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The State of Washington’s highest court has determined that its bar exam is racist. A lower passing score and "alternative pathways" into the legal profession have been mandated. It would be nice if the esteemed justices could point to a single exam question and explain how it is racist. How exactly does one go about excluding minority test-takers from correctly answering questions about the law of property or about search and seizure? Smuggle in references to polo, yachting, formal table settings or tuna-on-white sandwiches?
Systemic racism is a near-magical thing. White people are pulling it off and yet have no idea how exactly we are doing it, so we can’t stop it. It is much like the way women have always been intensely drawn to me. Sure, there are some obvious assets present but clearly, there is some ineffable extra something at play that I no longer bother to try to define. And as with Washington Supreme Court Justice Raquel Montoya-Lewis’s grasp of the reality of systemic racism, there is just no way to fully capture the phenomenon and its causes other than acceptance of its validity and proceed from there.
You can’t hide systemic racism from the trained eye. The Bar Licensure Task Force explains:
In the 1960s, while the Civil Rights movement phased out formal racism, a ‘veiled or nonformal racism came in—racism under the guise of excellence, fairness, equal opportunity, all the things that make up the constellation of attitudes and standards we call merit.
If I am ever facing criminal charges I fervently hope that my lawyer got his or her position very much “under the guise of excellence” and that whole merit thing.
A long time ago, back before Kendi X invented/discovered systemic racism, I heard a representative of the law school of a prominent historically black university accuse the DC bar examiners of discriminating against black law school graduates. He was asked how that was possible given that test-takers get a number which is the only identification the graders see. He replied that the black students had poorer language skills and due to the educational disadvantages in a racist society, they also often had a weaker grasp of the subject matter. The graders notice these deficiencies, immediately assume the test-taker is black, and issue a low score out of racism. (I sincerely hope that moron was fired after that exchange appeared in print.)
Now, he could have just issued a blanket accusation of racism because there is no longer a need to look for specific causes which might call for specific solutions. We have "systemic racism" as an all-purpose explanation.
So, we must assume that it is that ineffable white power that makes non-whites flunk the bar exam. Because there is nothing we can do about it, in fairness we must just declare such victims lawyers. Alas, if only there were some other way to advance the well-being, maximize the talents and promote opportunities for non-magical races...
Forty-some years ago when I taught SAT prep math in church basements to black high school kids struggling because of a nearly nonexistent middle school skills foundation, their parents used to bring refreshments to the class, stay involved, and remind their kids that every educational opportunity had value. Thank God, the burden of the pursuit of excellence is finally over and black kids can just stay unskilled and bask in their victimhood and await “alternative paths” to professional careers provided by benevolent white liberals.
Discussion (37)
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Oh my goodness. That's just amazing.
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And the power of such magical forces can be a difficult problem to deal with. You've managed admirably, but not everyone can be expected to handle things as well. I think that's what Kendi is talking about.
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Years ago I read an interesting article that I wish I could find now. It reported on research into the high percentage of blacks within our prison populations.
The researchers admitted that they expected to find evidence of "systemic racism" throughout the legal system. They did not find it.
Instead, to their astonishment, the number one factor that accounted for the high rates of incarceration was the "quality" (not sure what they meant by that) of the legal counsel. The people incarcerated usually had public defenders; the people who were not incarcerated for similar crimes had private attorneys.
If anyone needs the best attorneys out there, it would be the low-income black people. I would think.
Sounds like we need better prepared lawyers than we have now. As usual, the government is actually making things worse for the people they are purporting to help.
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As a four-decade + member of the WA State Bar, IMO, this Court is what you get from one-party rule by Democrats for the past 39 years. Mostly, when a seat becomes vacant by term expiration, retirement, or death, the governor appoints a replacement to serve the remainder of the term, and then the new "justice" must stand for a retention election. Contests for an open seat are exceedingly rare, in part because the retiring occupant owes at least some of his or her position on the court to the governor, so will retire before the term expires, to allow the appointment / retention game to play out.
I can only recall one instance when the retention candidate was defeated by a challenger. And with Gov. Dimslee [Inslee] in office since 2013, this Court has his stamp all over it -- occupants who are radical leftists, lovers of big government, and with minimal common sense.
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