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Show OPINION • THE UNIVERSITY JOQRNAL • SOUTHERN UTAH UNIVERSITY'• WEDNESDAY, JA,NUARY 7, 1998 .... ' «.:· :,: ,, . ' ... i MOLLY IVINS i COMMENTARY ! t l IL SEAN GONSALVES COMMENTARY ! Election campaign doesn 't confront real problems Affirmative action plans help, not hinder Ah, good. the New York Times has operations overseas. Numero Two-0 1 we started a seven-part series on layoffs and could stop the tax breaks that encourage downsizing. Among the factoids in the mergers and acquisitions. Then, we first article is: " Nearly three quarters of might even consider doing something of all hous eholds have had a close a positive nature about getting out of the encounter with layoffs since 1980 ... in hole. one-third of all househo lds, a family The policy wonk who knows all about memb er has lost a job, and nearly 40 this and used to talk about it before the percent more know a relative, friend or Republicans beat him about the head so bad is named Bill Clinton. You neighbor who was laid off." Fifty percent more people are affected remember Clinton, · the guy the by layoffs every year than are victims of Republicans accused of having "an crime in this country. The Times noted industrial policy" and believing in in its splendidly understated way: "Until "activist government" and other heinous Patrick J. Buchanan made the issue part crimes? of his presidential campaign, it seldom Watching the reaction of our surfaced in political debate." politicians to the blinding n ews that And that tells you everything you need people are actually upset about to know about the divide between the downsizing and its happy follower, the people and the leadership in this country McJob, reminds me that there are a few and the divide between people's lives and other minor things that no one has the elite media. In fairness to the Times, brought up during this presidential it has done an excellent job of covering campaign. downsizing on its business pages. When was the last time yo u heard our Gene Roberts, a great ,--- - - -- - -- - - - - , n oble leaders mention editor, often talks about the word women~ Well, the importance of stories OK, they have been that "seep and creep," the 1/ I telling us that when we ones no one ever calls a are raped by horrible news conference to criminals, we will have announce to the world. to bear their offspring. The classic example is This is cert ainly good the decades-long move.I:' news and will inspire a ment of Southern blacks II lot of women to vote for to Northern cities, which these guys in the next was covered only by the II, election. black press. No public/S Excuse me - does relations firm ever got a anyone care that the zillion-dollar account to Republican Congress is whoop up "the greatest J · cutting funding for reprointernal migration in our ductive hea lth services history," but it sure has and they are bringi ng made a lot of difference • • back the gag rule that in American life, hasn't O prevents doctors from it? telling wome n w h en Now that they have they need abortions to discovered downsizing ., save t h eir lives? The the phenom is still being family-planning clinics met with denial. In J I that serve poor areas are addition to those who are often the only access to still telling us th at our heal th care that many lives have never been better and we're women have. just a bunch of crybabies, we are now In all the blather about family values, h earing from a more sophisticated has anyone so much as mentioned version of "So what ?" improvi n g and exten di n g day care This is the gig where you make porgrams? yourself look wise by tugging your chin Wor king mothers, who are, in my an d opining: "Well, yes, there is a opinion, t h e most heroic people in problem, but there's really nothing we America, were once considered worth can do about it. Blah, blah , economic helping. Believe it or not, there was a globalization, blah, blah, technological nationa l syste m of day care for the c h ange, blah, blah, on ly long-term children of working mothers, with pretty so lutions. We mustn't overpromise. nurseries built right at the work site so Government can't solve all problems." moms could visit their kids on lunch This from the folks who have spent years hour or come right away if they got sick. telling us that government can't and T hat was during Worl d War II, but, of shouldn't do a damn thi n g about course, the system was dismantled after anything. the war because it was too expensive and Following the First Rule of Holes, we we needed to build highways instead . need to stop digging. We cou l d, for Family values were big then, too. example, stop aiding companies that move abroad. Yes, Virginia, there is a Molly Ivins is a nationally syndicated special tax break for companies moving columnist. It was encouraging to read about the "It is one of the biggest race myths town-hall-style meeting on race that in the United States," she told me. was hosted by President Clinton at the II Affirmative action doesn't open the University of Akron two weeks ago. doors to unqualified students. We're The president has said he would like talking about kids who have 3.8 GPAs the national dialogue on race to be and score 1,200 on the SATs. This is "frank." And at least one white whom opponents of affirmative action brother at the meeting spoke candidly, are calling unqualified." acknowledging that he is sometimes Granted, a B+ black student may not fearful when he comes across black have grades as impressive as an Amales (like me) on the street. white student. But to say the black Straight talk like that is essential for student, on the basis of his grades and a successful discussion, but clear test scores alone, is not qualified to go thinking is just as important . to a top-tier college is like saying Unfortunately, we often throw reason Chris Mullin is not qualified to play in out the window when conversing the NBA because he's not as good as about emotional issues such as race. Michael Jordan. If I had a dollar for every time I used Besides, the lazy, not-so-bright black faulty racial reasoning, I could almost kids our letter-writer is worried will afford to have coffee with the take a seat away from some promising president. That's bad, but it could be white sch olar doesn't even apply to worse. For example, if .---- -- - - - -----, college. They dropped Rush Limbaugh had a out of the pursuit for dollar for all of his a high er education sins against logicUyyl.. sometime around the whether discussing 10th grade. It is this race or most other / /,L,!-.1..1..1. incessant questioning issues-he would be of black intelligence as rich as Bill Gates. that has undoubtedly In any case, let's put :.t.l. influenced the unwise on our thinking-caps choice of many black and focus on affirm,i st udents to become ative action. high school dropouts. Anyone who reads ,1 And when it comes this column knows I i1 · to job opportunities, support affirmative • what I can't figure out action, not because is why so many of the 'l working-class whites it's a panacea for our keep falling for one of racial ills, but because no one has a bet t er the oldest oppression plan to combat whitetricks in the book. skin privilege in Company A decides higher education and the labor market. the profit margin isn't big enough. The Scrapping affirmative action is not a CEO decides to "downsize" a better plan. It's no plan at all. thousand people or so to make the After writing about t his several stockholders happy . Later, two weeks ago, I received a letter from a prospective employees apply for a job reader out there in green and gorgeous at Company A: one white, one black. Seattle. The letter-writer was clearly The boss hires the black guy. The an intelligent fella. But in the end, he white man might think: "It's because regurgitated a common misconception of that damned affirmative action that held by many affirmative action I didn't get the job." opponents. Why doesn't he join in solidarity As much as he would like to see with black and other progressives to blacks get a fair shake in America, he say: "We've got to unite and fight assured me, allowing "unqualified" against this profi t- before-people African-Americans into, say, medical philosophy now reigning in corporate America. I don't have a job, not school cannot be tolerated. Agreed. The problem is the black because of affirmative action, but bes tudents w hom he considers to be cause there isn't enough opportunity "unqualified" are, first, very capable to go around." intellects. Second, they're also, by and If affirmative action opponents are to large, highly motivated individuals. represent a principled "color-blind" When my younger brother, Chris, stance, then they must give up the graduated from high school, just after empirically invalid and morally he was accepted into the University of questionable notion that affirmative California-Irvine's pre-m ed program action programs essentially provide an last year, I had a chance to talk to one opportunity for unqualified and of his advisers. She was not only his undeserving African-Americans to get unofficial academic counselor during ahead. his senior year in high school, but also an employee of UC-Berkeley's Sean Gonsalves is a nationally admissions department. syndicated columnist. 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