Martin Luther King, Jr., prejudice, and Frank Bruni

My response to Frank Bruni’s “An Abominations. A Monster. That’s Me”.http://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/09/opinion/sunday/villifying-white-men.html?comments#permid=25166570

Martin Luther King, Jr. must be spinning in his grave:

"When we are judged not by the color of our skin but the content of our character."

Why we have our electoral mess

"As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy. Whatever differs from this, to the extent of the difference, is no democracy." Attributed to Abraham Lincoln, supposedly in 1858.  See http://quod.lib.umich.edu/l/lincoln/lincoln2/1:547?rgn=div1;view=fulltext.

The electoral college was one of the Constitutional stratagems slave owners used to protect themselves from the North taking away their slaves.  Another was counting slaves as three-fifths persons. This increased the number of representatives they got far beyond the number of actual voters.  Also basing the Senate on states rather than population, these less-populated states further increased their furtive power grab.

By increasing their relative state power in presidential elections, they hoped they could keep the end of slavery at bay.

They unleashed a long bloody war to protect this despicable practice. Unfortunately, they forgot the Constitutional provision that Congress could call out the militia to suppress insurrections.  (In our own time, Congress seemed to forget this provision in dealing with the Bundys.)

So, the Electoral College differs from democracy and the five victories because of the Electoral College in our country's history have differed from democracy.  Poor Abe must be spinning in his grave, especially when the descendants of the slave owners have taken over his party.  Poor Abe must be spinning in his grave, especially when the descendants of the slave owners have taken over his party.

See also "More on the Electoral College".

Diversity Revisited

In reviewing yesterday's use of my blog and web site, I saw that there were three hits on http://www.cpinternet/~mdmagree.diversity_2001-03-08.html.  It's web title is "I Hate Diversity" and was originally published in the Reader Weekly as "One little, two little, three little Representatives" almost eleven years ago.

I didn't write it against diversity itself; my whole life has been diverse in the people I've known.  I wrote it against the bean counter approach to diversity; there has to be so many women, so many people of color, so many …  I don't give two hoots whether the people I associate with are purple or orange.

Time for a diversionary chuckle.  I think Bill Cosby told this story.  A school bus driver got tired of the squabbling between white and black kids.  He stopped the bus and told each kid alternately that they were purple or orange, independently of their skin color.  When done he went to the front of the bus and told all the orange kids to go to the back of the bus.

Maybe you think this is just another example of racism.  I think it is a good example of the arbitrariness of people who make judgments based on skin color or other external, non-relevant factors.  "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

Who I am interested in are people who share some of my interests.  Not lock step agreement, but enough overlap that we can have a pleasant conversation.  This was highlighted by a chance meeting at our neighborhood bus stop.

When we arrived at our neighborhood bus stop, a black gentleman was waiting in the shelter.  I had never seen him before.  We said "Good morning" and he replied equally cheerfully.  The three of us started a conversation.  When the bus arrived, my wife got on the bus and the other man and I still in conversation got into a "Aprés vous, Gaston!  Mais non, aprés vous, Alphonse" moment.  Then I realized I should be following my wife and got on.

We continued our conversation to our stop.  It was mostly about a lecture we had attended last night; he had wanted to go but had another commitment.

My wife knew him by reputation, but I don't think I had ever heard of him before.

I looked him up on the web this afternoon, and no surprise, I learned he had a different take on the "Unfair" campaign.  I don't care; he's an interesting person and I hope to meet him again at the next lecture in the series.  I won't give you his name; I don't want to embarrass him.