The link: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124035774411441127.html
Bonus link: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090422/ap_on_go_su_co/us_scotus_firefighters_lawsuit
So, first the summary: New Haven had an advancement test for their firefighters to officer positions. When the test results came back, the top scorers, those who qualified for advancement, were all white, except for a single latino. Predictably enough, New Haven threw out the results of that test, concluded it was biased, and made no promotions. This case is now before the SCOTUS.
Now, for the cherry: Frank Ricci, the lead plaintiff, had trusted a test of merit. He had been a firefighter for 11 years and was determined to become a lieutenant. All applicants were given three months to prepare for the exam and provided with a detailed reading list. Mr. Ricci is dyslexic, so he paid an acquaintance more than $1,000 to read textbooks onto audiotapes, made flashcards, took practice tests, worked with a study group and participated in mock interviews. He gave up a second job in order to study long hours. His work paid off: He came in sixth among the 77 candidates who took the exam.
So, what are we saying? We're saying that when taking a written test, being black is more of a disadvantage than not being able to read.
Now, folks, I live in America. I'm well aware that it's not racism if it's against white people, and it is racism if it's against black people. I've fully internalized that, and I love it like fat kid loves cake. But here's the thing: these people are saying that black people are worse at reading than dyslexics. Is that not racist against black people? I'd say that's a grave failure to ERACISM!!!
Let's enjoy the verbal gymnastics in the second article: Kennedy often frowns on racial classifications, yet he is not as opposed to drawing distinctions on the basis of race as his more conservative colleagues.
I'm sorry, “drawing distinctions?” Is that the word(s) you were looking for? Or are those the two words you had to use, because the one accurate word isn't allowed? The word you're looking for is “discriminate.” As in “discrimination.” As in “racial discrimination.” As in “throwing out the results of the test because the people who scored highest aren't black is total fucking racial discrimination, you filthy racist fuck.”
Now, to be fair, I ran the odds on this, and based on a cursory guesstimation, assuming equal chances for all test takers, the odds of the top 15 scores out of 77 all being white, is about .2% (based on another article that says 30% of New Haven firefighters are black). So, it's unlikely. But, I see that and raise you this:
http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/statistics/departments/index.shtm
The relevant line is the one where it says that there are 30,185 fire departments in the United States. If every single one of those departments administered a test that had a .2% chance of “going wrong,” and conversely a 99.8% chance of “going right,” the odds of NONE of them “going wrong” is about 5.69e-27, or about .0000000000000000000000000569%. Which is effectively zero.
Or, put differently, if 30,185 fire departments administered tests with a .2% chance of them “going wrong” you'd expect to see about 91 of them do so. And hey, let's assume that they only test every 10 years. And lets further assume that half of them don't even bother to test, because I'm making a point about how easy this is. You'd still see 5 fire departments getting test results like this EVERY FUCKING YEAR.
But hey, we all know math is racist.
Now, I would be remiss if I didn't offer a suggestion as to why this is happening, besides the simple statistical inevitability of it. Allow me to post yet another quote: Dennis Thompson, lawyer for the International Association of Black Professional Fire Fighters, said the court should side with New Haven. "Diversity is essential to the performance of the fire services," Thompson said after the argument.
That's right, folks. Diversity is essential to the performance of fire services. You can't put out a fire unless your hip hop dance crew has a sassy white kid, a gritty black kid, an edgy asian kid, and a mui caliente latino kid. Or... Maybe you can't set the roof on fire without that. I'm not sure... It's definitely someting about diversity and fire.
Let me be forthright with you here: I don't really think diversity is important to putting out a fire. I just don't. The fire doesn't need somebody that understands what it's like to not fit in. The fire doesn't speak spanish. The fire can't connect with you over a shared love for the song stylings of Luther Vandross. Fire is really just the rapid oxydization of material, it's not socially conscious. Contrary to what you may have seen in the movie Backdraft, it's not any kind of conscious.
But, in case it's news, “diversity” is the “get out of having an actual argument free card” of non-white America. Anybody, but especially non-whites, can say “diversity” and then you have to do what they say. Take Dennis Thompson, for example. I'm going to go out on a limb and assume he's black. His last name is Thompson, and he's a lawyer for the International Associate of Black Professional Fire Fighters. I feel good about my odds. So, let's assume he's black. He's a black lawyer. His job is to go into court, and make convincing, legally based arguments in favor of his clients. What he came up with, is a shout out to diversity.
That's what happens when you take a bunch of people, and convince them that their best shot at success is preferential treatment and claiming victim status. They go into a test, one where white guys are studying 13 hours a day, and they figure the city will make sure that at least some of them will get the job, cause, hey “diversity.”
That's what it comes down to folks. It's not just that affirmative action is racist, and wrong on that basis alone. It's that it's a concept that tells us that black people are so stupid, they're not even as good at written test as dyslexic whites. It teaches them to depend on favoritism, and not on their own ability to excel.
Black people are taught, from day one, that the whole system is against them, and that their only chance is that the government will make the racists treat them right. Who's going to put in 13 hours of study a day with that sort of pessimism programmed in? Nobody.
But, hey, whatever American left. As long as they keep voting for you, who cares if they succeed? Heck, it's a lot easier to pick them up on voting day, when they all live in one nice, neat project, right? You fucking racists.