Presented to an enthusiastic audience at The Villages Philosophy Club on 22 November 2019.
Martin Luther King "I Have a Dream …"
In his famous 1963 speech, Martin Luther King said:“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.”The 1964 Civil Rights Act, passed by a strong bi-partisan majority, 61% of Democrats (152-96) and 80% of Republicans (138-34) states:
“all persons must be treated equally without regard to their race, color, or national origin.”In recent times, these noble American ideals (judge by character not skin color, and without regard to race, color, or national origin) have been perverted by excessive regard for race, sex, nationality, gender, and other characteristics that have absolutely no bearing on the ability of any person to do any job. (An I have a DNA test that indicates I’m (hashtag) #NativeAmericanToo).
Racism and Sexism Are Evil
Discrimination AGAINST an INDIVIDUAL due to their RACE, SEX, ETHICITY or GENDER Is WRONG. [PERIOD]Therefore, “Reverse Discrimination” FOR an Individual because they happen to be a member of a statistically under-represented RACE, SEX, ETHNICITY or GENDER group is also WRONG. [PERIOD]
The correct focus is on EQUAL OPPORTUNITY, not EQUAL OUTCOMES!
Pitting the "WOKE" against the "DEPLORABLES" is tearing America apart!
“Politically Correct” = Slavishly “Follow the Party Line”
According to Wikipedia, Political Correctness "was originally used disparagingly by Socialists against Communists" (who dogmatically defended the “party line” set by their Russian Commissar masters).The pre-WWII US Communist “party line” oscillated wildly:
- 1935: Opposition to President Roosevelt as a harbinger of American fascism
- 1936: Support for President Roosevelt’s call for democratic alliance against Hitler
- 1939: Immediately after the Nazi-Soviet (Molotov-Ribbentrop) Pact, where the Nazis and Soviets jointly agreed to invade and divide Poland, US Communists denounced President Roosevelt as a warmonger for Lend-Lease Aid to Britain
- 1941: Immediately after the Nazis attacked the Soviet Union, US Communists called for President Roosevelt to aid the Allies in every way possible!
"The notion of political correctness has ignited controversy across the land. And although the movement arises from the laudable desire to sweep away the debris of racism and sexism and hatred, it replaces old prejudice with new ones. It declares certain topics off-limits, certain expression off-limits, even certain gestures off-limits.
Chopsticks
I grew up in Brooklyn in the 1940's and 1950's. My Dad was a letter carrier and we lived in a second-floor walk-up three-room apartment. I shared the single bedroom with my younger brother and my parents slept on a fold-out convertible couch. We didn't have a lot of money, however, every month or two Dad would take us to a Chinese restaurant for a special treat - a meal with waiter service, a tablecloth, and reasonable price. We did not use chopsticks.In 1971, when I was married and we had kids of our own, then Secretary of State Henry Kissinger made his famous secret trip to Communist China. A year later, President Nixon opened relations by travelling to Beijing himself.
Thanks to Kissinger, Our Family Became "Expert" With Chopsticks
To celebrate the event (and make some money no doubt) the Chung King Corporation, purveyor of canned Chinese food, provided chopsticks and coupons to students at the elementary school our kids attended. Of course, we used those coupons and chopsticks! We purchased chopsticks for the whole family and became “expert” at their use.The Chinese-American Engineer
In 1973: IBM Federal Systems Division (FSD) hired a Chinese-American engineer. I originally met him when he was in the Air Force and I was working for FSD (Owego, NY) on the AC-130 "Pave Spectre" Gunship project. He was a very good engineer and I was happy we hired him. After he joined our company we worked in the same department and my wife and I invited him and his wife to our home and they invited us to theirs.When his parents came to Owego from their home in Hawaii, we were introduced to them and they gave me a nice bag of macadamia nuts. Delightful people! It turned out they were quite wealthy and he had a privileged upbringing in Honolulu, where he had attended a private high school.
On a business trip to Philadelphia – I showed him how to use public transportation and Chopsticks!
Being in Philadelphia, I wanted to visit the historic area near Independence Hall, where the U.S. Declaration of Independence and Constitution were written. Of course, we had a rental car, but I knew it would be much more convenient to use public transportation because we would not have to maneuver in the crowded downtown area and park the car.
He was somewhat hesitant about public transit but I convinced him I was something of an expert, having grown up in Brooklyn when our family did not have a car. Trolleys, buses, elevated trains, and subways were the only option we had to get around. (I pride myself on being able to figure out any public transit system because I used the subway to get to Brooklyn Technical High School and the City College of New York. I've used public transit in Washington DC, Boston, San Francisco, Chicago, Toronto, London, Paris, and, most recently, Shanghai!)
After a nice tour of Independence Hall, I suggested we have dinner at a Chinese restaurant in that area. Of course, I used chopsticks. He seemed hesitant. However, given my expert instruction, he was soon using them with considerable skill. (In these "politically correct" times I guess what I did might be considered “cultural appropriation”. However, at the time, I was blind to that concept, and, even now, I can't understand why any person who respectfully and positively makes use of aspects of a nationality different from their own should be ashamed.)
Recruiting Trip for IBM
In the mid-1970's, IBM sent me on a recruiting trip to the University of Michigan to interview soon-to-graduate engineering students. There were about a half-dozen IBM engineers in our group, including the Chinese-American engineer I've been writing about, plus a guy from the IBM Human Resources Department.To start us off, the HR guy told us we would each interview about a dozen applicants, and we could invite one or two of them for an expense-paid trip to New York if they were very good and had at least a certain GPA.
We had to fill out a form for each applicant. The HR guy pointed out a blank area at the top of the form where we were required to enter a RACE CODE for each applicant, along with a code for their NATIONALITY as well as their SEX!
The HR guy provided the following CODE numbers: 1) American Indian, 2) Asian, 3) African, and 4) White. We had to note whether or not the applicant had a Hispanic surname, and if they were Male or Female. He told us NOT to let the applicants know we were coding them or ask them for help in any way.
The only additional instruction he provided was: “Eskimos are Indians, Indians from India are White. Use your best judgement on Sex [Laughter].”
Then, he added that the minimum GPA did not apply to "females and minorities" who could be invited to a New York interview if they has a GPA lower than that specified for White males!
I was surprised and a bit upset they were asking a bunch of engineers to classify applicants on their race and national origin. I have no idea what an American Indian looks like (much less an Eskimo :^), nor am I confident of my ability to distinguish a Hispanic surname from Italian or Romanian. I also did not like the idea of treating "females and minorities" differently from White Males. However, I'm the kind of employee who "goes along to get along" and I didn't make a fuss.
It turned out all the applicants I interviewed looked like White males, and that is how I coded them.
I Discover That IBM Secretly Coded ME and Other Employees!
As we prepared to leave, I looked through all the paperwork Human Resources had provided. One sheet was a list of our group of recruiters and it included my name, the names of the other recruiters, and the name of the HR guy.I noticed code number next to my name, classifying me as a White, non-Hispanic Male! I checked next to the name of my Chinese-American colleague, and he was classified as an Asian, non-Hispanic Male!
It dawned on me that IBM had classified me and all other employees by RACE, NATIONALITY, and SEX, and had done so secretly, without notice or permission.
I make no secret of the fact I'm Jewish, but I'd be furious if that fact was coded into my employment record at IBM! The idea that some IBM executive could enter a computer request and get a list of all Jewish employees, and possibly use that list for special treatment of Jews concerns me greatly.
Race, National Origin and Sex As Factors For Promotion To Management
When I returned to our New York work location I noticed that IBM was doing exactly that with computer records. Anytime a management job came available, HR would run a computer search to discover any "female or minority" who had worked in any department close to that management opening. They would interview each person so identified and, if there was any possibility that person was even minimally qualified, they would offer them a management assignment!IBM FSD was dependent upon government contracts and had to regularly report how we were doing in promoting employees from "under-represented" race, nationality, and sex groups. I believe management was under pressure to meet certain quotas and that getting the right "diversity" numbers was a factor used by the government in awarding competitive contracts.
Throughout my remaining years at the Owego location, I noticed “females and minorities” preferentially promoted to management. Some of those preferentially promoted to management, including the Chinese-American I've written about above, as well as a female engineer whose work I respected, turned out to be pretty good managers and rapidly moved up the ranks to higher positions as second- and third-level managers, and higher executive positions. Some did excellent work, but others were not very good at management.
Preference for certain members of "under-represented" race, ethnicity, and sex groups was an open secret. I have to admit that any time I was introduced to a "female or minority" engineer or manager, I wondered if they were really qualified.
Early in my IBM career I was given technical leadership assignments, such as Principal Investigator on several Independent Research and Development projects, and having responsibility for the Technical Volume of some Contract Proposals. I was promoted from Associate Engineer to Staff Engineer and, finally, Senior Engineer which was the highest a non-manager could go. I gave up on any possibility I might be promoted to Management.
Chinese Buses and Blacks Using Chopsticks!
I want to end this "Chopsticks" section on a positive note, so let us consider the wonderful "Chinese Buses" and how those vehicles, along with Kissinger, Nixon, and me, may be responsible if you happen to be in a Chinese restaurant and see a young Black family using chopsticks! (Say what???)A few years after the awful "9-11" attacks on the World Trade Center my wife and I were visiting our oldest daughter and her family in Andover, MA. I told her I wanted to do a day-trip to New York City and pay my respects to the 3,000 victims of that tragic event. My daughter recommended that I use the Chinese Buses!
It turns out that the Chinese run inexpensive buses between Chinatowns all along the eastern seaboard, from Boston to New York to Philadelphia to Washington DC! They keep costs down by stopping at Chinese groceries and restaurants along the way, avoiding the costs imposed by major, city- and state-owned bus terminals. (Who knew??? Well, my daughter for one!)
So, early one morning my daughter drove me to a Chinese grocery in a neighboring town. I bought my ticket and, sure enough, right on schedule a very large, modern, and extraordinarily clean bus pulled up. The driver and about half the passengers were Asian.
After a couple more pick-up stops, the bus got on the highway and speeded us towards New York City's Chinatown, making one rest stop at a McDonalds along the way, where I grabbed my lunch.
As you may know, Chinatown is in an area of narrow and congested streets near the tip of Manhattan. As we approached the Big City I heard the driver speaking, in Chinese, to other drivers about the best route to our destination.
The bus dropped us off at a Chinese store near Canal Street, a pretty easy walk to the World Trade Center site, which, at the time, was still a gaping hole in the ground. After paying my respects, I took the subway to my old alma matter, City College. I took an IND subway train up to the 125th Street station. (I say the "IND" because, for me, the New York subway system will always be the BMT, IND, and IRT. The IND and BMT systems have been combined and the routes are now designated by letters. The IRT system, which uses a narrower track gauge, uses numbers to designate routes.)
125th Street is the "Main Street" of Harlem. As I had done so often during my student years, I walked up Amsterdam Avenue and looked at the buildings, some old and familiar, others new, and I entered some to look around. I was surprised that all building entrances were manned by uniformed guards who checked my driver's license before letting me in. The other surprise was that the lobby of Shepard Hall seemed quite a bit smaller than I remembered.
My last stop was the Student Union at which I purchased a CCNY cap and a sweat shirt with a hoodie in our school colors (Lavender). Then, I walked to the 137th Street station of the IRT subway and took a train to the 42nd Street station, and walked around the Times Square area and Broadway.
I took a BMT train from there down to the Canal Street station near Chinatown and was an hour early for my bus. Great! Time to catch a Chinese meal. The restaurant I chose was a buffet where you load your plate and pay according to how much it weighs.
My food weighed and paid, I looked for a place to sit, but all the tables were occupied! No problem. I found a two-top with an available seat and asked the woman sitting there if it was OK for me to join her. She said "yes"!
It turned out she worked for the New York City Transit Authority and her job was to gather passenger statistics. That week, she had been assigned to the Canal Street station and was on her dinner break from collecting evening data.
She noticed I was using chopsticks and asked about them. I grabbed a pair for her and, in short order, showed her how to use them. Since I'm an "expert" at chopsticks instruction, she was soon using them like a pro. As she left, she grabbed three more pairs of chopsticks and told me she intended to give them to her children and show them how to use them.
This was about a dozen years ago, so her kids are probably grown up by now and may have children of their own. So, if you happen to be in a Chinese restaurant and see a young Black family eating with chopsticks, you can credit Kissinger, Nixon, me, and the Chinese Buses!
Darwin’s Theory “Survival of the Fittest”
A short summary of Darwin's Theory is that it is based on:EVOLUTION
and NATURAL SELECTION
of the FITTEST GENES and MEMES
for SURVIVAL and REPRODUCTION
in the CHANGING ENVIRONMENT.
A short explanation is that the process involves:
Continual variation and
Competitive choice
of the Best adapted Units of Biological and Social organization
that Promote successive generations
in the Continually evolving world
of competitive organisms and societies, … agriculture, industry, technology, climate ...
Racism: We are TRIBAL by NATURE
Tribalism has been “baked into” our Genes and Memes for ages. Hominids with human-sized brains have been on Earth for about 200,000 years.When we were Hunter-Gatherers, Hostile humans were a greater threat and more dangerous than wild animals. When a band of Hunter-Gatherers ran into another band, they had mere seconds to recognize small differences in appearance, dress, and language/accent as keys to whether they were friend or foe.
When humans invented agriculture, we moved into more or less stable Agricultural Settlements. Adjacent Tribes had to fight against other Tribes for resources. One Tribe would dominate another or adjacent Tribes would come to an agreement on mutually-beneficial trade and sharing. Groups of aligned Tribes would trade with each other and compete with other Tribal Groups in adjacent valleys or across the river, etc. Again, the ability to instantly identify friend or foe by appearance, dress, and language/accent was a life or death matter.
With the advent of Nation States, alliances and conflicts grew larger in scale, with more complex structures of government over wider areas within a Nation State. Again, Nation States would dominate their neighbors or form cooperative Alliances of Nation States for mutually-beneficial trade and to protect against or dominate other Alliances. This lead to mutually-beneficial trade over larger areas, including International and Inter-Continental trade. Nation States extended their power by invading or colonizing far-off areas and reaping the rewards of World-wide Trade and the danger and destruction of World Wars. Masses of people immigrated to far-away Nations.
In modern times, we see Racial and Ethnic neighborhoods in cities, “Red” and “Blue” Counties, “Purple” States and 24-hour News.
SEX: “There once was a man from Racine …”
Remember this ditty?There once was a man from Racine / Who invented a screwing machine.
Both concave and convex / It could serve either sex. / Enjoying itself in-between!
“Sex” = “Birth Sex” = “Plumbing”
FEMALE SEX – Concave plumbing: seat-down in rest rooms.This leads to a preference for PRIVATE toilets, showers and dressing rooms.
Females have a LARGE INVESTMENT per child, supplying the eggs, nutrition, and infant care. They may have no more than 1 pregnancy per year. That leads their “Selfish Genes” to seek SELECTIVE sexuality QUALITY OVER QUANTITY
MALE SEX – Convex plumbing: seat-up and seat-down in rest rooms (But mostly up!).
This leads to a preference for GROUP urinals, showers and dressing rooms where they may “let it all hang out”.
Males have a SMALL INVESTMENT per child, with millions of sperm cells per ejaculation. They may have a nearly unlimited number of pregnancies per year. That leads their “Selfish Genes” to seek AGGRESSIVE sexuality QUANTITY OVER QUALITY
The Average MALE is TWO STANDARD DEVIATIONS TALLER than the Average FEMALE.
This is a fact that has consequences! The graphic below shows what mathematicians call a "Normal" Curve (also known as a "Bell Curve" due to its shape). This type of curve is typical for measurements such as height and IQ. A key element is what is called the "STANDARD DEVIATION" denoted by the Greek letter "σ" (sigma). For human height, 1σ = 2.5".As the graphic below indicates, 68.2% (a bit over 2/3) of the adult Male or Female population fits within +1σ and -1σ limits for that sex. Thus, Males between the height of 5'6.5" and 5'11.5" are considered to be of "NORMAL MALE" height, and Females between 5'1" and 5'6.5" are considered to be of "NORMAL FEMALE" height.
Males taller than the +1σ limit (5'11.5") are considered to be "TALL", and those shorter than the -1σ limit (5'6.5") are considered to be "SHORT".
Females taller than the +1σ limit (5'6.5") are considered to be "TALL", and those shorter than the -1σ limit (5'1.5") are considered to be "SHORT".
Thus, a Female that is the same height as a "NORMAL MALE" would be considered a "TALL FEMALE". A Male that is the same height as a "NORMAL FEMALE" would be considered a "SHORT MALE".
Those outside the +1σ and -1σ limits are considered "VERY TALL" or "VERY SHORT", and those outside the +2σ and -2σ limits are considered "EXTREMELY TALL" or "EXTREMELY SHORT".
It is very rare for anyone to be outside the +3σ and -3σ limits. In a crowd of 1000 Males, there would most likely be only one taller than 6'4.5" and only one shorter than 5'1.5". In a crowd of 1000 Females, there would most likely be only one taller than 5'11.5" and only one shorter than 4'8.5".
Imagine a gathering of 2000 adults (1000 Males and 1000 Females) in an auditorium (see graphic below). We ask them to arrange themselves in size-place order, with the shorter ones in front and the taller in back.
If we divide the auditorium in half, there will be about 842 Females and 158 Males in the front half (5/1), and about 842 Males and 158 Females in the back half. Thus, a mere 7.5% AVERAGE difference between Males and Females will be multiplied to over 83%!
The graphic shows the auditorium divided into six sections. The front section contains those between 4'8.5" and 5'1.5", in which we will most likely find 158 Females and only one male! Thus, a mere 7.5% AVERAGE difference between Males and Females will be multiplied to over 99% !
What Do We Mean by “Gender” (As distinguished from “Sex”) ?
“SEX” = PLUMBING – BINARY: FEMALE or MALE [Pronouns are “she, her, hers” vs “he, him, his”]."Gender" is harder to define. It refers to an individual's “gender role” in society.
”Gender” = PERSONAL IDENTITY which may or may not correspond to Birth Sex. “Gender” may be NON-BINARY:
- Male
- Female
- CIS-Gender, where gender matches sex
- TRANS-Gender, where gender is opposite to sex
- A-Gender, where there is no clear relationship between gender and sex [Pronouns are the singular “they, them, their”]…
“Trans-Sexual” Gender Reassignment Surgery and Hormone Therapy may change birth-sex organs to a different gender. However, this process will not significantly alter the male birth-sex height advantage. This creates an issue when an individual whose birth sex is male becomes a trans-sexual female and seeks to compete in female sports leagues. Competitors with a female birth-sex body may object on the basis that the trans-sexual female has the advantage of a male birth-sex body which is likely to be taller and stronger than a female birth-sex body.
Practical System Solutions for Restrooms, Showers, Dressing Rooms
Private (1-person) rest rooms (Home, Doctor's office, Airplane ...) – As a matter of Male courtesy – PUT THE SEAT DOWN!You can estimate: Man’s Age = 10 x (Seat-Up + Urinals) / Seat-Down
MENS FACILITIES – Designed for convex Male plumbing. Allow Females with concave plumbing to share facilities if they are OK with Males “letting it all hang out”.
LADIES FACILITIES – Designed for concave Female plumbing. Others keep out! (Privacy and safety against aggressive male sexuality.)
Practical System Solutions for Sports
The highest level of each sport should be SEX and GENDER-NEUTRAL.Lower levels should be SEX-SPECIFIC if TALLNESS (or SHORTNESS) is significant in that sport.
When Did Your Most Recent "Full-Blooded" East Asian or Native American Ancestor Live?
I took a "23andme" DNA test in 2017 and it indicated 0.1% "East Asian & Native American" (EA/NA) ancestry along with my overwhelmingly "European" heritage.So, the question is, for anyone of European heritage who is alive today, and like me (and at least one Presidential hopeful :^) has a 0.1% (1 part in 1024) EA/NA DNA, when did our most recent "Full-Blooded" EA/NA ancestor live? [DNA testing is not exact, nor is anyone "pure", so I define "Full-Blooded" as being 98% or more of a given heritage.]
So, taking me, Ira, as an example, but applicable to anyone else with 0.1% EA/NA DNA, let us analyze the situation.
I was born in 1939. My DNA indicates 0.1% EA/NA
My parents were born in the US in 1911 and 1914, but never took a DNA test. My DNA is the AVERAGE of that of my parents. Therefore it is possible both my Father and Mother had 0.1% EA/NA. Or, my Father could have been as high as 0.2% with my Mother at 0.0%, or vice-versa. Or, it could have been 0.05% and 0.15%, etc. The point is that, for the AVERAGE of two people to be 0.1% EA/NA, the MAXIMUM either one may have is 0.2%.
My grandparents were born in Europe (Austria and Russia) in about 1884. For the AVERAGE of four people to be 0.1% EA/NA, the MAXIMUM any one of them may have is 0.4%.
Using that analysis, and assuming each generation is about 27 years, we can trace down to about 1776, the time of the American Revolution, and calculate that I (and anyone alive in 2019) had 64 Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandparents. For the AVERAGE of 64 people to be 0.1% EA/NA, the MAXIMUM any one of them may have is 6.4%. Therefore, the most recent "Full-Blooded" EA/NA ancestor of mine (or any Presidential candidate) must have lived well before the American revolution!
Indeed, we'd have to go back more that 100 years before the American Revolution, to about 1641, to find the most recent "Full-Blooded" EA/NA ancestor of mine or yours (or anyone alive in 2019 who has 0.1% EA/NA DNA).
How did Native American DNA Enter European Gene Pool?
The first American Thanksgiving took place in Plymouth, MA, in 1621 with 90 Native Americans and 56 European Pilgrims. Colonists and Native Americans most likely exchanged DNA in both directions. Travelers back to Europe brought mixed DNA to the European gene pool.
Pocahontas was born in in Tsenacommacah (Tidewater Virginia) in 1596. She was the daughter of Chief Powhattan. In 1607, the Jamestown settlement was founded by James Smith. Pocahontas reportedly saved his life when he ran afoul of her father's tribe.
Pocahontas married an Englishman named John Rolfe and they had a son, Thomas. In 1607 the Rolfe family visited England and Pocahntas died and is buried there. Perhaps Thomas Rolfe and others with mixed European and Native American DNA contributed their Native American DNA to the European gene pool.
In 1587 an English colony was founded on Roanoke Island, NC. Three years later, in 1590, a resupply mission found the colony abandoned, and Roanoke Island is called "the Lost Colony". Residents may have assimilated with local Native Americans, adding European DNA to that of the Native Americans. Thus, according to the only Historial's Joke I know, "a European colony was LOST, but soon others were FOUNDED."
Is “Jewish Pride” Analogous to Tribalism?
My Jewish family and friends are ultra-sensitive to famous members of what we call “our Tribe”. Any triumph by a Jewish-American is celebrated as further proof that we contribute greatly to the advancement of society.We are even more sensitive to the infamous, such as Bernard Madoff, and the Ponzi scheme he created, due to such events casting a cloud over Jewish morality and putting our Tribe in a bad light as viewed by non-Jews.
Yet, despite this Tribal (dare I say "racial?) focus, most Jews are Social-Liberals. (Some of the "flaming" variety.)
When we meet people, or see them in the news, we ask “are they Jewish?” and we Google them! We learn to identify “Ashkenazi” Surnames. Yiddish, the language of the Ashkenazi's, is related to German, so surnames from that origin may be Jewish.
This is particularly true if their pronunciation varies from the German. Germans are quite strict about pronouncing “ei” as “I” and “ie” as “E”. Thus a surname including “Stein” (German for “stone”) is correctly pronounced as “StINE”.
Anyone who pronounces their “Stein” surname as “StEEN” (as in Epstein, Glickstein, Rosenstein, or Weinstein) are likely Jewish. Two of the above are “א שאַנדאַ פאר די גויים”. (Yiddish) “A SHANDA fur die goyim”. Meaning “A shame or a disgrace in view of the Gentiles.”
My wife brags about Baseball Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax because he was Jewish and he attended Lafayette High School in Brooklyn years before her.
We also brag that we are only 0.2% of the World Population, yet win 20% of the Nobel Prizes. The Entertainment industry (Broadway, Hollywood, Television) is largely Jewish (founders, producers, writers, entertainers). We are also over-represented in much of print and social media, as well as many “learned” professions.
However, I do not hear much pride from my fellow Jews in the fact that Donald Trump is the first US President with Jewish grandkids. (His daughter Ivanka converted, and his son-in-law Jared Kushner is Orthodox.) Nor does Trump get much Jewish credit for fulfilling the promises of previous Presidents to recognize Jerusalem as capital of Israel and moving US embassy to Jerusalem. Or recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights.
Members of the “Tribe” Make the Best Sitcoms
Norman Lear created sitcoms that broke political and racial barriers: All in The Family, and The Jeffersons. Carl Reiner was one of the stars in the comedy/variety program Your Show of Shows. He also did The Dick Van Dyke Show. Larry David did Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm. Chuck Lorre did The Big Bang Theory, and is currently doing Young Sheldon, and Bob Hearts Abishola, which is about Bob, a white guy who owns a factory in Detroit that employs some Nigerian immigrants, and how he falls in love with Abishola, a Nigerian nurse. (All these Jewish sitcom creators are Flaming Social-Liberals:^)Perhaps the zenith of TV sitcom writing comes from All In The Family with this effort by Archie Bunker, a right-leaning working man, to explain a balanced political ticket to his son-in-law, a flaming social liberal whom he calls "the Meathead":
Archie: What’s the matter with this? I call this representative government. You’ve got Salvatori, Feldman, O’Reilly, Nelson–that’s an Italian, a Jew, an Irishman and a regular American there. That’s what I call a balanced ticket.
Meathead: Why do you always have to label people by nationality?
Archie: ‘Cause, how else are you going to get the right man for the right job? For instance, take Feldman there. He’s up for treasurer. Well, that’s perfect. All them people know how to handle money. Know what I mean?
Meathead: No, I don’t.
Archie: Well, then you got Salvatori running for D.A. He can keep an eye on Feldman. You know, I want to tell you something about the Italians. When you do get an honest one, you really got something there.
Meathead: Aw, c’mon, Arch.
Archie: Well, then here you got O’Reilly, the mick. He can see that the graft is equally spread around, you know.
Archie: You got Nelson, the American guy. He’s good for TV appearances, to make the rest of them look respectable.
Zenith of English Literature
As far as we know, William Shakespeare, whose writings are considered the zenith of English literature, was not a member of our Tribe. In researching one of his most famous works, Othello, I was surprised to find an American (and later British) actor and playwright named Ira Aldridge who, in addition to sharing my somewhat unusual first name and, like me, having been born in New York City, was one of the first African-Americans to play the part of Othello (about 1830). Others include Paul Robeson and James Earl Jones.Perhaps the most memorable line ever written by William Shakespeare is spoken by Othello when he says he "Loved not wisely but too well".
Nadir of the Politically Correct "Echo Chamber"
The 2017 firing of James Damore, an American Google software engineer, due to an internal email that went viral, is perhaps the nadir of Politically Correct Racism and Sexism.Paraphrasing Shakespeare, Damore (who happens to be a member of our Tribe) wrote "NOT WISELY but TOO TRUTHFULLY!"
Opponents label his email as an "Anti-Diversity Screed". ABSOLUTELY FALSE! Read it yourself Google's Ideological Echo Chamber.
Damore notes that, despite Google’s strong "diversity" commitment, males outnumber females 4/1 in High Tech jobs. (They are about equal in non-High Tech jobs.) He writes that the difference could be due to biological differences. Read my reaction to Damore's Memo.
As I pointed out above in my discussion of Male and Female heights, a small difference of 7.5% in the AVERAGE results in large differences at the margins. Thus a small AVERAGE biological difference between Male and Female mental processes can result in larger disparities at the margins, such as highly-competitive High Tech jobs.
As with height differences, where a very tall woman may be taller than 80 or 90 percent of all men, in Science and High-Tech mental processes, a very capable woman may be superior to over 95 percent of all men.
For example, my wife and our daughters excel in Science and High Tech. My wife's under-grad degree is in Chemistry. When our youngest daughter started Middle school, my wife went back to college, got her Master's Degree in Computer Science and a job at IBM Federal Systems Division. She eventually worked her way up to Lead Software Engineer on the Army Special Forces Helicopter project. (Those helicopters later were used to get Osama Bin Laden as well as Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.)
Our daughters also have advanced degrees in science and technology areas. Our middle daughter has a Masters in Business Administration in Marketing and our oldest and youngest have PhDs in Immunology and Neuroscience. Indeed, I had to go back to college in my 50’s to keep up, earning my Masters (1990) and PhD (1996) in System Science.
Chopsticks Redux
Just this year, 2019, Asian-Americans demonstrated at Harvard, carrying signs that read "I am ASIAN-AMERICAN and I HAVE A DREAM TOO". Earlier in this posting, I pointed out that Asian-Americans received race-based preferences in hiring and promotion to management. Well, it seems they have now exceeded expectations and are over-represented in college admissions!At Harvard (and other selective colleges) they use RACE and NATIONALITY as a factor in admissions. ASIANS need 140 more SAT points (9%) than WHITES. WHITES need 130 to 310 more SAT points than non-ASIAN “Minorities”.
My East Asian and Native American Heritage Redux
Earlier in this posting, I claimed 0.1% East Asian and Native American (EA/NA) DNA, based on a 2017 test by 23and me. Well, it seems they have updated their algorithms and have more finely divided their racial categories. East Asian and Native American are no longer united.As a result (see graphic below), my 0.1% EA/NA has become 0.1% "Unassigned". Sadly, I can no longer use the [hashtag] #NativeAmericanToo and my association with the "Wannabe" tribe has been revoked.
On the positive side, I'm still 99.9% European and my ASHKENAZI JEWISH rating has gone up from 98.2% to a whopping 99.5% !
Ending on a Patriotic Note (:^)
Baseball is called our "National Pastime". We are all familiar with the lyrics of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" that tends with "1, 2, 3 Strikes YER OUT!" As America's National Pastime, you should agree it must be "Equal Opportunity". Right?
Well, that Baseball rule is unfair to Jewish-Americans! Of the hundreds of members of the Baseball Hall of Fame, only two are Jewish (Sandy Koufax, mentioned earlier, and the other one is Hank Greenberg). Of the 750 current Major League Baseball players you can count the Jewish ones on the fingers of your hands with a couple fingers to spare.
Therefore, we need "Affirmative Action" for Jewish Baseball players and I suggest "4 Strikes YER OUT!" for them. That will equalize opportunity by equalizing outcomes.
If Jewish-Americans get "4 Strikes YER OUT", Asian-Americans, who are even more under-represented, should get "5 Strikes YER OUT"!
You may think that will slow down the game, so we can make up for it, and further equalize outcomes by giving Hispanic-Americans "2 Strikes YER OUT", because they are over-represented in professional baseball. Of course, African-American players should get only "1 Strike YER OUT" to speed up play and further reduce their representation down to their percentage in the general population.
Looking at the numbers:
- African-Americans "1 Strike YER OUT"
- Hispanic-Americans "2 Strikes YER OUT"
- White-Americans "3 Strikes YER OUT"
- Jewish-Americans "4 Strikes YER OUT"
- Asian-Americans "5 Strikes YER OUT"
I see we have left a major "under-represented" group out - FEMALE-Americans! Of course, to have completely equal outcomes, we need to account for under- and over-represented racial and ethnic groups:
- African- and Hispanic-Female-Americans "6 Strikes YER OUT"
- White-Female-Americans "12 Strikes YER OUT"
- Asian- and Jewish-Female-Americans "18 Strikes YER OUT"
The above numbers are based on an extensive COMPUTER analysis of RACE, SEX, ETHNIC, and GENDER factors I have done. However, I do not claim this to be the final word.
At the start of the next baseball season, on April First ("April Fools Day"):
- The Baseball Commissioner should put these "X Strikes YER OUT" rules into effect.
- All players should be classified as to their RACE, SEX, ETHNIC, and GENDER group(s).
- Experts should gather complete statistics on strike-outs, walks, hits, and runs and calculate their agreement with the statistical representation of each group in the general population.
- Then, each year, a revised set of numbers should be calculated and put into effect.
We cannot rest easy until our NATIONAL PASTIME is TRUELY EQUAL OPPORTUNITY with EQUAL OUTCOMES for every RACE, SEX, ETHNIC, and GENDER group. (:^)
Ira Glickstein
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