Disgusted

You hear people say we don’t need anti-discrimination laws that we as a society have gotten beyond discrimination and bigotry now. You hear people say that we don’t need affirmative act laws because we have equal access to colleges now. You hear people say that we don’t need voter rights acts anymore that it is from a different era.

I saw a video of a young boy sing the National Anthem at the NBA finals and I think he has a nice voice, I then read some of the comments and they are unbelievable racist and hateful.

Then I hear about how a woman who was born and raised in Syracuse NY of Indian ancestry has won the Miss America Pageant and then I read the comments and they are filled with bigotry, racism and ignorance it is disgusting.

Racism and bigotry is still alive in here in America, you find it in the Anonymous comments that have embolden the dregs who hide in the shadows.

I see an education system that is setup to discriminate. They call it school choice or school vouchers but in reality to is just another method of segregation but this time instead of racial discrimination we are discrimination based on achievement. As one study found “However, we find evidence that the voucher program led to increased sorting, as the best public school students left for the private sector.” [1] Those student who do not make the grade or cannot afford the tuition are relegated to the underfunded public schools. In addition, vouchers do not end segregation and another study found that,

In the end, my findings provide no empirical support for arguments that unfettered school choice policies will reduce segregation by race and class; in fact, they substantiate claims that unrestricted school choice increases segregation of both types. [2]

The voter ID laws are designed to disenfranchise marginalized communities. By requiring voter to prove their identities with birth certificates places an undue burden on the poor and the elderly. For middle income voters it is no big deal to take a day off from work to go and get a copy of your birth certificate in another city. But for a person who is working to jobs 60 hours a week with no vacation time or a car it is a hardships. It means not getting paid and going by public transportation to another city and then having to pay for a copy of their birth certificate. In a study they found that,

Our results clearly suggest that voting laws which require specific or multiple forms of identification will isproportionately impact racial and ethnic minorities, immigrant populations, and those with lower incomes. [3]

Segregation, racism, bigotry, and discrimination are alive and growing here in America; it has just gone from overt to covert. If you don’t believe me just read the comments on the news stories about Sebastien de la Cruz and Nina Davuluri and then tell me there is no more racism and bigotry here in the United States.


[1] The effects of generalized school choice on achievement and stratification: Evidence from Chile’s voucher program

[2] Private Choices, Public Consequences: Magnet School Choice and Segregation by Race and Poverty

[3] Voter ID Requairements and the Disenfranchisements of Latino, Black and Asian Voters