John, as you know, I’m one of the people attacked in the Kidder study you referenced yesterday: “…Roger Clegg of the Center for Equal Opportunity–a leading advocacy group working to dismantle affirmative action–cast the issue in starkly (and falsely) divisive terms: ‘If eliminating race-based admissions results in more Asian students or fewer African-American students being admitted to top schools, so be it.’”
Now, Kidder’s point is not that race-based admissions don’t result in SOMEONE getting denied admission because of race; his claim is just that it’s mostly white students rather than Asians who are discriminated against because of affirmative action, and that many Asians are discriminated against the old-fashioned way (i.e., in favor of white students). I will read the study, but I have to admit that my likely reaction will be a shrug. I won’t be surprised if the same p.c. mindset that believes you should use racial discrimination to make sure that you don’t have “too few” blacks and Latinos leads ineluctably to believing that you should also use racial discrimination to make sure you don’t have “too many” Asians. I’m opposed to white students OR Asian students being discriminated against in favor of blacks and Latinos; I’m also opposed to Asian students being discriminated against in favor of whites OR blacks and Latinos. In fact, I’m opposed to anybody being discriminated against in favor of anyone else because of skin color or what country their respective ancestors came from.
In the quote that Kidder uses, I say that I’m opposed to racial discrimination, and it doesn’t matter to me who the winners and losers are–I’d let the chips fall where they may. How is saying that “divisive”? And I’m not the person who favors divisive policies: Kidder is.