As the debate on reparations for American blacks drags on, the rut created by reparation advocates marching back and forth is slowly becoming a valley, which in turn will become a canyon which no one will be able to reach across to bring us together as one people. These race baiters are promoting victimology for the sake of enriching themselves. Theirs is not a desire to right a wrong, but to advance an agenda that gives them the dominant position in our society.
The national chairman of the NAACP, Julian Bond, recently said, "Every white American enjoys an advantage over every other African American, and that is a legacy of slavery." While the line of thinking that draws this conclusion is easy to follow, it is not factual. The historical records show that black individuals who take advantage of the free market system in America can overcome numerous hardships to achieve success, and have done so throughout American history. The numerous black millionaires from professional sports, the music industry, TV and movie industries, and major media outlets are examples of blacks succeeding in America. The fact that the majority of blacks enjoy a middle class standard of living is proof that there is no "slave legacy" holding blacks back.
The reality is that many whites (especially white men) fall victim to the depravations of affirmative action. Recent stories in the press have commented about affirmative action programs in medical schools where less qualified minorities have been accepted over better-qualified whites. The short-term result has been either less competent doctors, or medical students who can't pass their exams to become certified doctors. The long-term result has been fewer doctors, and less qualified doctors, culminating in decreased quality of services, and less service in general.
The social results of the affirmative action abomination is that false stereotypes are created, reinforcing the idea that blacks don't have the mental capabilities to handle certain jobs. Like any other racial group, there are some who can do, and some who can't do certain kinds of work. Standards should be set, and then anyone who wants to meet those standards, and can, should be allowed through the door. If the standards for doctors are rigidly held to, then we get good medical practitioners. If we fudge the standards, we get poor medical practitioners.
Professional sports are a perfect analogy. Should we fudge performance standards in sports so as to get more short white guys in the NBA? What about giving allowances on time for those slow, fat people that want to be Olympic sprinters in the 100-meter dash? That would be stupid. And so is affirmative action. Affirmative action served a purpose at one time. It helped promote the idea of actively, consciously considering minorities for positions. Then the courts got in the way and unconstitutionally forced the hiring of minorities regardless of their qualifications. Today it is out dated and does nothing but agitates racial animosity. Today, affirmative action basically says to minorities, "you aren't good enough on your own merits, so we have to cut you some slack as you aren't smart enough or competent enough to make it on your own."
What happened to the pioneering idea of self-sufficiency? What happened to that picture we had of the strong, independent American? Where are the strong men and women that conquered a continent, proved the supremacy of the free enterprise system, and helped spread the idea of democracy around the world? Where once stood independent-minded people, now stand countless victim groups. Where once there were freethinking individuals, there are now government-dependent stooges and pawns. Once people were linked at least regionally by culture and heritage, now most are divided into small, dispersed groups, linked only by political agendas to delve into the pork barrel of government giveaways, like paupers on urban streets begging for handouts.
Items like reparations and affirmative action aren't apologies to minorities or attempts to right wrongs. These actions are efforts to establish preferential treatment for groups that will either become part of the political elite, or will be welfare dependent serfs of the new world order. Either way, the real reason for these efforts at financial transfers is to maintain a solid voting group that ensures the empowerment of those who wish to control our lives. These aren't liberty loving individuals, but socialists that are just an eye-blink away from being communistic tyrants. The primary tool of the affirmative action and reparations advocates is racial agitation. That's racism plain and simple. By keeping us divided into manageable sub-groups that are mad at each other, the political elites control us. Reparations aren't just bad for blacks. They are bad for all of us.
Jeff Adams
26 June 2001