AA=African American, Affirmative Action or Both?

In November of 2007 when Michelle Obama sat down with MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski and exhorted black Americans to wake up and vote for her husband, she said a curious thing:

Black America will wake up and get it, but what we’re dealing with in the black community is just the natural fear of possibility, ok and when I look at my life, you know the stuff that we see in these polls has played out my whole life and I’ve always been told by someone that I’m not ready that I can’t do something, my scores weren’t high enough, you know there’s always that doubt in the back of the minds of people of color, people who have been oppressed, who have never been given the real opportunities that you never really believe, that you believe somehow that somehow someone is better than you, you know deep down inside you doubt that you can really do this cause that’s all you’ve been told is no, wait, that’s all you hear and you hear it from people who love you  not because they don’t care about you but because they’re afraid. They’re afraid something might happen to you.

What did she mean, her “scores weren’t high enough?”  Was she under-qualified to be admitted to Princeton?  Did she get in through Affirmative Action?  (After reading the sentence structure of the above quote, I’d guess, yes, if indeed she went at all.)  In the same article, she mentions that her father put her through college, but at the end of her schooling she and her husband had a combined loan debt greater than their mortgage.  Now, I could not care less about the Obama’s finances, but it seems clear that they did not rely on scholarships.  So the question is, how did a working class black couple qualify for admittance to the toniest schools in the country when at least one of them admits she didn’t have the scores?

Barack Obama’s grades and scores are a bit of a mystery.  Though I have looked online for definitive answers, none were found.  How did he get into college?

Let me say this, if either or both of the Obama’s reaped the benefits of Affirmative Action, I say, good for them.  Whether this legislation has been a boon for black people has long been highly debated in some circles, but to my mind it would be a disaster to lose it.  How ironic, then, that Obama’s candidacy just might be the catalyst that brings such a result to reality. Notre Dame political science professor Darren Davis sees it this way:

“Basically, on every racial issue Barack Obama is walking the tightrope,” Davis says. “The more he supports traditional black issues like affirmative action, the more that will eat into his white base of support.”

That may or may not be true, but how can a man, who has exploited a program for his own benefit, argue against it for political purposes?  Doesn’t this turn a simple balancing act into a combat-boot clad, attempted floor exercise on a tightrope, over a minefield?

Race? What Else You Got?

If you’re Barack Obama, not much.  Oh, some might call you a great speaker,

while others might be more impressed with your accomplishments.

But the truth of the matter is, you’re black.  Now, personally, I think you should cut it out.  I’m not kidding.  You should just stop being black so people could stop talking about it.  Over and over and over again.  So, c’mon, Barack, enough with the black thing already.  Would you please just do something, anything, anything at all?  Huh?

Oh, well, I didn’t think so.

PUMA

Just Say No Deal

Bounced

Have you ever gone to a party that got a little out of hand, so you and your friends were asked to leave?  It might not even have been your fault, maybe one of the people you were with got into a hotly contested game of oh, say, Scrabble, and tempers flared over a challenge to the word…”globsmuck.”  Now, you and most of the other people observing the game know that “globsmuck” is not a word, but the guy who used it (who you never liked anyway) would have gotten a lot of points and won the game if it had gone unchallenged.  But it was challenged because the smarmy guy who made it had a reputation for making up words in Scrabble and always refused to back down.  “It’s in the Scrabble dictionary!” he was known to exclaim, knowing full well that the only dictionary available would likely be a ratty old Funk and Wagnalls.  In fact, some people would swear that he was not above hiding a Webster’s or two before an anticipated game, if need be.  So, figurative lines would be drawn in the carpet, and after all the heated words were exchanged, all the accusations made, all the fingers pointed, (causing marginal friends to almost come to blows) some people would start heading for the exits.  At which point the hostess (who was, of course, dating the Scrabble guy) would proclaim “globsmuck” to indeed be a word, awarding him additional double-word points and causing the challenger to forfeit her turn.  (And giving time and cover enough for him to slip the tiles he had earlier palmed back in the bag.)  The hostess/girlfriend would then declare the cheater the victor before asking the challenger’s friends to leave.

Fast forward a few minutes to the scene on the front lawn of the party site, where all the dis-invitees would be milling about and commiserating before getting in their cars.  These angry, grumbling, former party-goers might well spend a little time grousing about being cheated, then unceremoniously tossed out, before deciding to reassemble at one of their numbers’ home to have their own, more harmonious, party.  However, some might decide that their former friends were not only wrong about the Scrabble rules interpretations, they had no right to put anybody out in the first place, since the challenger was the hostess’ roommate and thus, wasn’t even one of the people on the lawn!  And “globsmuck” is not a word! At this point, a number of the lawn gatherers just might decide to march right back inside and force the Scrabble cheaters to play fair.  Some might demand that the cheater’s girlfriend’s roommate come with them to the new party.  Others might even want the challenger to move out altogether.  No matter which course of action individual members of the the bounced coalition ultimately decided to pursue, they would all probably remain united in spirit against the Scrabble cheater, his suck-up friends who co-signed his cheating (since they conveniently said they couldn’t find a Scrabble dictionary) and his big mouthed, know-it-all girlfriend, whether they really liked her roommate or not.

Donna, PUMAs don’t care what your Mama taught you, “globsmuck” is not a word, and the problem is not with your roomie, it’s you and your lousy, Scrabble cheating boyfriend.  So, don’t expect us to bring presents to your stupid wedding, even if you do manage to strong-arm your roommate into being your maid of honor.

PUMA

Just Say No Deal