Porteroso said:
Oldbear83 said:
Porteroso said:
Redbrickbear said:
Porteroso said:
Johnny Bear said:
Porteroso said:
Johnny Bear said:
parch said:
Realitybites said:
A meritocracy is colorblind and genderblind.
A true meritocracy is, which very clearly didn't exist here for the first 200 years of our country's existence. There have been baked-in, legal impediments to entire swaths of our nation's populace, both in color and gender, from progressing into the highest rungs of the corporate ladder by design. While this is largely no longer the case, the effects of that hugely tilted meritocracy from the roots of the 19th century industrial boom in America are still plainly evident today.
Yes, as a nation no doubt we have some ugly and unfair past history related to the systemic meritocracy, but over the course of the last 6 decades or so as a country we've done about as much to systemically rectify those wrongs and level the playing field for those previously impacted as could be reasonably expected. If the wrongs of the past are still "plainly evident" today it's only because certain elements of our society (i.e. the left) refuse to let go of them and continue to needlessly behave as if they still exist, primarily for political benefit.
DEI itself is based on the false premise that things haven't changed much since the 1950's and superficial things like race and gender have to be prioritized over merit to even the playing field. Ironically it's diametrically opposed to what MLK and his movement fought for which was a country where things like race and gender would have no bearing whatsoever - and pure merit would be the deciding factor. That's the way MLK wanted it and that's the way it should be.
That is an over simplification of what MLK said, and besides, he is not the final word on race relations in the U.S.
No, it's actually a good boiled down summary of what the 60's Civil Rights movement was trying to accomplish. And I never said or implied MLK was the "final word" on U.S. race relations. He was, however, an important change agent leader and champion of establishing equality (which is different from equity) that ultimately accomplished his goal despite not being able to live to see it.
You'd have to read these things for yourself, but this idea of a total meritocracy where we truly don't see color of skin was not what the civil rights movement boiled down to at all.
What would you say was the civil rights movement then?
If it was not done to create a race neutral meritocracy then the American people got played….
Read Dr. King's speeches. Race neutral is not the same as color blind. We will never be color blind, we are people not robots.
That is word salad in the context of this thread.
I think he was talking about life being race neutral, but not expecting America to become color blind. Does that make sense? He did use the term color blind, but if you dig into his speeches, it was more complex than wanting a color blind meritocracy.
Of course he was not advocating for racism as Kai suggests, that is ridiculous.
** sigh **
Look, on the one hand it's true that people can have complex opinions, especially in a time of crisis and change as when Dr. King lived and worked.
That said, his legacy was carefully crafted and built on the narrative of, as he said so famously, that his children and white children should all be judged by the character of their hearts, not the color of their skin.
Call that meritocracy, call it 'race neutral', call it 'colorblind', in practical terms it clearly means that Race should
not influence, much less decide, employment, rights, or worth as a person.
An ideal which the Democrats abandoned long ago.
That which does not kill me, will try again and get nastier