KENNETH

On 7/25/2023 at 2:13 PM, Michael Dean said:

Chief Justice Roberts was correct in his assessment; Affirmative Action is a direct violation of the equal protection clause.  There are many programs that can and should advance black higher education but Affirmative Action does put White and Asian students at a disadvantage.  While I encourage diversity in education and employment, It cannot be accomplished by creating a disadvantage of other ethnic groups.  Legacy admissions need to be redrafted from the ground up.  While I appreciate a schools desire to recognize contributions of past alumni, it should not become a standard of school policy.

In the case of Harvard the use of certain assessment tools by counselors and teachers that often stereotype Asians was discriminatory. The Court's right leaning majority wrongly tossed out Affirmative Action by being too broad instead of focusing that particular practice. The problem with Harvard and our social institutions in general is that they exclude blacks and other people of color on the basis of race. Thats true when it comes to subtle implicit bias or practices that appear neutral yet have a mainly negative impact on blacks or other people of color.  Considering race as one factor in admissions did not put Asians or whites at a disadvantage. Affirmative Action is a needed tool that combats subtle yet systemic racism.

It seems like the politics of Black Conservatism is no politics at all other than shutting down black politics and protest aimed at change to secure freedom. I think brothers and sisters on the political right would be more comfortable if black people only focused on personal morality and self-help projects. They don't want any talk or action against racism. Furthermore, they would oppose any reform or basic challenge to capitalism. Conservatives whether black or white oppose liberals and socialists alike. This enables systemic racism and economic inequality because the wealthiest 1% presides over a predator capitalist economy that hurts all working people not just blacks. 

I think individualism and collective being exists. Whether we talk about nations, citizenship, or ethnicity with its uniqueness the individual matters in relation to others. There are things that make us part of any number and kind of groups. Yet there is a personality that makes each of us distinct. It sets us apart. Part of the challenge is to think in ethnic or cultural rather than racial terms that connotate physical categories. 

4 hours ago, richardmurray said:

I think one thing that will help everyone is to disassociate terms like liberal or conservative or democrat or republican to parties of governance. The POAJ or POAL , PArty of Andrew JAckson  or Party of Abraham Lincoln are none of those terms. NEither is liberal or conservative or democrat or republican. Both are parties of government, trying to get votes, by any means necessary. IF we all stop looking at parties of governance as philosophical havens it will make it easier to relate to their actions. TO your issue of phenotypical race. The POAL knows that you can get votes by saying "blacks bad" so they do and they win those place. 

Richard if I keep getting feedback like yours' I might stick with this blog.  I think parties and labels have their place in a democratic polity. At the same time notions of liberal or conservative must be reinterpreted in terms of race and the black experience. White people right, left, and center must be challenged when it comes to the struggle for black freedom. As far as the political right it's not just white people. Black conservatives who deny systemic racism pose a challenge too.

4 hours ago, richardmurray said:

good points, the usa's fiscal environment, from the destruction of most indigenous peoples to the enslavement of blacks, no matter their ancestral descendency, was communal in nature. It wasn't each indigenous must be killed or each black is enslaved, it was all indigenous must be kileld  or all blacks  are enslaved. The fiscal reality is in contrast to the declaration or constitutions legal framework, which emphasizes individual rights over any collective. For whites who had and have the positive fruits of both the fiscal communalism or the legal individualism, it has brought about a modern white community that is in itself very multiracial. But, for communities of differing descent<indigenous> or phenotype<black> the fiscal disadvantage and the legal misapplication they received and received creates a terrible environment for the 2022 usa to be a happy rainbow

Thanks so much Richard for your response. You make a good point that goes to the heart of the contradiction in American history. The genocide of indigenous people and enslavement of blacks were conscious collectively racist acts by people who built a legal and constitutional framework around individualism. In a sense racism is systemic even collective yet it enables white people to view themselves and function as individuals. They then deny the systemic problem and black experience.