minority life Archives - Memos and Mirth

The Supreme Court said it best

October 21, 2009

Next time I consider writing a race-based post I am just going to look for Supreme Court opinions on point.

From today’s Conlaw reading:

Adarand Constructors v. Pena, 515 U.S. 200, 241 (U.S. 1995)
(STEVENS, J., dissenting). It is also true that “remedial” racial preferences may reflect “a desire to foster equality in society,” But there can be no doubt that racial paternalism and its unintended consequences can be as poisonous and pernicious as any other form of discrimination.
So-called “benign” discrimination teaches many that because of chronic and apparently immutable handicaps, minorities cannot compete with them without their patronizing indulgence.
Inevitably, such programs engender attitudes of superiority or, alternatively, provoke resentment among those who believe that they have been wronged by the government’s use of race. These programs stamp minorities with a badge of inferiority and may cause them to develop dependencies or to adopt an attitude that they are “entitled” to preferences.

And,

Grutter v. Bollinger, 539 U.S. 306, 349 (U.S. 2003)
(SCALIA) Still other suits may challenge the bona fides of the institution’s expressed commitment to the educational benefits of diversity that immunize the discriminatory scheme in Grutter. (Tempting targets, one would suppose, will be those universities that talk the talk of multiculturalism and racial diversity in the courts but walk the walk of tribalism and racial segregation on their campuses–through minority-only student organizations, separate minority housing opportunities, separate minority student centers, even separate minority-only graduation ceremonies.)