WyBlog

Shirley Sherrod, the NAACP, and affirmative action

What to make of Shirley Sherrod? Now that the full story is out, is she a "racist"?

No. But she is a product of our nation's obsession with race, and a symptom of the divisions emphasized by affirmative action. The real "crime" during Ms. Sherrod's speech to the NAACP isn't so much what she said, but how the crowd reacted to her words. The all-black audience clapped and nodded enthusiasticly as she spoke of not wanting to help a poor white farmer.

Because the Gospel According to Affirmative Action requires that even underserving blacks must always be given preferential treatment, ahead of any whites. Affirmative Action is not meant to promote a meritocracy. It isn't about equality at all.

And Shirley Sherrod is merely a cog in its machinery. Her actions were not born out of malice toward whites or any emnity aimed at that poor white farmer. She merely followed the Affirmative Action Playbook to the letter. It has institutionalized the notion that whites don't need help because decades of systemic racism and discrimination have given each and every one of them an almost insurmountable advantage.

This belief system isn't really "racism" as it is commonly understood. I'd say it's "racialism", the promotion of one race over another. The NAACP has transformed from an organization seeking racial equality into champions of black supremacy. Which has now proven to be singularly unhelpful in promoting unity and racial harmony.

Posted at 12:42 by Chris Wysocki   [/rants]   Comments | Archived | Perm Link |
Technorati Tags: Shirley-Sherrod NAACP racism   |   Tweet