Re: Whatever happened to scepticism in the US?
From: Sbharris[atsign]ix.netcom.com (sbharris_at_ix.netcom.com)
Date: 02/04/05
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Date: 4 Feb 2005 14:52:22 -0800
>>It really points out how the cons and neocons have no lock on tunnel
vision and stupidity. As an example, affirmative action policies
generally suck, yet there is a demonstrable need for *something* to be
done. Something
that will better achieve the stated goals of helping diadvantaged youth
to find a path out of "the Ghetto" (and all that it implies), instead
of
giving these spots to less needy students merely because they fit a
given racial heritage. <<
COMMENT
It's not that hard. You can add advantage points for poor socioeconomic
status, in a colorblind fashion. If you went to a public school? And if
so, how well the students in it did on standarized tests? If it was a
bad school where you did poorly, but better than most, probably there's
something wrong with your school, not you. What was your family income?
What was housing like where you lived? Did only one parent raise you,
or even none? If you came out of those circumstances, and didn't drop
out, we can cut you some slack for mediocre test scores. We don't care
what color you are.
I don't think even conservatives would have much trouble with
"affirmative action" if it was done this way. For if done well, it will
screen for people of genuine talent who haven't done quite as well due
to poor training, not innate ability. Such people can be salvaged and
sent on to higher education often without much difficulty, to the
benefit of all.
Look, conservatives defend the fact that half the people in American
prisons are black, by saying that the system is colorblind (yeah,
right), but just happens to catch a higher percentage of "people of
color." Okay, we can say the same thing of a colorblind system that
benefits only people of low socioeconomic class. In practice most of
these will be people of color. But it will pull the plug on the clout
of people like Jessie Jackson.
I don't look for any of this to happen, soon. For it would require that
we actually admit to ourselves that we're looking to salvage normal and
bright people who got born in the wrong place, for further training.
But to do this, we have to admit that there isn't enough higher
education to go around, and that wasting some of it on people who can't
benefit from it, isn't helping the shortage any.
SBH
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