Comments on: “European-Based Races Excel Academically & Intellectually Over Other Races” Thoughts on Affirmative Action

By: P. W. Dunn

P. W. Dunn — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 17:47:04 +0000

Wayne: I posted some links to articles about the systemic discrimination against Asians on my blog. This is to say that it is not just white males who suffer, but Asians suffer even more injustice. Affirmative action does not redress past discrimination it creates new discrimination. See: http://righteousinvestor.wordpress.com/2010/03/20/notes-on-affirmative-action/

By: Wayne

Wayne — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 08:47:00 +0000

Pro-AA:
On the one hand – something needs to be intentionally done to redress systemic (and repetitious) problems.

Anti-AA:
But on the other hand – does AA “fix” sin?

By: P. W. Dunn

P. W. Dunn — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 02:12:58 +0000

Pastor Wayne: Don’t worry. It was a set up–because I forgot that “Park” is a Korean name, and you had no way of knowing that my mother was Korean. Besides I expected a certain level of backlash because I was raising controversial points. BTW, I grew up in Alaska and not in the Korean context. Once I read the article about the little half-Korean orphan, however, I considered growing up in the US a great blessing. So you don’t have to apologize to me about the term “tu ghee”–I don’t even speak Korean, and wouldn’t understand the epithet if even I ever heard it. I’m third generation–my mother’s parents moved from Korea to Hawaii when they were small children, in 1905.

As for affirmative action, I wanted to make sure that we realize that it only “affirms” certain minorities but it works against others: in particular Asians and Jews. I’ve read articles about how both Asians and Jews have been subject to quotas in academic settings–and so it makes it all the more difficult for them to find open doors. In fact, many people believe, as do I, that affirmative action has just been a program for shifting jobs that once belonged to aging white male professors to young white female professors. Well, I’m sure that has done a lot to redress systemic injustice … not!

By: Wayne

Wayne — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 00:56:33 +0000

@PW – I see now what you meant by the self-deprecating humor. It was a mistaken generalization on my part for which I am sorry. I am also saddened that the deplorable epithet “tu ghee” was applied to you. That must have been terrible to go through.

re: affirmative action – I think a good case is made here from several voices as to why it is a flawed practice. It’s opening my eyes. Still, for the sake of knowing more, I’m wondering what you guys think of the idea that something like AA is needed to intentionally offset a system that is intrinsically set against hiring minorities and women, even when they are equally qualified?

By: Matt EHH

Matt EHH — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:34:05 +0000

thoughtful discussion.
I agree with the elder that PW’s point that the most interesting piece of the discussion is the “standards”. I’m all for high standards and I recognize that affirmative action type policy can often lead to major problems. I also think any discipline presented from a broader perspective than one specific culture is neccessary for a quality education, so a faculty that fails to be a diverse body fails to educate in a real way (for me).

Perhaps our selection process is what needs to be discussed. I think its like trying to solve the problem because it trys to find a new solution with the same process. I, for one think a major obstacle of minorities and women entering any previously obstructed field, is that they are basically asked to be an individual self-contained trailblazer as well as an productive contributer.

Perhaps instead of looking at every job individually, and for every job discarding applicants based on majority status, and potentially undermining the institution’s integrity in the process, a whole new way of hiring groups or pairs for projects or positions could be looked at… just a thought.

By: elderj

elderj — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 15:47:01 +0000

I don’t know that PW is suggesting that European-based races excel intellectually over other races simple because they are European. In fact I don’t think he’s referring much at all to race qua race, but rather to the tendency to degrade standards in order to achieve what he views as a debatable good end. While I believe that, on- balance, increased diversification in the academy might be a good thing, I do not believe that achieving such diversity is, or should be, a goal that is pursued since it inevitably leads to either rank discrimination against those scholars who do not “fit the description” or alternately, to the aforementioned degrading of scholarship generally. It would be more interesting if the academy were more interested in achieving diversity of ideology since that is one area wherein it tends towards a serious monoculture.

By: Half-Korean basketball players for justice and egalitarianism! « The Righteous Investor

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:22:07 +0000

[...] more intellectual than other races, not to mention that he found my comments demeaning to women. Also, he did not like that I used “sarcasm”. My comment about half-Korean men in the NBA was the point of contention and he did not find the [...]

By: Wayne

Wayne — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 23:15:44 +0000

@P. W. Dunn yes. but more so the following parenthetical comment. Regardless, I'm not splitting hairs here. I found the analogy pointed but somehow as analogies go, unhelpful, in the issue at hand.

By: P. W. Dunn

P. W. Dunn — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 22:31:26 +0000

Wayne: I was also wondering which part of my comment you found “sarcastic”. I think it must be the comment about the lack of half-Korean men in the NBA. I meant this to be more playful self-deprecating humor than sarcastic. Actually, I have a pretty good three-point shot, but that would only be useful if you tide the opposition’s hands behind their back and they couldn’t play defensive!

By: P. W. Dunn

P. W. Dunn — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 20:11:37 +0000

Hi Wayne: Well, I’m not that random. I also attended Regent College. Just wanted to let you know that I don’t actually believe the words that you put in quotation marks in your title, nor did I write them. Cheers.