tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10348701.post2566704804256252845..comments2024-03-13T21:26:03.011-07:00Comments on Right on the Left Coast: Views From a Conservative Teacher: The Cliff at the End of the Self-Identification RoadDarrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15730642770935985796noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10348701.post-74876799220443954252015-06-18T21:31:07.072-07:002015-06-18T21:31:07.072-07:00Actually, I take back part of what I said … seeing...Actually, I take back part of what I said … seeing C. Thomas Howell in actual black face … relatively recently? it's worth ten minutes or so. Then, try the original, "The Hitcher" so ou can wash the taste out of your mouth ...<br />maxutilshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11294262473781967372noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10348701.post-29906677024034099502015-06-13T20:01:22.173-07:002015-06-13T20:01:22.173-07:00I know a child so white he will get a sun burn on ...I know a child so white he will get a sun burn on a cloudy day. Red hair, freckles, the lot. His mother is African-American. Not a deep ebony but very obviously "black". His dad is Irish and he follows suite. He is being raised in what I'd call "white culture" and I hope to heck he selects African American on everything he fills out. I would pay to see the admissions officer who sees his application, then sees him, then sees his mother... and the officer's head just explodes from cognitive dissonance.<br /><br />At some point, the concept of race just breaks down and the idea of basing any decisions on it, even in the name of diversity is ludicrous. There are arguments to be made for making decisions based on socio-economic level, culture, belief and if you are really stretching for some sort of criteria, you might even consider merit. Whenever there is a system, and particularly a high stakes system, people are going to game that system. And this particular system is ripe for gaming with self-identification. <br /><br />In my mind, it all comes down to the misnomer that is "Affirmative Action", which is neither affirmative nor taking action. Rather, AA is passively promoting people without giving them the skills or support to succeed. A real Affirmative Action system would start at least in elementary school if not at birth. The problem isn't that minority students are being discriminated against by admissions officers; the problem is that students, who are disproportionately minority, go through a broken primary education system. But that takes a lot more money, will power, and the ability to discuss uncomfortable truths than just saying "you're of this race so you get an extra 200 SAT points"BTnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10348701.post-79132492925624387482015-06-13T16:14:32.114-07:002015-06-13T16:14:32.114-07:00See: the movie "Soul Man." Actually, don...See: the movie "Soul Man." Actually, don't … it's terrible. but it does fit your premise. I think black people get a bit of a pass on this because in the days of slavery, and later Jim Crow, even a small percentage of black ancestry made you black, to your disadvantage. So, fair's fair: if you still have that in your background, and can use it tio our advantage? Go for it. I like to self identify as Native American … because, having been born in America, by definition I must be. The larger point is why do we still care?maxutilshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11294262473781967372noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10348701.post-66843022476157836642015-06-13T14:14:15.260-07:002015-06-13T14:14:15.260-07:00Some years ago, I remember reading about a woman a...Some years ago, I remember reading about a woman admitted to an elite university, as an African-American. On her arrival, there was some consternation about her very Caucasian appearance and she was challenged (forget by whom). She was born in South Africa, of Dutch and/or English parents, IIRC. I also know a student admitted to an Ivy whom I assume had checked that same box, as his parents were Tunisian or Moroccan, and he had not taken the kind of HS AP courses usually demanded by such schools, and which were the norm for top students at his high-performing HS. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com