anti-Nifong write-in candidate, “Spoiler Steve” Monks.)

The JBHE editors also didn’t reveal how they ascertained in which precinct “many” Duke faculty lived: indeed, as Duke has more than 2,600 professors, it seems highly unlikely that there is a single precinct or even city in which a majority of Duke profs live. As with the journal’s earlier claims about the scholarship status of the lacrosse players, the JBHE seemed to be relying on hearsay evidence and assumptions based on caricature.

In covering the 2007 admissions process, the JBHE mentioned two items not widely disseminated. First, it disclosed that the Duke admissions office sent to prospective minority students “a new publication outlining the close relationship Duke has with the city of Durham.” (Did this document summarize the “separate-but-equal” justice system for Duke students?) Second, the JBHE—using figures it said that Duke provided—stated that “just over 27 percent of all black students who applied to Duke this year were accepted for admission.” This figure was around 40 percent higher than the overall (19.7 percent) acceptance rate.

The Group of 88, according to a January 2007 JBHE item, was a faculty organization focused on the “serious issues of racism, gender, and sexuality that need to be addressed on campus.” (So much for statement author Wahneema Lubiano, just a few days before the ad appeared, describing the document as about the “lacrosse incident.”) And “as a result of her leadership in this group,” JBHE readers learned that Karla Holloway “has received a large number of racist e-mail messages.” The editors did not define what constituted “a large number,” nor did they explain how they ascertained that e-mails sent to Holloway resulted from her “leadership” in the Group.

But the most extraordinary JBHE item appeared the day after Attorney General Roy Cooper publicly declared that the three students were “innocent” victims of a “rogue prosecutor.” How did the JBHE cover the development?

Racism on the Duke Lacrosse Team

All charges have now been dropped in the case of a young black woman from North Carolina Central University who accused three white members of the Duke lacrosse team of rape in March 2006.

But no one disputes that the woman was heckled and called a “nigger” when she tried to leave the party. One white partygoer was heard to say, “Hey nigger bitch, thank your grandpa for my nice cotton shirt.”

No mention of the declaration of innocence. No discussion of AG Roy Cooper’s unequivcocal denuncuiaton of Nifong, or his revelation of the extent of Mangum’s mental illness. Falsely claiming that “no one disputes” that Mangum was “heckled”—when, in fact, almost everyone disputed such a claim. (No one disputed that Roberts was heckled; Mangum, at the time, was passed out.) Attributing to a lacrosse player a much more inflammatory statement than the one actually uttered—and ignoring Roberts’ acknowledgment that she initiated the racially charged exchange.

Given the high profile of the case, how could a journal that describes itself as focused on events in higher education—which is supposed to seek the truth—ignore Cooper’s declaration of innocence and so blatantly misrepresent the events of the party?

48 comments:

Anonymous said...

How could they? Three words:

See Detroit, Michigan.

Anonymous said...

just like the NAACP

Anonymous said...

how sweet it is to see the true face of black scholarship

Gary Packwood said...

KC said...

...Falsely claiming that “no one disputes” that Mangum was “heckled”—when, in fact, almost everyone disputed such a claim. (No one disputed that Roberts was heckled; Mangum, at the time, was passed out.)
::
There must be a web site someplace out there in la la land where all of these folks talk to each other and share their spin on the truth. .

Can you imagine a law student running across this truth in about ten years?

This perfect storm of a case just must be included in legal coursework for aspiring advocates.
::
GP

Anonymous said...

"...how could a journal that...is supposed to seek the truth...ignore Cooper’s declaration of innocence and so blatantly misrepresent the events of the party?"

Of course, a journal that seeks the truth could not do so - but JBHE could, with ease.

BTW, who was it who scored the latest major coup in luring the esteemed Houston A. Baker, Jr. away from Duke? Vanderbilt? At the risk of mentioning farm animals, they are such lucky ducks: I predict Baker will be a new anchor for them.

Anonymous said...

Given the high profile of the case, how could a journal that describes itself as focused on events in higher education—which is supposed to seek the truth—ignore Cooper’s declaration of innocence and so blatantly misrepresent the events of the party?

Elementary, my dear professor. The same way such bastions of truth and justice, The Herald Scum and The New York Slimes, did. They cherry picked the points of truth and embellished them to suit the story they wanted to be told.

Why we can't pick up a paper or magazine and read an article that actually depicts the true facts is beyond me. Sadly, most of these "authors" also sit in the amen corner in church on Sunday. I don't dispute that they need to. I just haven't seen yet that it's done any good!

At least we have KC. In the mold of Perry White pursuing truth, justice, and the American Way!! Thanks again KC.

AF

Anonymous said...

Why is the last group in America to realize that they were wrong are the academics?

It will make a nice thesis on why for some grad student.

Anonymous said...

As KC has noted, it is absurd for the JBHE to talk about the precinct where many Duke students and faculty supposedly reside. Anyone familiar with Duke knows full well that those faculty members who actually live in Durham (as opposed to Chapel Hill, which has gotten rather expensive) typically do not live close to students. In fact, undergraduates have to stay on campus for three years, and most stay four, so there aren't many living in the surrounding neighborhoods. Duke also pays its professors well enough so that they can afford to live in residential neighborhoods largely free of young people. In fact, If the JBHE is truly interested in the concept of privilege, they should include Duke's faculty in the discussion.

Anonymous said...

I'm old enough to remember travelling through the South and stopping at service stations that had seperate bathrooms and drinking fountains for blacks. To an old guy like me, it seems we've made many positive strides since then in terms of race relations, but after high profile cases like O.J. and now Duke, I sometimes wonder how far we've really progressed and how far we still need to go.

Anonymous said...

KC -
While its always fun to watch you slam a new clip of sunshine-is-the-best-disinfectant into your AK-47 of truth and let loose into the target-rich fishy rainbarrel of the Duke Lacrosse Burning, I sometimes question your choice of targets.

Tenured professors may be pike & bass, and the NAACP a great honking huge sturgeon, but you sometimes waste bullets on killyfish like this poor mentally disturbed woman.

Not being an academic I really don't know the circulation or influence of the JBHE. Have you bagged a nice fat trout or just another tadpole?

One Spook said...

Very interesting post, KC.

I went to the link you provided (jbhe.com) and read the main page in its entirety.

I'm not sure which part I enjoyed the most, but I narrowed it down to three choices:

1. The wealth of revisionist history.
2. The convoluted logic.
3. The citing of the landmark USSC decision Brown vs The Board of Education as 1964.

After careful consideration, I'll go with 3. Brown was decided in 1954.

I guess that fact is a matter of lower education.

One Spook

Anonymous said...

"How", you ask, could the JBHE "ignore Cooper's declaration of innocence and so blatantly misrepresent the events of the party?"

Simple. They've never put down the hymn book. They've never turned the page. They've just kept singing the same tune, same verse, and have hardly looked up to see a number of folks in the congregation are leaving.

Any organization that expresses "distress" at seeing folks "turning away from government solutions..." is an organization that is likely to sing from its chosen hymn book and never put it down.

mac said...

Interesting stats the JBHE provided about the 27 pecent admission of
black students to Duke: I'm wondering if they think that's proof of discrimination against blacks?

If so, they're proven wrong by the other stat, a general admission rate of 19.7 percent, which shows the reverse.
Perhaps they were just bragging.

If anything, it's proof of preferential admissions for AA students. Maybe they were giving
the 88 credit for higher minority enrollment rates?

Anonymous said...

It's not about the facts. It's all about a fiction that fits their agenda. Simply a blatant disregard for the facts of the case. I can't imagine manipulating information to create a fantasy that comforms to my agenda. The JBHE has no trouble with that (as does the NC NAACP, by the way). College "intellectuals"? I do occasionally teach at a university and serve in an advisory role there, but reading crap like this from the JBHE reminds me of why I am grateful to have chosen a career in business.

mac said...

Also an interesting website that KC linked:
an editorial at JBHE states, basically, that all the colleges and universities
got together at one country club and said:
"No blacks."

Sure they did. And the man-in-the-moon kept our astronauts from
REALLY landing there; what we saw must have been
filmed at the Phoenix Country Club and Car Wash.

Anonymous said...

(sigh) just another day in the fever pits of Black racism.

Anonymous said...

There was an item in today's Virginian-Pilot on the Michael Vick case. It said "Butch" Williams of Durham has been retained by Vick as one of his stable of attorneys. The report identified Williams as an attorney for one of the "unindicted co-conspirators in the Duke Blue Devils lacrosse rape case." Isn't it amazing how these terms are used so loosley by reporters who should know better?

Anonymous said...

Is Bowen a Communist?

Anonymous said...

It is simple. Groups like the JBHE are not interested in truth. They are interested in pushing their agenda.

Anonymous said...

The JBHE asks

"Do our readers know how many white women resort to working as strippers so that they can pay for college?"

Here's my question ...

How many white college women have 3 children from different men and have used a stolen taxi in an attempt to run over a police officer?

I'm sick of reading about how these 2 women were employed as strippers so they could feed their children.

That's a load of crap. They stripped because it's a well paying job considering the prerequisites. No degree or special skills required; just get out there and do something everyone who takes a shower can do -- take your clothes off. And it gave these 2 lowlifes a chance to hang out with fellow lowlifes in an atmosphere surrounded by sex, drugs, alcohol, and easy money.

I say all that having attended strip clubs on several occasions over the years, so that would eliminate me from "choirboy" status too.

The JBHE is exactly like the modern day NAACP -- racist to the core and a total waste of paper and ink.

Anonymous said...

one spook-

My favorite headline on their news page:

"Rising Tuition Costs Put South Carolina’s Flagship State Universities Out of Reach of Many Low-Income Black Students "

Low-income white students unaffected?

Anonymous said...

Nice find One Spook!

KC asks: "Given the high profile of the case, how could a journal that describes itself as focused on events in higher education—which is supposed to seek the truth—ignore Cooper’s declaration of innocence and so blatantly misrepresent the events of the party?"

Because this "journal" is dedicated to political correctness and so-called "diversity" (i.e., not true diversity) propaganda, not legitimate academic topics. This publication seems a lot more like People magazine than The Chronicle of Higher Education.

By the way, when I was in college I knew a rather beautiful light-blond white woman from a very poor family who earned a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Nuclear Engineering. She paid her way through school by stripping, and I can say for the three years that I lived with her she did not turn tricks. Therefore, there indeed are white women who strip to put themselves through school, and no, they don't have to resort to prostitution in order to make it.

Anonymous said...

Regarding the title of the publication, help me.

Would someone please define:

"education"

and

"higher"

A little clarification of terms would be quite useful in understanding the contents of the subject articles.


Duke Mom

wayne fontes said...

Do our readers know how many white women resort to working as strippers so that they can pay for college?

My experience has been that virtually every stripper is working their way through college. They all tell me they only do it part time. The flexible schedule seems to be particularly attractive to the them. The conversation back in the dressing room must be fascinating as the eager young students get dressed for their routines.

Anonymous said...

It's sad to see so-called "educated" black people insisting that the U.S. government should continue to lower standards for black students so that more of them can get into college. We already know what happens to these affirmative-action students when they get out into the real world and have to compete with people who earned their degrees the old-fashioned way (by earning them): they fail.

Rather than advocating lower standards for blacks (an inherently racist position since it assumes that blacks are somehow inferior and can't compete with whites), why not advocate for cultural changes within the black community that would help black students meet the same standards as everyone else? Some suggestions:

stop celebrating prison culture;

start encouraging and celebrating real black academic achievement in younger kids (instead of ridiculing them for acting "too white" when they succeed academically);

start encouraging black girls to delay child-bearing until they have an education and a stable family situation in which to raise the child[ren] -- rather than congratulating them for having multiple kids at a young age, thereby enabling the mothers to ride the government gravy-train (as happens too often in many black communities today);

start encouraging black parents to become involved with their children's schools when their children are young -- and if the public schools are not providing what the kids need, here's a legitimate place for blacks to advocate for the government to do more.

Anonymous said...

I'm so tired of hearing about how these two "poor" black women were forced to strip for a living because they had no other opportunities. Kim Roberts was a student at UNC and had an office job before she decided that embezzling $25,000 from her employer would be easier than continuing to work hard. Crystal Mangum was in the U.S. Navy, and had many educational opportunities (at significantly reduced cost) before she decided to have multiple children with men other than her husband, and earned herself a less-than-honorable discharge.

Neither of these women lacked better opportunities. What they lacked was the character and integrity to take advantage of the many better opportunities that were available to them.

mac said...

It's not hard to guess why Jesse didn't come back
to pay for Samples' education:
she probably wasn't interested.

Likely she wanted a payout - just like Kim Roberts saw the case
as a big opportunity, "opportunity"
a word she might use,
while other people might
use better word-choices.

In the medical world,
these are the types of
people who play the Medical Lotto.
John Edwards and his type are their co-conspirators.

And no wonder some people hate the idea of Brer Rabbit:
it points to the cultural tendency to
be "playas" -("someone who knows how to manipulate things")

Please note that there is a profound difference
between educated black communities and the "playa" culture:
no wonder when someone escapes,
they don't want to go back:
they don't want to get played by playas.

Anonymous said...

The AA community just continues to twist the FACTS of the case for there own adgenda. What exactly that is...who the heck even knows. Do they even know? Hello..all along this case should have been about ..did a 'woman' get raped...it never should have been made into a race issue...but it seems everything is turned into that these days!! A scapegoat in my opinion.

The one thing that the AA community still refuses to see is that all the efforts to expose a rouge DA was not only to help our players but to make the judicial system is Durham fair. Do they really think that Liefong/DPD never did this to one of their own?

For goodness sake open your eyes and be thankful that someone finally fought back!!!

Duke Lax Mom AND SO VERY PROUD OF IT!!!!

Gary Packwood said...

Duke Mom 8:24 said...

...Regarding the title of the publication, help me.
...Would someone please define:
..."education"
...and
..."higher"
...A little clarification of terms would be quite useful in understanding the contents of the subject articles.
::
Exactly!
::
GP

Anonymous said...

The Separate-But-Equal link that KC provided above (paragraph 12 or so), to his May article, is worth reviewing. To me, this damns the Duke administration as much anything else.

This article, and its accompanying comments, should be required reading for students and parents.

Anonymous said...

The JBHE just like the NAACP are organizations that promote racism.
The NAACP wants a "pass" for Michael Vick on dog abuse charges. They elude to the fact that he may be involved but since he has already received so much bad press and because young black kids look up to him he shouldn't be held responsible.
We might as well give up them EVER admiting the Lacross boys are innocent. Since a poor, black girl was involved with rich, white boys it's IMPOSSIBLE for them to be innocent. Evidence or lack there of is just an attempt to confuse the "facts" as they want to believe them. Whites always prevent blacks from receiving justice- don't you know. Why else would the NAACP need to exist?

Anonymous said...

Until Precious Crystal is prosecuted for her crimes expect to see her referred to as an alleged rape victim rather than what she really is and expect to see references to the Duke lacrosse rape case rather than the Duke lacrosse rape hoax.

Only a trial will expose all the dirty linen (gag) including the exact number of separate DNA samples found in/on Precious. Even the lawyers are careful with their wording, ("more than four...") and never tell the full story which must be pretty bad since both sides are trying to hide it.

Anonymous said...

8:35

Yes, but if we focus on the facts, then our conclusions may become suspect. After all, isn't it a universal "equality of result" in which we're really interested. Isn't a reference to "equality of opportunity" just a polite acknowledgement of the predicate requirement for the true universal objective.

And, of course, since the result in this case was so clearly wide of the target result, then we all must immediately reject the obvious and quickly refer to other impediments -- whether real or not. We must determine that the so-called "opportunities" provided to these lovely young women -- the blossom of our people with such promising futures -- were in fact illusions foisted upon unsuspecting Black youth by an exclusionary cabal of White racial conspirators. Facts can always be invented to then justify the further butressing of an absolute entitlement to "equal results" under the law.

Until all African Americans and in fact, all Africans, are endowed by their creator, or provided by their government, with an intellect equal to their White European and Anglo-Saxon counterparts,...no exclusionary practices and/or DNA tampering*** can be allowed.


***Unless, of course, DNA tampering is needed for the pursuit of justice in the cause of equality.

Anonymous said...

And this gem from the “JBHE Chronology of Major Landmarks in the Progress of African Americans in Higher Education” web page:

2006: Black literary scholar Houston A. Baker Jr. is highly critical of the Duke University administration for its handling of allegations about a sexual assault on a young black woman by members of the Duke lacrosse team. Weeks later, Baker announces he is leaving Duke for Vanderbilt University.

No mention of the 'farm animals email' in this 'Major Landmark' though.

Anonymous said...

That strippers work to pay their way through school is such utter bs. If you can find 1 out of every 150 strippers who is working to pay her way through school, it would be a statistically significant event and more representative of the norm.

Anonymous said...

I don't understand where all the Magnum fans get their information. At one point she detailed part of her days. It included items like doing her nails for 4-5 hours, taking a nap, getting ready for work, etc. She never talked about doing homework, taking care of her kids, going to the park, doing laundry. Like so many black women, she may leave her kids to her parents to take care of while she does her thing.

I also do not agree that poor students have it hard. The very rich and the poor have it made. The problem is for the middle-income student. They don't get free loans, can't get most jobs on campus because they are saved for "low-imcome" students. So they really do work hard to get out of school as soon as possible.

Anonymous said...

Despite the pretensions of its title, the JBHE should not be confused with an academic or scholarly publication. It does appear to function, however, as a useful compendium of race-based statistics on admissions and graduations rates and faculty hiring. They often tabulate numbers that the colleges themselves otherwise try to obscure.

David
Irvine, CA

Anonymous said...

The real take-home from this post is the admission that Dook is pandering to black applicants, and admitting them in hand over fist, when compared with their counterparts of other races. That the audience doesn't view this as jarring and significant speaks to what many must think quiely but seldom say outloud.

The fact that a racial advocacy group would ADMIT that the key to black advancement is not hard work and individual accountability, but instead government-imposed handouts to races the government and that advocacy group each apparently believe can't compete on its own is one of the most racist things I have ever heard. I didn't say it (I wouldn't). I'm just reading what they wrote. Somewhere Dr. King is hurting right now...

Anonymous said...

I just cannot understand why the black community insists on standing behind a mentally troubled woman who lied about being raped, had sex with strangers for money, and took off her clothes to make money.

As many others have pointed out, Crystal Mangum was in the Navy and had plenty of opportunity to make a good life for herself and her children. Instead she was dishonorably discharged and became a stripper and prostitute. While we can certainly feel sorry for her, I find it difficult to defend her.

The NAACP is a pack of liars as they continue to print known falsehoods on their website.

This information being posted on their website is the equivalent to Duke University continuing to employ Kim Curtis. Niether organization can possibly expect to be given any respect (nor do they deserve any) as long as they operate in such a manner.

Anonymous said...

Diversity @ Work
An Alarming Increase in Black High School Dropouts

Last week, JBHE reported that the percentage of all black youths in the 16- to 24-year-old age bracket who did not have a high school diploma or its equivalent had been cut in half since 1972. This is solid good news. But the most recent data for 2005 shows that the high school dropout rate is on the increase.

In the year that spanned October 2004 to October 2005, 7.3 percent of all black youths in the 15 to 24 age bracket dropped out of high school grades 10 through 12 in that particular period. For whites, only 2.8 percent of all youths in that age group dropped out of school that particular year. Therefore, in the most current year for which there are statistics, blacks were 2.6 times as likely as whites to drop out of high school.

The dropout rate for blacks in the 2004-05 year was at the highest level since 1989. The fact that in 2004-05 blacks were 2.6 times as likely to drop out of high school as whites is the largest racial gap in more than 35 years.

Anonymous said...

Carolyn says:

In a nutshell, the Journal of Blacks in Higher Education refuses the concept of personal responsibility. If a person is black, the JBHE insists they have NO responsibility for what they do.

Thus, if Crystal gets down on her knees in the VIP lounge of the Platinum Club and sticks a customer's penis in her mouth to suck, that's MY fault because I'm white! If Kim Roberts embezzles $25,000 from her employers, that's Dave or Collin or Reade's fault because they're white. If Houston Baker calls a mother's children 'farm animals', that's her fault because she's white!

My god, the horrible irony of this Hoax is that the ones trying to expose racism in others have instead exposed it in themselves.

But, of course, they're not going to take responsibility for that.

Anonymous said...

11:11 inre: dropouts

I'd suggest that is the WRONG metric. Advancing those that are not qualified for showing up tells us nothing. Keeping them in a "no child left behind" environment tells us nothing. Dragging down motivated students by dumbing down to address those that don't understand that an education is a privilege is a problem.

On the other hand, utilizing mandatory testing, eliminating fraud/cheating, and moving students through the system based upon what they earn seems much more relevant.

Anonymous said...

Somehow, we are left to ponder why too many blacks continue to fall behind their counterparts in this country.

The mystery of course is solved by pointing out that big race-industry groups (like the NAACP and this Urinal of Blacks in Higher Education) are contributing to the problems, by perpetuating the myth that an individual must wait for some big national organization (be it private or public) must solve all of their problems for them, and that anything that happens to them is not their responsibility.

The difference is clear: individuals who happen to be black that take pride and ownership in the their future succeed, and others who also happen to be black who believe, expressly or implicitly, that it is "not up to them" await the handout that is never going to come.

The same thinking applies with unions:
Myth: "If we all band together and demand benefits the market won't support, they can't fire us all can they?"
Reality: "No, they'll just move the factory to the South/Mexico/Asia."

The single greatest rejoinder to the proponents of lowering standards for blacks because they don't think blacks can compete (if you must, "affirmative action"), is asking them why Asians are not "minorities" for purposes of affirmative action. No one seems to be able to answer that question.

"Not a majority?" - Check.

"Historically disadvantaged in the labor pool?- Check, See Pacific, Union.

"Uh, uh, uh..." - Exactly.

Anonymous said...

Most of the folks I know, young, old, black, white, male, female -- got through or are getting through college by 1) taking out student loans or getting grants; 2)working very hard for scholarships; and/or 3) working very hard at legitimate summer and part time jobs. A lucky few had their employers pay their way (I am one of those lucky ones) and fewer still had "rich" parents who could simply fork over the cash. I don't know of anyone who stripped or whored.

mac said...

I have friends who are black, but they aren't really in the black
"community." Some are educated, one is an Engineer
-(no affirmative action hire, either)-
and some work 2-3 jobs; they make their kids study hard and take jobs.
They feel the weight of the criticism of their race,
they hate the stain that is unfairly applied to them because of affirmative action,
and they work hard to overcome the perception of unearned gain.

I don't know about you folks,
but these are people whose company I prefer.

I have friends who are white, who are wealthy, and who make
their kids study and take jobs.
They understand the perceptions that work against the rich,
and they work hard to overcome those perceptions.

I don't know about you, but I prefer the company of such people.

Both groups have a culture of work and education.

Someone mentioned what I would call
the "workless class," and the term applies to both rich whites and
poor blacks who have entitlement mentalities.
They're sorry people, and they never lift a finger
for anyone but themselves;
they are selfish and indolent and
they waste good oxygen.

I would suggest sending the workless class,
black and white, rich and poor,
to some 3rd world hellhole
where they can see how much they
actually deserve!

Lazy, ignorant people suck, and lazy,
ignorant people who sponsor
other lazy, ignorant people are worse.

To hell with the workless class.

Anonymous said...

KC:

"how could a journal that describes itself as focused on events in higher education"

Incredible. You just couldn't make stuff like this up.

Ken
Dallas

Anonymous said...

The misrepresentation of the facts of the lacrosse case has been purposeful from the beginning. So many have been in a race to the bottom to drag the biggest lie out of the muck to be found there, and this process has never been about the truth, and it never was about the truth, and it never will be about the truth to many of these people. There seems to be no way to put their many wriggling lies to bed. The whole of it has been done purposefully and without conscience.

Anonymous said...

Re: the Gang of 88 This reminds me of what a drill sergeant said to us during basic training back in '49:
"You guys are like a bunch of goddamm geese - you wake up in a new world every morning!"