Some Intelligence Still Exists

Amid all the racial and class paternalism at FreeDartmouth, often endemic to left leaning discussions of race, class and 'affirmative' 'action', Nic and Scott bring up some great points.

Tom Sowell award for deprogramming nominee; Nic: "It doesn't matter where Stefan grew up or went to school, and it speaks poorly of you that you sling around demographic statistics about his hometown as if they were relevant facts. The same arguments have been made by conservative black thinkers like Thomas Sowell who really did pull themselves up by the good old bootstraps. To dismiss Stefan as an overprivileged white kid demeans the whole discussion -- should overprivileged white guys be prohibited from arguing against affirmative action, but overprivileged, guilt-plagued liberal white guys are allowed to defend any affirmative action policy without being attacked? Or are you arguing that only racial minorities may have an opinion about affirmative action without bias?"

Scott: "Conservatives have no other outlet for their ideas since the Review has made itself so irrelevant in recent years. They are publishing only once in a blue moon and have made so many ridiculously callous and racist comments over the years that it has alienated many conservatives such that writing for the D is their only recourse."

This would also be very true. Having some (religious, fiscal, and social) conservative freinds, many have expressed the consensus that not only is the Review going downhill, it is disgraceful to appear in it. The Review, in its incarnation last term at least, reminded me more of 'Happy Hour/ Story Time with Larry' combined with juvenile libertarianism in the field of private morality, reactionary rightist slander in matters concerning public activism and college spending (not all of their critiques were misguided), and conservatism in the field of monetary policy. I do not want to convey the image of disdain for those who write and are active participants in the Review. I just believe the paper is sophmoric at best-- and is quickly being outpaced by the Free Press. Being non-partisan myself or at worst, a center-rightist (don't cringe Tim, Laura, Karsten: it's true :o) ), I would like to think that I could make an intelligent argument in any of the papers for which I chose to write. In fact I have published in all three and wanted to publish another article on Israel in the Free Press, that I never found time to write, much to Scott's consternation.


Posted by John Stevenson at 9:46 AM |