The fight for equal rights and civil rights for all Americans continues
Some thoughts based on my life experience. In 1959 I read a sociological study that had been printed in Scientific American in 1947 that detailed the discovery of the sea change in the attitudes of Americans who had fought in World War II with regard to racial equality and justice for all. We could all see even as early as 1959 that the greatest battles for civil rights beyond the battlefield were sometimes individual events like Harry Truman, who only finished high school and that in Missouri, integrating the armed services by executive order. Others were more profound like Earl Warren, the former conservative governor of California, demanding a 9-0 vote in Brown vs. The Board to overturn Plessy.
The negative commentors in today's Free Press, besides being poorly educated, don't take into account the history of the civil rights movement. Social movements reflect their times and are triggered into action by great events. The success of the simmering civil rights movement in America was born from our unambiguous victory in World War II. The Germans and the Japanese both based their imperialism on racial superiority. The discrediting of this idea in military defeat didn't go unnoticed by the huge number of citizen soldiers in America who rose up to crush both of these power crazed nations.
Now, the civil rights movement is mainstream, but every and any detail created to enable civil rights for all is not a sacred commitment to be forever enshrined in law. The children and grandchildren of those men and women who gave their lives to extend equality to all have determined that it is time to step back, look at everything that has been done, and redefine what is to be kept and what is to be discarded from the "tools" that were devised to make sure that equality was firmly entrenched in our social as well as our legal system.
We all winked at the inequity of affirmative action for some to ensure equality for all. Justice O'Connor said in Gratz v. Bollinger that she hoped in 25 years affirmative action wouldn't be necessary for the goal of equality to be reached. The process to guarantee that her statement become true is under way, and in truth it may take another generation, but the crutch, and that's all it is and ever was, of affirmative action is going away.
The equality that is every American's birthright will be ensured only for those who stand up without assistance and take it firmly in hand. You are free in America to make mistakes, dodge opportunity, and complain that the world, or people of a particular skin color owe you a living. You are not free, unless you actually are disabled, to demand that the rest of us simply do your part for you.
Every human being is born unable to take care of itself. That's what mother, family, friends, and community are for. But at some point you need to take care of yourself to prepare to give back to those who took care of you and to prepare to take care of the next generation.
The childhood of the American civil rights movement is over.
We must "put away the things of its childhood."
Farewell affirmative action for all but those Americans disabled by birth, accident, or war.
____________________________________________
From this morning's Free Press:
Published: December 13. 2006 3:00AM
Michigan
Prop 2 backers to take campaign to other states
December 13, 2006
BY DAWSON BELL
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
Buoyed by a landmark victory in Michigan in November, backers of the anti-affirmative action Michigan Civil Rights Initiative -- also known as Proposal 2 -- are set to announce plans today for similar ballot proposals in other states in 2008.
Seven states, all west of the Mississippi River, are candidates for ballot efforts, said Jennifer Gratz, the Southgate native who directed the MCRI campaign and will participate in today's announcement.
In an interview Tuesday, she declined to say how many states ultimately would be targeted in 2008, but said: "We're definitely looking at multiple states."
Affirmative action proponents, who said they expected as much, continue to look for ways to blunt the appeal of the MCRI approach -- banning the use of race and gender preferences in government hiring, contracting and university admissions.
Ward Connerly, the California businessman and former University of California regent who led successful efforts to ban preferences in California and Washington state before bringing the fight to Michigan three years ago, is leading the latest initiative to take the battle to more states.
Gratz, whose lawsuit over race-based admissions policies at the University of Michigan helped propel the state into the middle of the affirmative action debate, said she will join Connerly's California-based American Civil Rights Institute and expects to work on the issue full-time.
Gratz confirmed the states where petition drives and ballot proposals are most likely. Those states are: Oregon, South Dakota, Nevada, Nebraska, Missouri, Arizona and Colorado.
She declined to say in how many states she expects to launch full campaigns, but predicted it will be more than one.
"We've always felt that if we could win in Michigan, we could win anywhere," she said.
Gratz said MCRI had been contacted both during and since the Nov. 7 election -- in which Proposal 2 was approved 58%-42% -- by activists interested in mounting similar campaigns in various states. Some of the contacts came from the offices of elected officials, but many were from "ordinary people who just want to do something about equal rights," she said.
Although many predicted the Michigan election result could create momentum for the campaign to end race- and gender-based preferences in affirmative action programs nationally, the movement faces both political and practical limits.
States that can be targeted for ballot proposals -- the only method Connerly has been able to use to circumvent entrenched opposition -- are mostly in the West, and a minority. Only 24 states allow citizen-initiated referenda, and that includes California, Washington and Michigan.
But the success of Proposal 2 may rally some new, or previously flagging, support.
Advocates for affirmative action admit they've not found the formula for beating Connerly at the ballot box.
In Michigan, virtually every influential interest group, politician and public figure opposed Proposal 2, but that seemed to have little effect on voters.
Wade Henderson, president of the Washington, D.C.- based Leadership Council on Civil Rights, said a 2008 campaign on multiple fronts would pose "a real challenge."
"We obviously have to go back and rethink a bit" after what happened in Michigan, he said.
But Henderson said he believes a sustained, well-financed campaign that emphasizes the benefits of equal opportunity could be successful.
"I think ultimately the American people are fundamentally fair, and they recognize that opportunity has not been universally available," he said.
Contact DAWSON BELL at 313-222-6604 or dbell@freepress.com.
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Steve,
Telling people to sign a petition to pass a law treating everyone equal is not misleading. People who sign things without reading them are dumb, and there are a lot of dumb people in this country.
At an environmentalism rally I saw a comedian get hundreds of signatures to outlaw "Di-Hydrogen Monoxide." Mindless environmentalists signed with great alacrity, only to later find out they were banning water. If someone is dumb enough to sign something they disagree with, there should be no recourse.
Posted: Wed Dec 13, 2006 8:12 am
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ricardo, I can not begin to count the number of Michigan laws broken my the MCRI people. Much more upsetting, however, is the shady way that MCRI used cronies like Mike Cox to circumvent the proper process for placing a measure on the ballot.
Posted: Wed Dec 13, 2006 8:06 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Whatever the outcome in whatever other state, I only hope that
both sides will accept the will of the people following the vote
and that residents of those states are not subjected to the constant
whining that those of us here in Michigan are enduring.
Posted: Wed Dec 13, 2006 8:05 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Where are the courts when we need them"? Why do you assume that the courts are set up to invalidate laws you don't like?
You might be in favor of affirmative action, but abandoning it is not racist. Assuming that minorities are too dumb and inept to make it in this society without a government hand-out, is racist.
Let me ask you this: If AA is so necessary, why stop at admission to college, why not extend it to the college classroom? Since minorities are on such an unlevel playing field, why not give minorities a 5.0 for an A, 4.0 for a B, 3.0 for a C, etc. and force whites to go by the standard GPA schedule? If minorities are unable to compete for jobs, and in an "unfair" financial position, why not have 2 prices for goods at grocery stores and retail stores--say a 20% discount to minorities on account of the "unlevel playing field." Maybe instead of employee pricing on Big 3 cars, we could have minority pricing, because minorities need cars, but with big bad society so dead set against them, they just aren't able to earn as much as white folks, so in an effort to level the playing field, minorities get cheaper cars.
Why are all of you who are in favor of disparate treatment based on race uncomfortable extending that from the contracting/admission arena into areas like retail prices, and in class grades? Are any of these ideas any more ridiculous than lowering the standards when it comes to getting a job? It is exactly the same, and if you don't see the irony you are kidding yourself or just plain dumb.
I know of no greater insult than to tell the hard working and intelligent minorities I go to school with that their skin color precludes them from ever having the abilities I do, so they need the government to bump them up to my level.
Posted: Wed Dec 13, 2006 8:05 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
i request that anyone who wants to reply: "you're the racist!" or "you're the moron!" to please give details in your responses. the crypto-fascist clowns who love to post here usually just resort to "i know you are, but what am i?" 4th grade style personal attacks when they're presented with evidence that doesn't fit into their convoluted worldview.
Posted: Wed Dec 13, 2006 7:54 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The negative commentors in today's Free Press, besides being poorly educated, don't take into account the history of the civil rights movement. Social movements reflect their times and are triggered into action by great events. The success of the simmering civil rights movement in America was born from our unambiguous victory in World War II. The Germans and the Japanese both based their imperialism on racial superiority. The discrediting of this idea in military defeat didn't go unnoticed by the huge number of citizen soldiers in America who rose up to crush both of these power crazed nations.
Now, the civil rights movement is mainstream, but every and any detail created to enable civil rights for all is not a sacred commitment to be forever enshrined in law. The children and grandchildren of those men and women who gave their lives to extend equality to all have determined that it is time to step back, look at everything that has been done, and redefine what is to be kept and what is to be discarded from the "tools" that were devised to make sure that equality was firmly entrenched in our social as well as our legal system.
We all winked at the inequity of affirmative action for some to ensure equality for all. Justice O'Connor said in Gratz v. Bollinger that she hoped in 25 years affirmative action wouldn't be necessary for the goal of equality to be reached. The process to guarantee that her statement become true is under way, and in truth it may take another generation, but the crutch, and that's all it is and ever was, of affirmative action is going away.
The equality that is every American's birthright will be ensured only for those who stand up without assistance and take it firmly in hand. You are free in America to make mistakes, dodge opportunity, and complain that the world, or people of a particular skin color owe you a living. You are not free, unless you actually are disabled, to demand that the rest of us simply do your part for you.
Every human being is born unable to take care of itself. That's what mother, family, friends, and community are for. But at some point you need to take care of yourself to prepare to give back to those who took care of you and to prepare to take care of the next generation.
The childhood of the American civil rights movement is over.
We must "put away the things of its childhood."
Farewell affirmative action for all but those Americans disabled by birth, accident, or war.
____________________________________________
From this morning's Free Press:
Published: December 13. 2006 3:00AM
Michigan
Prop 2 backers to take campaign to other states
December 13, 2006
BY DAWSON BELL
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
Buoyed by a landmark victory in Michigan in November, backers of the anti-affirmative action Michigan Civil Rights Initiative -- also known as Proposal 2 -- are set to announce plans today for similar ballot proposals in other states in 2008.
Seven states, all west of the Mississippi River, are candidates for ballot efforts, said Jennifer Gratz, the Southgate native who directed the MCRI campaign and will participate in today's announcement.
In an interview Tuesday, she declined to say how many states ultimately would be targeted in 2008, but said: "We're definitely looking at multiple states."
Affirmative action proponents, who said they expected as much, continue to look for ways to blunt the appeal of the MCRI approach -- banning the use of race and gender preferences in government hiring, contracting and university admissions.
Ward Connerly, the California businessman and former University of California regent who led successful efforts to ban preferences in California and Washington state before bringing the fight to Michigan three years ago, is leading the latest initiative to take the battle to more states.
Gratz, whose lawsuit over race-based admissions policies at the University of Michigan helped propel the state into the middle of the affirmative action debate, said she will join Connerly's California-based American Civil Rights Institute and expects to work on the issue full-time.
Gratz confirmed the states where petition drives and ballot proposals are most likely. Those states are: Oregon, South Dakota, Nevada, Nebraska, Missouri, Arizona and Colorado.
She declined to say in how many states she expects to launch full campaigns, but predicted it will be more than one.
"We've always felt that if we could win in Michigan, we could win anywhere," she said.
Gratz said MCRI had been contacted both during and since the Nov. 7 election -- in which Proposal 2 was approved 58%-42% -- by activists interested in mounting similar campaigns in various states. Some of the contacts came from the offices of elected officials, but many were from "ordinary people who just want to do something about equal rights," she said.
Although many predicted the Michigan election result could create momentum for the campaign to end race- and gender-based preferences in affirmative action programs nationally, the movement faces both political and practical limits.
States that can be targeted for ballot proposals -- the only method Connerly has been able to use to circumvent entrenched opposition -- are mostly in the West, and a minority. Only 24 states allow citizen-initiated referenda, and that includes California, Washington and Michigan.
But the success of Proposal 2 may rally some new, or previously flagging, support.
Advocates for affirmative action admit they've not found the formula for beating Connerly at the ballot box.
In Michigan, virtually every influential interest group, politician and public figure opposed Proposal 2, but that seemed to have little effect on voters.
Wade Henderson, president of the Washington, D.C.- based Leadership Council on Civil Rights, said a 2008 campaign on multiple fronts would pose "a real challenge."
"We obviously have to go back and rethink a bit" after what happened in Michigan, he said.
But Henderson said he believes a sustained, well-financed campaign that emphasizes the benefits of equal opportunity could be successful.
"I think ultimately the American people are fundamentally fair, and they recognize that opportunity has not been universally available," he said.
Contact DAWSON BELL at 313-222-6604 or dbell@freepress.com.
Email this
Print this
Post a Comment View All Comments
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Steve,
Telling people to sign a petition to pass a law treating everyone equal is not misleading. People who sign things without reading them are dumb, and there are a lot of dumb people in this country.
At an environmentalism rally I saw a comedian get hundreds of signatures to outlaw "Di-Hydrogen Monoxide." Mindless environmentalists signed with great alacrity, only to later find out they were banning water. If someone is dumb enough to sign something they disagree with, there should be no recourse.
Posted: Wed Dec 13, 2006 8:12 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ricardo, I can not begin to count the number of Michigan laws broken my the MCRI people. Much more upsetting, however, is the shady way that MCRI used cronies like Mike Cox to circumvent the proper process for placing a measure on the ballot.
Posted: Wed Dec 13, 2006 8:06 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Whatever the outcome in whatever other state, I only hope that
both sides will accept the will of the people following the vote
and that residents of those states are not subjected to the constant
whining that those of us here in Michigan are enduring.
Posted: Wed Dec 13, 2006 8:05 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Where are the courts when we need them"? Why do you assume that the courts are set up to invalidate laws you don't like?
You might be in favor of affirmative action, but abandoning it is not racist. Assuming that minorities are too dumb and inept to make it in this society without a government hand-out, is racist.
Let me ask you this: If AA is so necessary, why stop at admission to college, why not extend it to the college classroom? Since minorities are on such an unlevel playing field, why not give minorities a 5.0 for an A, 4.0 for a B, 3.0 for a C, etc. and force whites to go by the standard GPA schedule? If minorities are unable to compete for jobs, and in an "unfair" financial position, why not have 2 prices for goods at grocery stores and retail stores--say a 20% discount to minorities on account of the "unlevel playing field." Maybe instead of employee pricing on Big 3 cars, we could have minority pricing, because minorities need cars, but with big bad society so dead set against them, they just aren't able to earn as much as white folks, so in an effort to level the playing field, minorities get cheaper cars.
Why are all of you who are in favor of disparate treatment based on race uncomfortable extending that from the contracting/admission arena into areas like retail prices, and in class grades? Are any of these ideas any more ridiculous than lowering the standards when it comes to getting a job? It is exactly the same, and if you don't see the irony you are kidding yourself or just plain dumb.
I know of no greater insult than to tell the hard working and intelligent minorities I go to school with that their skin color precludes them from ever having the abilities I do, so they need the government to bump them up to my level.
Posted: Wed Dec 13, 2006 8:05 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
i request that anyone who wants to reply: "you're the racist!" or "you're the moron!" to please give details in your responses. the crypto-fascist clowns who love to post here usually just resort to "i know you are, but what am i?" 4th grade style personal attacks when they're presented with evidence that doesn't fit into their convoluted worldview.
Posted: Wed Dec 13, 2006 7:54 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
posted by Jack Lifton at 8:40 PM
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