Craig S,
I did read the reply from the teacher. Nothing new here. These arguments have been made ad naseum for many years. I wonder where she stands on vouchers, school choice, and the government monopoly on education. She wants government to force a square peg into a round hole and goes little beyond the typical we are victims to explain the root causes for the disgraceful conditions Craig E notes above.
I know no one who would willfully refuse to hire a person because of skin color. It is mainly about performance, how maintanance intensive the candidate is likely to be, and whether the person fits the group dynamics of the workplace. Funny, in the many years that my wife and I have worked in the corporate world, neither one of us has been told to hire a white guy or exclude a minority. Both of us have been directed by our superiors to hire a black and a woman. I suspect that the teacher or Mr. Holder would not have an issue with this very clear act of discrimination. Of course, there is good discrimination and bad discrimination.
As a real estate owner, I could care less if a tenant is in a "protected class" so long as the rent is paid timely, the property is maintained, and I don't need to spend time beyond the ordinary to achieve these conditions. I know many property owners and I can't think of a single one that would give up making money to keep a qualified black person out of his property.
Most of us could care less who lives next to us so long as they keep their property up, are relatively quiet and courteous, and are generally good neighbors. If they are pleasant and sociable, all the better. I do have serious problems with social engineering of school boundaries to achieve someone's version of an ideal diverse student population. None of these concerns have to do with skin color.
Jesse,
Great post. I believe the First Tee program is wonderful and I have contributed a bunch of equipment to the Fort Worth chapter over the years.
This thread has gone beyond Sifford- a man who was terribly wronged and no excuses can be made for the treatment he received- because of the attention that the Obamas have paid to race in America today and now Mr. Holder with his comments. This is very topical and perhaps the AG will get his wish (though I doubt that he will draw much satisfaction from the results).
You may not recall, but we did touch on the subject matter when we played in the desert and you were having the most schizophrenic round I've ever witnessed (a horrid front, a stellar back). If memory serves, we were talking about rating the course and you made a reference to being "the token rater". I don't recall your opinion as to why more blacks didn't seem to be taking up golf, though I've heard from other people that economics might be less of a factor than image and peer pressure in favor of football and basketball.
You say: "Sports is the one place where a competitor should earn his/her spot. I'm telling you, it won't be all that encouraging to black kids to see a golfer of their own race on Tour if he was given a spot."
In the spirit of the dialogue Mr. Holder yearns, why is sports "the one place"? Because it is obviously demonstrable who is better and deserving while not as clear in the classroom and the workplace? I am sure it has nothing to do with blacks having done so disproportionally well in athletics. It wouldn't be very sporting to put a 40 pound weight jacket on Kobe so Dirk or some white guy might have a chance to stay with him, would it? Nor would a race handicap seem appropriate to ensure that non-white golfers (or American LPGA members) are better represented on the golf tours with a chance to succeed.
Classroom and corporate staff results may not be as easy to discern from the outside, but those involved know very clearly. It doesn't take long to size up our peers and, when performance falls outside the normal range, it sticks out just like a slam dunk. Putting people into positions where they can't succeed without the power of the gun (government) does little to alleviate past and present discrimination. Instead, Affirmative Action creates the bitter people that the Obamas talk about while doing little for the self esteem of many of the aggrieved individuals it is intended to assist. There is infinitely more satisfaction gained from that that is earned than from something that is taken or given, particularly when it is undeserved and under duress.