New Haven Firefighter Denied Promotion Because He’s White
A post title like that doesn’t have the same urgency as “New Haven Firefighter Denied Promotion Because He’s Black,” does it? We’ve come to this. Denying benefits and bestowing benefits based on skin color is acceptable, all in the name of “diversity.”
National Journal Magazine’s Stuart Taylor, co-author of Until Proven Innocent: Political Correctness and the Shameful Injustices of the Duke Lacrosse Rape Case, dedicates a column to the case of Frank Ricci, a New Haven firefighter denied a promotion because he’s white. After Ricci bought the recommended books for the examination and received one of the highest scores, the powers-that-be scrapped the test results and canceled promotions because too few blacks scored high enough to receive promotions.
Ricci, 16 other whites, and one Hispanic firefighter sued the city, citing equal protection violations. After a district court judge dismissed the case, a three-judge panel of a federal appeals court affirmed the dismissal. Conservative judges on the court sought to have the case re-heard. Judge Jose Cabranes defined the issue this way:
“May a municipal employer disregard the results of a qualifying examination, which was carefully constructed to ensure race-neutrality, on the ground that the results of that examination yielded too many qualified applicants of one race and not enough of another?”
The appeals court declined to hear the case by a vote of 7 to 6. Ricci petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court, and we hope the court takes the case. The issue of race preferences will dog this country for years to come, but perhaps in the absence of Sandra Day O’Connor (who sentenced the country to 25 more years on “affirmative action” in 2003), the majority will make the right decision.
Food for thought: Is playing to the lowest common denominator the best government can come up with? I’ve often wondered why the focus is on lowering standards instead of raising them. Does it not occur to decision makers? The primary reaction to low achievement among minorities is to treat them like children and deny benefits to everyone. Most blacks don’t seem the least bit offended by this. Pity.
1
Robert
Tuesday, December 16th, 2008 at 11:26 pm
I’m offended that this crap still goes on. I thought we had gotten past all the Racial issues with the election of a Black president. If the White FF’s qualified for the pomotion, then you damn well better give it to him. To make this a color issue is not only an offense to them, It’s also an offense to the black FF’s as well. Us Firefighters are a band of brothers. Fire doesn’t give a damn what color you are. It will burn you just as crispy.