“Passing” In the 21st Century
31st October 2021
John Hinderaker at Power Line.
A central tenet of Critical Race Theory is that America’s institutions are “systemically” rigged to favor white people. POCs just can’t catch up, no matter what they do. Of course, if that were true it would be hard to explain why whites rank only 17th in median income, trailing such allegedly oppressed groups as Lebanese, Iranian, Pakistani, Syrian, Ghanian and Nigerian Americans, as well, of course, as Indian-Americans, whose median income is close to double that of whites. But devotees of Critical Race Theory have never worried much about facts.
Then, too, we have the phenomenon of whites pretending to be people of color. If it is a crippling drawback to be Native American, why did Elizabeth Warren pretend to be one? Everyone knows the answer to that question–affirmative action–but somehow, it is improper to mention it in polite society. Everyone who applies for anything knows that it is a help, not a hindrance, to be a minority. Or, in more up-to-date jargon–I’m not kidding–to have been “minoritized.”