Friends, today was a very good day for the Supreme Court and the Constitution. Today the high court struck down "affirmative action" and disallowed race preferences in college admissions. Unclear to me is whether this will invalidate race preferences in other domains, but it's certainly a good start. Way back in 1978 the Supreme Court, brimming with good intentions, left open the door to race-conscious admissions, and we've been dealing with the fallout ever since. The big takeaway today, though, unfortunately, is how far we have to go to make this a truly colorblind country. The Left is, as everyone knows, obsessed with race, gender, and sexuality. They are determined to drive this country apart, into special interest groups and "protected classes", and to hand out favors to these groups based on totally subjective considerations of "equity". You can call it "divide and conquer" or "social justice" or whatever you like, but it's the heart and soul of the progressive movement nowadays, and it ain't going away because the Supreme Court says so. In fact, colleges and universities have long since developed contingency plans to deal with a SCOTUS ruling like this one. Downplaying the importance of objective tests, like the SAT and ACT, is a big part of the strategy. In many states, they've already shifted gears to supposedly race-neutral admissions policies that still, in effect, promote the interests of one race over another. At the University of Texas, for example, they let in the top 10% of every high school class . Never mind that you might come from the worst high school in recorded history -- you're in! The object of this approach was, of course, to promote "diversity" at the cost of academic rigor and personal merit. And it's working. Expect American higher ed to reach deep down into its bag of tricks to ensure that this Supreme Court ruling has little or no effect on the demographics of the students who attend our colleges and universities, nor on the background of the faculty, staff, and administrators, all of whom, I predict, will continue to grow less and less white by the day, by the month, and by the year, as leftists insist they should and must. For one thing, institutions of higher ed are beholden to accrediting bodies, all of which are captive to the DEI agenda. Any college or university that actually practiced colorblind admissions or hiring frankly would be in big trouble, with the accreditors, with the federal Department of Education, and with the media and the donor class. Ergo, don't expect too much to change in this country until we defeat the culture of wokeness and identity politics. And good luck with that!
Dr.Waddy from Jack: Aw those poor dears on the left; I held my breath and watched msnbc today just to see them thrash. For decades they bypassed democracy to force counterintuitive dictates on us from the high bench. Now that democracy has provided a lawful Scotus they are doubly vexed. "Now that we are being insolently denied let us change the rules with dispatch and a vengeance too! We'll do our FDR one better". FDR woul have loathed them. Well, what goes around comes around or something like that. I celebrate their discomfiture and especially their dread realization that more is in store for them from this court.
ReplyDeleteThough an obviously correct decision, How can conservatives counter this being used as a club by the left in a replay of Dobbs v. Jackson in the last midterms?
ReplyDeleteThey can't. Dems will package Dobbs, and the website decision and affirmative action to rally voters of color, the LGBTQ community and younger voters to be enthused and mobilized to vote.
DeleteDr. Waddy et al from Jack: Your predictions and concerns about the decision are highly plausible and sobering (dang!). The antiamericans sure do know how to get up on their hind legs and howl when their unassailable justice is thwarted. Well, Scotus has done its job, with respect for its role, for now at least. As you have noted, the left will hasten to game this development in keeping with its total commitment to "heads we win, tails you lose. . . by any means necessary, ANY means".
ReplyDeleteow
Jack, luckily court packing is a completely dead letter, now that the GOP controls the House. Well, maybe I should revise that statement: it's a non-issue for the present, but we can't rule out the possibility that the Dems will win it all in 2024, and then look out!
ReplyDeleteRichie, I doubt very much that the ending of affirmative action in college admissions will have nearly as great an impact, in terms of politics and public opinion, as Dobbs did. That's mainly because race preferences were never popular. "Abortion rights", in some guise, are supported by two-thirds of Americans. That was never true of affirmative action. Havaing said all that, the MAIN narrative on the Left is that we Republicans and conservatives are a bunch of racist, sexist, homophobes, and thus we're morally and intellectually beneath contempt. This will add a bit of fuel to that fire, but it's a fire that already burns brightly 24/7 in the media and in the popular culture. If a leftist ISN'T accusing you of racism, better check his pulse, because he may need medical or mortuary attention.
Dr.Waddy from Jack: I think its time for people of our convictions to sit back and enjoy the satisfaction derived from this lawful Scotus's three decisions. They certainly float my boat with these principled judgements. Predictably, the leftist justices argued the overall perceived social consequences instead of the law, which should have been their only concern. Its why they are in a decisive minority; really they ought to find another line of work, this one isn't working out for them but we must thank them for their unrepentant contirmation of their consummate leftist bigotry!
ReplyDeleteDr. Waddy fromJack: Too the antiamerican s have erupted in a characteristic onslaught of breathless hyperbole expressing hatred and contempt for American rule of law rather than emotion. Schum
ReplyDeleteDr.Waddy from Jack: . . . Schumer sneers, Biden bumbles, Sharpton(whose senior advisory priority for the left is beneath contempt) spews and I cannot wait forthe AOC show. Their object in arrogating elitist financial forgiveness to college graduates was solely to recruit and indoctrinate worker ants in the reeducation camps of the antiamerican academy. Their frustration with our dutiful Scotus for not rubberstamping their presumptuous largesse yet again confirms their revulsion for the democratic processes of legislation, which surel y would deny them this outrage to those who earn their education by paying for it with sweat EQUITY or who drag on laboring for bread.
ReplyDeleteAffirmative action in colleges will proceed, just under a slightly different manner. If I am a guidance counselor and I have a student of color to advise, I am going to tell that student to lean into their racial identity in their essays. That way, colleges will be able to maintain their goal of diversity without explicitly considering race in and of itself as a criterion for admission.
ReplyDeleteThere is actually advantage of this for POC students -- they can reflect on the inequities of race, gender, sexual orientation, income, geographical location, legacy status, etc., in their lived experience.
So, the goals of having a diverse student population -- which makes for a better college experience for students -- will be met, just in slightly different ways.
Dr. Waddy from Jack: "Alas! These 'rude mechanicals' cannot be persuaded of their obligation to pay for the education of their betters. After all,it takes higher education to create good drones!"
ReplyDeleteRod, you're right: the Dems will tell all the protected classes closest to their hearts that the GOP (and its pet SCOTUS) are racist, sexist, and homophobic, and this election is an EMERGENCY (!!!) and all their rights will be trashed and fascism will bloom if they don't vote for Sleepy Joe. The problem is, the argument would have been the same with or without these Supreme Court decisions. The truth of the matter hardly matters. The question is whether you can sell this vision of the apocalypse to the voters who matter. Maybe you can. You've gotten mighty good at this stuff.
ReplyDeleteAnd I agree that the decision on affirmative action will barely inconvenience the DEI crowd. I say as much in my most recent article.
Jack, it's okay to take a victory lap on these recent rulings, sure, but we shouldn't mistake a single battle for the war as a whole. The leftists would certainly never make that mistake.
I'm not sure why the Dems didn't just package student debt relief in with all their massive COVID giveaways. I guess they feared it might sink the bill? Personally, I agree with SCOTUS: it's kinda nice to ask Congress to legislate once in a while...