628
PAR.TISAN REVIEW
the appearance of racism where it does not necessarily exist. Until society
is willing to acknowledge that the vast proportion of violent crime is
committed by young black men, such behavior as crossing the street
to
avoid a group of raucous young blacks will be attributed to racism,
rather than
to
a rational evaluation of risk. Likewise, the reluctance of
communities to accept a homeless shelter or low-income housing is usu–
ally due to a well-founded fear of crime and drugs, not to racial animus.
But since it is forbidden
to
note the high incidence of antisocial behav–
ior in certain populations, the resistance is attributed to a dislike of
blacks per se.
The prognosis for halting the diversity juggernaut is not good.
Political leaders show no more courage than the press in countering
racial demagoguery. The situation in Los Angeles is particularly galling.
As the trial begins of the four men charged with viciously beating the
trucker Reginald Denny during the Rodney King riots last year, black
activists are threatening the city with dire consequences should the defen–
dants be found guilty and severely sentenced. News organizations report
without comment the activists' charge that the high bail set for the
Denny defendants and the low bail set for the four police officers in the
King case show the racism of the justice system. Neither the media nor,
even more deplorably, a single public figure has pointed out that the
Denny defendants' records of serious felony convictions and parole vio–
lations more than justify the differences in bail. While political leaders
stay safely out of the fray, the maligning of the justice system continues
unchecked, feeding racial hostilities and resentments.
N or is there any chance that the beneficiaries of preferential treat–
ment will suddenly decide that enough is enough and that they have
been stigmatized as unable
to
compete on their merits for too long.
Rather, the only hope for breaking out of the diversity madness is that
the race, gender, and ethnicity spoils system will self-destruct of its own
accord. There are signs that this may already be starting to happen.
In October 1992, blacks and Hispanics in Los Angeles battled over
the post of interim superintendent of schools. Antolin Gomez, a local
official with the Mexican-American Political Association, merely reiter–
ated diversity gospel when he told
The New York Times:
"I think we can
make the assertion that the sensitivity is more heightened if you have a
sensitive Latino that represents and is clearly aware of some of the cul–
tural and social and demographic factors which affect the Latino popu–
lation." Yet Barbara Boudreaux, the only black member of the school
board, called such statements racist: "It is insulting to Sid Thompson [the
black candidate] to say, 'You're second-in-command but because you are
black you cannot assume the Superintendency.' " Sounding more and
