Ruben Navarrette Frets Over ‘Affirmative Action’
Lowered standards supporter (although he says he isn’t) and columnist “of color” Ruben Navarette thinks it’s absurd to think Barack Obama’s election signals the end of race preferences. (Source)
“That kind of thinking starts with the epidemic of Americans patting themselves on the back for being enlightened enough to elect an African-American president.”
Using the misnomer “affirmative action” to describe race preferences, as proponents often do, Navarrette is under the impression that the practice is not discriminatory. It makes institutions stronger by encouraging skin color diversity, and it provides a wider variety of people with opportunities. If only it did more of the latter and less of the former! Skin color diversity isn’t a bad thing per se, but when the government gives preferential treatment to people and deny benefits to others based on that skin color, there’s a problem.
Obama’s presidency was good for Obama, contends Navarrette. Society still puts up barriers against us poor victimized black folks, though he acknowledges “most of the barriers we face in life are self-imposed, and so we can remove them.”
Hmmm…which is it? Does society block our paths to success, or do we sabotage our own success? Navarrette seems to want it both ways.
Since Navarrette doesn’t seem to grasp the differences between affirmative action and race preferences or can’t decide whether “society” or individuals are responsible for their successes, I can’t make heads or tails of what he really believes. You?
