Saturday, August 20, 2016

THE OLYMPICS AND AFFIRMATIVE ACTION

What if the Japanese men in the 4x100 meter relay were given just a quarter second advantage because historically Jamaicans and Americans tend to win this event. I mean, with outcome based thinking, it must be racism that prevented the Japanese from winning. Therefore, they deserve that ¼ second to level the playing field. No such thing..  The Japanese men kept working at it and made handing off the baton a thing of perfection.  WITHOUT any special treatment, they came within .23 second of beating Usain Bolt and the fabled Jamaican four.  They were sure proud of that silver medal. They EARNED it.   With that ¼ second handicap they would actually have BEATEN Jamaica.  How hollow would that victory be? How put out would the Jamaicans have been?


What is Simone Biles were given a point or two because historically most gymnastic winners were not black? Do you think the response to her winning would have been remotely like the celebrations that ensured with her awesome performances that were the result of hard work and being better than anyone else?  Do you think her teammates would have been as warm to her?

How about basketball?  Men of color routinely win these games.  TO be fait, should not teams from white countries start off with 5 or ten points to “level the playing field”.  I mean, with outcome-based thinking, it must be racism against whites  that caused the disparity. What other explanation could there be?

Well, people around the world love the Olympics because it is PURE COMPETITION. May the BEST PERSON win.  No excuses, no handicaps as in casual golf matches to make the round more interesting, and no special treatment.

So why then in OTHER areas of life do people feel compelled to change the rules because all groups do not seem to win proportionally? 

When affirmative action was first sold as a concept, it was not what it is today. It basically said that if two people were essentially equal, give preference to the minority person to increase representation.  It was changed to the degree that MASSIVE handicaps are give out so that a minority student who would qualify for a good school like Bucknell or Lafayette gets into Harvard, despite having lower SAT’s and measurable achievement tha hards of whites rejected by Harvard.  Caloifornia found that PERFORMANCE of those admitted above what objective criteria would predict was subpar and many did not finish.  The conclusion was that the same students would have flourished if properly placed.

I remember when at Rensselaer a young black student named Tony lived next door to my dorm room and was studying engineering.  He was extremely bright as were all the students at Rensselaer. The average math SAT was in the 700’s, and that as log before they “recentered” the scores that added dozens of points for the same aptitude level.  Some people thought he was there because he was black and boy did that make him mad! It should have! He was there because he EARNED it.  I cannot imagine how it would feel to be black and have ALL your achievements, ALL your success written off because people thought you had special treatment.  Same principle as the Olympics.

My sons are biracial and both have achieved remarkable success because of hard work and skill.   One owns an insurance agency and is the second highest commercial producer in the four state territory of Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey and Connecticut.  The other is climbing the ladder at Johnson and Johnson with a recent promotion and a multi-state territory is Veterinary Orthopedic Pharmaceuticals.  My older son heard about a 50k grant he would qualify for.  He said, “Dad, I need to do it myself.”  Contrary to the vapid mutterings of Barack who thinks nobody can achieve  anything without the government, he worked like a dog, learned from more experienced people, and is wise is how he deals with prospects with methods he is now being asked to share.  I cannot imagine how different my sons would feel if they had been handed something they did not deserve and were constantly being reminded of it.   We see BLM at elite colleges, and demands for segregated dorms and everything else – it IS painful to not be respected However, respect has to be EARNED, and unfortunately, liberals do not respect those whose votes they take for granted. 

I wish EVERY Black person heard Trump’s Michigan speech which mirrored the “Hillary’s America” movie.  Who wants to be used?  Who wants to be taken for granted?  Unfortunately, under-achievers who refuse to put out the extreme effort needed to succeed gravitate to these folks. They want the easy way, and they do not have self-respect.

Two examples from my own life – one that shows what not to do and the other WHAT to do.

Our church has a Boy’s Brigade Program.  I was serious about it. In fact, I was only the second boy in New Jersey to end up winning the “Herald of Christ” award,   It was tons of work – athletic improvement, Bible study and memorization, term papers, outdoor skills, building a model hoe complete with electric lighting and a remote controlled garage door and car (I used a 1964 1/2 Mustang – wish I could find it).   As I was working hard toward the goal, the Captain told me he was promoting one of the black boys who came to be squad leader over me in order to get him >more interested”.  A total disregard for the achievement based program.  The boy could not have cared less and did not value the position because he knew he did not deserve it because he had done nothing
In the program to qualify for it.  He did not last long and eventually just dropped out.  You are not helping anybody by giving them something they do not deserve. They will disrespect you for it if not outright hate you.

As an architect I was competing for a major community center in the Hispanic Community.  It was a difficult adaptive reuse requiring lots of technical experience from a very experienced person. I found out one of my competitors was the HIGHEST-RANKING Hispanic Architectural firm in the city who was justly revered for excellent design.  I figured it might be fruitless even if I offered a price advantage because of the pride and achievement they could offer the community.  I won the project. One of the people on the selection committee told me that they hired me because I was smaller, more hands-on, and I would give the project more personal attention than the principals from the other, better-known firms could offer.  They acted in their self-interest, and the project was a success.  The Hispanic firm did other work in the area, which was excellent.  The client acted in their self-interest and gave no advantage simply over ethnicity.

I see nothing wrong in choosing a minority firm over an equally qualified majority one to help out.  I look for firms like that, but do not give extra points or make excuses if they do not measure up.  The best way to improve is to work hard to gain success.  I have duly noted that minority firms who play the AA and quota games almost never mature.  They get “set-asides” and earn money for very often giving the work to majority workers living off the mark-ups and profits.   When they bid for private work with no minority requirements, their prices are high and not realistic.  If you get work you do not qualify for, there is no incentive to improve, hone your skills, and learn how to compete in today’s economy.  It also removes all respect even from those hiring you because they see it as charity and not a normal business relationship.

I applaud minority and female firms who achieve based upon skill and hard work, and they justly deserve the accolades they received.  I urge others, though, to maintain pure competition, offer no excuses, and do not reward people for games rather than achievement.  The Japanese men almost won gold because of their hard work.  Everyone CAN win – but we must make sure that win because they are the BEST, not because of the color of their skin or any other factor. Men must be judged NOT by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.  We have had a disastrous presidency since 2008 of a man with radical background, corrupt mentoring, and with no real qualifications for the job.  His career was causing division and conflict as a community organizer, and RACISM resulted in him being elected.  He was not properly vettd, he did not even have to produce a non-forged birth certificate, and the press handled him with kid gloves SIMPLY BECAUSE OF THE COLOR OF HIS SKIN.  The vapid GOP congress was largely hands-off as well, letting him commit over 100 impeachable offenses.  He keeps getting worse and worse, dividing the  nation, importing our enemies, criticizing our patriots, even calling for $10,000 fines for asking people to recite the Pledge of Allegiance (we know HE never meant it the few times he muttered it).  That is the end result of Affirmative Action and it is not pretty.

Let’s be ore like the Olympics.  If a man or woman wins, they win.  Period.


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