Post by islanderPost by El CastorPost by islanderPost by El CastorOn Wed, 10 Feb 2021 20:26:59 -0800, Josh Rosenbluth
Post by Josh RosenbluthPost by El CastorThe following WSJ piece is very interesting, and I regret to say has
the ring of a very unpleasant truth.
"Whos a Threat to Our Democracy?
When progressives single out threats to our democracy, what they
mean is their democracy" ...
"Not long ago, hardly anyone used the apocalyptic notion of a threat
to our democracy as a political argument. Suddenly, it emerged among
progressives as a routine term of political art. The word our
implies another of progressivisms modern virtues, inclusion. But
that, as they themselves would say, is a false narrative.
When progressives refer to our democracy, what they mean is their
democracy. To be a member of their democracy, one has to share their
beliefs. If youre not in, youre out. And if youre out, they may
come after you for being a threat to democracy."
more ...
https://www.wsj.com/articles/whos-a-threat-to-our-democracy-11612998812?mod=hp_opin_pos_1
The article is behind a paywall. From your introduction, I question the
claim that "threat to our democracy" has become a routine political
argument.
I'm a former subscriber, but now must also endure the paywall.
Possibly because of a glitch, I found myself reading the whole thing
and hoped the link would work, but it didn't. Sorry about that.
The idea put forth in the article is nothing new. Progressives are
confident that their beloved causes are by definition right and just.
Thus, a cause universally supported by the shared beliefs of
progressives is by definition a manifestation of social Democracy so
questioning it is not only a sin, it's an affront to true Democracy.
There is currently a manifestation of this in San Francisco. At one
time admission to Lowell High school was based on academic merit. The
school body was dominated by Asian and White students. Along came
Progressivism and Black numbers were radically boosted. Asian parents
seeing their children displaced by far less qualified kids, sued, won,
and admissions returned to academic merit, making the school half
Asian and less than 1.8% Black. Then along came the resurgent
progressivism of 2020/21. Academic merit is forgotten and San
Francisco's pre-eminent academic high school is back to an admission
system that must disregard academic qualifications, a triumph of
Progressive Democracy.
Personally, I doubt that quotas imposed in the higher grades solve the
problems of racial equality. Possibility they do not work in lower
grades either. This is a case of too little, too late. Rather, we need
to rethink what is implied in "All men are created equal." When does
that apply? At birth or earlier? If conservatives believe that life
begins at conception, why not also believe that the environment in the
womb is the place to begin addressing equality?
OK, then please ask those Ashkenazi Jews and East Asians to share
their secret ingredient of intelligence. Whatever it is, they brought
it with them when they emigrated to the US. How selfish of them to
hide it from the rest of us!!!
Meanwhile, a marvelous opportunity, Lowell High, has been denied by
your ignorant politics to the children most able to make use of it,
some of whom happen to be Black. BTW, we spent yesterday afternoon
with an old friend who is a Lowell graduate -- and an Ashkenazi Jew.
https://www.human-intelligence.org/race-differences-in-intelligence/
I don't know about Lowell, but Chris Hayes, MSNBC Anchor, writes about
Hunter College High School where he attended. Hunter also had a
reputation of being a prestigious high school in NYC. However, there
"But the problem with my alma mater is that over time, the mechanisms of
meritocracy have broken down. In 1995, when I was a student at Hunter,
the student body was 12 percent black and 6 percent Hispanic. Not
coincidentally, there was no test-prep industry for the Hunter entrance
exam. Thats no longer the case. Now, so-called cram schools like Elite
Academy in Queens can charge thousands of dollars for after-school and
weekend courses where sixth graders memorize vocabulary words and learn
advanced math. Meanwhile, in the wealthier precincts of Manhattan,
parents can hire $90-an-hour private tutors for one-on-one sessions with
their children.
By 2009, Hunters demographics were radically differentjust 3 percent
black and 1 percent Hispanic, according to the New York Times. With the
rise of a sophisticated and expensive test-preparation industry, the
means of selecting entrants to Hunter has grown less independent of the
social and economic hierarchies in New York at large. The pyramid of
merit has come to mirror the pyramid of wealth and cultural capital."
Are the children admitted to Lowell really the best and brightest or do
they actually come from wealthy parents? I don't know, do you?
My Ashkenazi friend who attended Lowell is the daughter of a shoe
salesman. Her parents rented a modest flat and never owned their own
home.
"Its worth noting the school, founded in 1856, is already diverse and
fairly reflective of the district. Of the schools 2,900 students, 51%
are Asian, 18% are white, 12% are Latino, 6% are Filipino, and 2% are
black. The districts overall enrollment is, by comparison, 33% Asian,
28% Latino, 15% white, 6% black, and 4% Filipino. Black Americans make
up 5.2% of the entire San Francisco population." ...
"Lowell is a beacon of hope for low-income students like myself,
explained Amy Chang. It means that, if you try hard enough, you can
receive an education on par or better than elite private schools. The
lottery system is inherently flawed. ...
One Lowell graduate, Lisa Li Moye, said, At MLK, I was bullied and
having the goal of getting into Lowell kept me from having suicidal
thoughts. After being admitted and surrounded by driven students, I
got out of this dark place. I want to say Lowell saved my life."
https://www.faithwire.com/2021/02/04/san-francisco-school-board-says-merit-based-admission-is-racist/