In the secular religion that passes as liberal orthodoxy, the need for affirmative action is a fundamental tenet. Accordingly, questioning the wisdom (or, even worse, the efficacy) of racial preferences in higher education is heresy — and you know what happens to heretics.
Literally burning people at the stake is passé (and probably environmentally-unfriendly to boot), but the next best thing is public vilification. The Left is expert at this, using the rich vernacular of political correctness to denounce its opponents without having to address the merits of their arguments. For this reason, it was entirely predictable that Justice Antonin Scalia’s skeptical questioning at last week’s oral argument in Fisher v. University of Texas – zeroing in on the “mismatch” theory — would be mischaracterized by left-wing media outlets such as Mother Jones (“Justice Scalia Suggests Blacks Belong at ‘Slower’ Colleges”)
Surprisingly, however, ostensibly neutral publications such as Alcalde, the house organ for UT’s alumni organization, Texas Exes (of which I am a Life Member), joined the shrill chorus, condemning Justice Scalia’s comments as “racist and offensive.” My demand for a retraction and apology (so far, unsuccessful) is chronicled in The American Spectator. Conservative alumni whose alma maters (and/or alumni organizations) are being hijacked by the Left should remember that silence is assent.