Cultural Affirmative Action

In a way, I
prefer the old, overt affirmative action. While it was government-sanctioned
discrimination, at least it was, in some measure, more honest than our cultural
affirmative action. There is such a thing. It’s when people in the market and
media privilege others – sometimes unconsciously – based upon the latter’s
identification with a “victim group.”
This phenomenon
is what Geraldine Ferraro referred to recently when she addressed Barack
Obama’s meteoric political rise and said, “If Obama was a white man, he would
not be in this position.” Pundits have condemned her for this unfashionable
utterance, but it’s no insight. It’s a truth hiding in plain sight.
What do you
think Bill Clinton was referring to when he said that he wanted his cabinet to
“look like
Cultural
affirmative action manifests itself in all arenas, not just politics. A perfect
example is Michelle Wie, the female golfer who set her sights on tackling the
men’s tour. Based mainly on braggadocio and a fawning media bent on portraying
her as an Amazon golfer who would teach the boys a lesson or two, she was
granted entry into numerous PGA tournaments, even though untold numbers of male
golfers were more deserving. Of course, some will point out that she is quite gifted.
Others will say that the market spoke.
That is my
point.
Sure, Wie is
no duffer, just as the other folks I mentioned have their talents; Ginsburg,
O’Connor and
As for
Obama, I personally know of a white man in Illinois who supports him because, as
this fellow put it, “I always wanted to see one [a black man or a woman] in the
White House.” Moreover, the idea that his race is an asset is so true that even
the scoffers sometimes unwittingly affirm it. Writing at MercuryNews.com, Ruben Navarrette characterized
Ferraro’s comments as “bitter, envious and foolish” and wrote,
“As
Republican strategist and CNN contributor Leslie Sanchez noted, it takes
chutzpah for someone who herself benefited from the politics of gender to
accuse someone else of benefiting from the politics of race.”
Note that
Sanchez did not say that Ferraro was wrong;
she simply implied it was hypocritical for her to level such an accusation. As
for Navarrette, his argument seems to be that Obama cannot be benefitting from
cultural affirmative action because, after all, Ferraro also benefitted from
it. Striking logic, good man. Besides, were this 1984, I can just imagine him
spinning like a dervish while claiming that Ferraro’s sex wasn’t the sole
reason she garnered the vice-presidential slot.
Yet denial
of the obvious isn’t uncommon. I heard both Bill O’Reilly and Dick Morris
(whose predictions usually don’t match the reliability of a weather forecast)
both dismiss Ferraro’s assertion. How can politics wonks be so blind? Or is it
that they will not see?
It depends
on the individual. Some people are so imbued with leftist orthodoxy that they
interpret everything through the black=oppressed/white=privileged prism and
divide their world into victims and victimizers. By their lights, the idea that
a social phenomenon could benefit the former is too preposterous to consider.
But then, to
paraphrase George Orwell, in every age there is a big, uncomfortable truth that
no one dares mention. In many cases, this simply means lying, paying homage to
the dogma of the day so as to avoid becoming anathema. Yet in other cases the
lie takes a more subtle form.
Discerning
an unfashionable truth presents one with a dilemma. He either must profess it,
which can mean career destruction and ostracism – being loathed by others – or
he can refuse to do so, which, if he is sincere of heart, can mean he will
loathe himself. In other words, if he withholds it, he may feel like a phony;
worse still, if asked about it, he may feel compelled to lie. The latter especially makes it hard to like yourself.
So many
choose a different route: They lie to themselves.
It isn’t difficult; all that is necessary is to deny the matter its day in your
mind’s court. If you simply refuse to examine all the relevant facts – if you
avoid searching for the truth – there is little danger of finding it. It’s that
famous human ability known as rationalization.
So perhaps
you thought affirmative action was in its death throes, with all the state
referenda and court rulings against it. But don’t be surprised, as
government-mandated affirmative action is no longer necessary.
We have the
cultural variety.
As for me, I
don’t care whether or not a team looks like
Click here to return to TRA's Issue CL Index.
Learn about Mr. Stolyarov's novel, Eden against the Colossus, here.Read Mr. Stolyarov's new comprehensive treatise, A Rational Cosmology, explicating such terms as the universe, matter, space, time, sound, light, life, consciousness, and volition, here.
Disclaimer: The presence of the following advertisement serves as an attempt to eventually enable The Rational Argumentator to generate sufficient revenues to cover the costs of its domain name. TRA does not foresee making an actual profit with these advertisements for a long time. The advertisement does not necessarily reflect the views of TRA or any of its contributors, and the readers are encouraged to judge it on its own merits.