Earlier this year, USA Today ran a feature honoring the 32 college student finalists in the American Advertising Federation's annual "Most Promising Minority Students Program." Jeff Jacoby wonders why the AAF, and USA Today, weren't honest about the true message this sends, which is, "For a minority, you're pretty smart":
William F. Buckley once remarked, upon being told that Lillian Hellman was America's finest female playwright, that this was on the order of celebrating the tallest building in Wichita. Perhaps the 32 students hailed in the ad really are gifted whiz kids with a genius for advertising — but when the competition excludes more than 70 percent of the field, how would one know?...
Once upon time it was racists who insisted that "nonwhite" was a synonym for "intellectually deficient." Today that attitude is promoted most emphatically by the defenders of affirmative action, a system rooted in the belief that blacks and certain other minorities can't hope to win if they have to compete on a level playing field.
Posted by kswygert at March 19, 2004 09:57 AM