Musings on the Terms "Woke" and "DEI" as applied to Vice President Kamala Harris

[davewill]

A steaming crock. No one race is stupider than another but some races value academic and inter-generational achievement.  Jews and Chinese don't start out smarter.  Their parents invest heavily in their children's success.  Prejudice is simply an excuse.  I sat in classes for 5 years in maybe 90% white classes.  I had about 1/3 non-white profs from all over the world.  Was I subject to discrimination?

"It's about hiring the most qualified person for the job by removing biases and prejudices from the decision-making process."  Then why are neutral exams like  SAT, GMAT, LSAT, MCAT, etc never good enough.  If the tests are biased, create a culturally appropriate alternative and me and my white ass will ace it too.

Subject to discrimination? No, you benefitted from discrimination. You didn't have to go to an inner city school where teachers are lucky if they have time to teach the kids who are desperately trying to learn after dealing with rampant misbehavior and violence. You probably had money for extra-curricular activities. You probably had parents or others who could actually help you with your homework.

I don't know what the answer is to fix the problem. I do know that just because I succeeded does not mean that others can just pull themselves up by their bootstraps. Blame poverty, discrimination, a culture that doesn't value education, or whatever you want to, but what I do know is that the KIDS don't deserve what they get regardless of the cause.

It would be immoral not to try. It would be evil to perpetuate the status quo on purpose.

There was a very good "This American Life" episode several years ago on the subject of education. It examined what happened when the Normandy school district in Missouri lost it's accreditation through poor performance. This triggered a state law that allowed students in the district to transfer to nearby accredited schools for free. It made a profound difference to the students who were suddenly allowed to attend a white suburban school.

I found the link:
https://www.thisamericanlife.org/562/transcript