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Thanks for the ping, Big o. What a ditzoid this guy is. Let's hope that "multiculturalism" dies a sudden death tomorrow before sunrise. We can hope, I suppose.

Happy New Year and thanks for all the articles in '01.

Edd

Thanks for the flag.

First, programs that on average simply redistribute resources within families (such as quotas for women and the disabled) tend to generate less resentment than those that take from one set of families (such as white families) and give to another (such as Hispanic families). In the first case, we feel we are giving to ourselves; in the second to other people -- especially when government policy is emphasizing not the common nationhood of all Americans but their cultural and ethnic separateness.

... job quotas for women take from men and give to their mothers, sisters, wives, and daughters. So although there is some resentment among the white males thus disadvantaged, the net effect on families as a whole is not all that great.

Not so. This aspect of AA has turned women into a separate class with interests that are irreconcilable with those of their husbands and brothers. This has helped drive families apart, as women see less of a bond with their husbands and brothers, than they do with other women. And since AA for white females has always depended on an implicit deal with blacks -- 'You support us (white women) and we'll either back you or remain silent, no matter how outrageous your racism' -- AA for white females has played a huge role as a wedge dividing the races.

Some feminists, for instance, have publicly worried that almost all the heroes at the World Trade Center were male and that the media failed to seek out some female role models.

There are so many things wrong with that statement I don't even know where to begin.

What we today call liberalism is fortunately a means to its own end. Unfortunately it is typically a violent end with a lot of collateral damage.

A few things really bug me about multi-culturalism these days:

There is the suggestion that white, or European is completely lacking in diversity, which is crazy considering the number of different white/European countries, languages, cultures, etc. Imagine how quickly you would be called a racist if you said the same thing about Blacks or Asians. Are they implying that whites are all the same? I thought we weren't supposed to say things like that anymore. Oh that's right, some animals are more equal than others.
There is also the suggestion that whites are lacking or maybe even deformed when blacks, asians, hispanics refer to themselves as "people of color." What does that make me? An albino?
Why isn't diversity good for Africa? Seems like they are chasing whites out of more than one country there, and I don't hear anyone complaining about that. How about Japan? Isn't Japan overly Japanese, and in need of a little diversity? How about the diveristy in Afghanistan; don't they keep telling us that is why the government fell apart there, creating a vacuum for the Taliban to fill.
There seems to be a movement to preserve all culture except for white culture, because it doesn't count, or doesnt' exist, or is repressive, or some other nonsense.
If we go and integrate all cultures together, don't we end up with a single culture, destroying the multi-culturalism we already had?
Didn't this whole thing go out with forced integration, or are we going to fight that battle again? Or, are the even the same thing?

I think the sadest thing about our world is that the places with the most racial diversity are also the places with the most racial violence. I guess the whole multi-culturalism thing is a question of degree. Is it enough to live on a diverse planet, or should our countries be diverse as well? How about states and cities? Towns and neighborhoods? It seems like you score more points with the lefties the smaller the scale gets, and the scale must continue moving. So, should we have multi-cultural homes and make sure that we marry someone of another culture? If not, is there something wrong with us, or are we just not there yet?

..But the ethnic pressure groups and government agencies that favor the current system of preferences have not disbanded -- and they see multiculturalism not as an antidote to patriotism but as the patriotism of an America that is just around the corner.

I'm not sure we should juxtapose multiculturalism and patriotism in this way- only adds to the problem.