O Tempora, O Mores! (March, 1998)
American Renaissance, March 1998
Standing Athwart NR
Over the last several years, National Review has been moving in very sensible directions on immigration, multiculturalism, and even race and IQ. William F. Buckley’s fortnightly journal has defended The Bell Curve, published reviews by Philippe Rushton, and called for serious immigration reform. Of all the large-circulation “conservative” magazines, NR has lately been the best on racial matters.
Mr. Buckley has recently removed the two men most responsible for this. Former editor John O’Sullivan was forced out in December, and just this February former Senior Editor Peter Brimelow was demoted to the meaningless position of contributing editor. The man replacing Mr. O’Sullivan is Rich Lowry, a 30-year-old political writer who reportedly wants to halt the spread of “Buchananism.” Mr. Brimelow’s replacement will be John Miller, who is vice president of the pro-immigration Center for Equal Opportunity. This group, run by Linda Chavez, was probably the main force behind the firing of Sam Francis from the Washington Times in 1995.
Mr. Buckley founded National Review in the 1950s to stop the spread of communism and left-wing “progress.” In his now-famous phrase, NR was, “standing athwart history yelling “Stop!’” The magazine has done much good in its time, but these personnel changes indicate that the principled and even daring conservatism of Whitaker Chambers, Richard Weaver and James Burnham — not to mention the young Bill Buckley — is glimmering away at National Review. It will not be yelling “Stop!” to multiculturalism or the Third World.
Black and Proud (and Sometimes Dead)
Martin Luther King, Jr. hospital serves the people of South-Central Los Angeles. It was established in 1972, on the curious assumption that a shortage of hospitals was one of the causes of the Watts race riots in 1965. Although it opened with an excellent medical staff, it soon came under black management, and the care it provides is now so bad it is known as “Killer King.” It is also known for consistently promoting blacks over better-qualified people of other races.
Incompetence is now legendary. One 18-year-old patient died when doctors accidentally severed her jugular vein when they were trying to open a passage in her throat so she could breathe. When a 37-year-old woman died after a routine operation for an ovarian cyst, the hospital’s own chief of pathology called it a “chain of stupidity and incompetence the likes of which I have never seen.” When a 26-year-old sheriff’s deputy was shot in the line of duty and brought to the emergency room he was given the wrong drugs and died. The District Attorney looked into the case and concluded it was part of a pattern: “Public safety is threatened when people come to Martin Luther King Hospital for medical care . . .” Not surprisingly, it pays out more settlements for medical malpractice than any other Los Angeles hospital — more than do institutions three times its size.
Why the poor record? Blacks are 10 percent of the county workforce but make up 67 percent of the hospital staff, and black administrators mean to keep it that way. Discrimination has been so blatant that even the Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which seldom worries about black discrimination, has accused the hospital of racism. Los Angeles County’s own Civil Service Commission notes that the hospital “has an unwritten policy of maintaining itself as a black institution, and of placing black candidates in positions of leadership within the institution, to the exclusion of non-blacks.”
Recently, a mediocre black was put in charge of emergency room operations. When some of his surprised non-black colleagues leafed through his resumé they found he had published only 17 of the 38 journal articles he claimed to have written. He had also falsified a certificate qualifying him to teach advanced cardiac life-support techniques (anyone he instructed from 1994 to 1996 must now be retrained). False qualifications are grounds for dismissal but the county mysteriously refuses to fire him.
One black doctor who taught at the affiliated medical school made $55,000 more per year than his boss, who was several rungs higher on the academic pay scale. His boss was an Indian. In 1994, the hospital hired a black doctor and paid him $240,000 a year — $100,000 more than his white predecessor. This was far more than civil service regulations permit, so he was surreptitiously paid out of the supplies budget. As a result critical supplies sometimes ran short.
Discrimination has been so easy to prove that at least five non-black doctors and administrators have won out-of-court pay-offs, and five more have filed suit. When the hospital actually fought a discrimination claim — a claim it thought it could win — a jury awarded the doctor $570,000.
A lawyer who has represented several doctors against the medical center says the county does nothing “because they are afraid to confront black racism.” Boyd James, a black from the West Indies who teaches psychiatry at the medical school, agrees: “If it were not for blackness, the county would have closed this place down.” (Susan Goldsmith, Blacks Only, New Times Los Angeles, Dec. 11-17, 1997, p. 11)
Another Race Initiative
Olin Tezcatlipoca, is a Mexican-American who heads a group called the Chicano Mexicano Mexica Empowerment Committee (CMMEC), which he established in Los Angeles in 1993. Mr. Tezcatlipoca’s goal is to drive white people out of the southwestern United States and create an all-Aztec nation untouched by European influences — well, almost untouched: “We want a Mexica society the way it used to be, but with computers and stuff.”
Mr. Tezcatlipoca was born as Leo Guerra, but rejected his European “slave name” just as black Muslims reject theirs. Many of his 30-odd followers have also adopted Aztec names like Nau Ilhuicamina Xolotl (a woman’s name). Mr. Tezcatlipoca’s opus, Mexica Handbook, is their Bible.
The motto of CMMEC is “NOT Hispanic. NOT Latino. Mexica!” Mr. Tezcatlipoca does not consider himself Hispanic or Latino because these are linguistic rather than racial designations. “Why should we have to unite with people we have nothing in common with?” he asks. “What does an African Dominican have in common with a Slavic Argentinean? We have completely different racial histories.” CMMEC’s members resent Spanish cultural domination of Latin America and accuse fellow Mexicans of trying to look and act white.
Mr. Tezcatlipoca’s movement is unabashedly dark-skinned and Indian. He says his people must take pride and stop thinking that: “Indians are ugly, they are poor, they are the ones selling oranges on freeway ramps. Hispanics are beautiful people; they are white.”
Europeans are, of course, history’s great villains: “[They] call themselves Americans, Canadians, Hispanics . . . They should call themselves sons and daughters of thieves and murderers, grandchildren of liars and enslavers, great-grandchildren of monstrous invaders.” Mr. Tezcatlipoca concedes he does not yet have enough power to rise up, kill the whites, and rebuild the Aztec empire, but he is in it for the long haul: “It may take 100, 200, or 1,000 years, but it will happen.” (Victor Mejia, He Has A Dream, New Times Los Angeles, November 20-26, 1997, p. 13)
On The Warpath
Larry Erwin is the principal of a high school in Drumright, Oklahoma. During a lecture on American history, he led a discussion on stereotypes that Indians and whites had of each other in the 1800s. On the blackboard, he wrote “buffalo killer, land stealers, disease carriers,” for whites and “savage, drunken, lazy.” for Indians.
Christie Towell, a 15-year-old Indian student, was offended. A “racism” investigation was duly carried out but school superintendent Roxie Terry cleared Mr. Erwin: “I really cannot find any impropriety that Mr. Erwin did in that class. In any cultural class, you’re going to have conversations like that,” said Mr. Terry.
Mr. Erwin nevertheless apologized, but the student’s mother rejected the apology, and Indians have promised not to let the matter rest. The contracts for the principal and superintendent were to come up for review at a school board meeting in February. “Nineteen Indian tribes have been notified of the school board meeting,” says a spokesman. “They’re coming to stand behind Christie.” (Patti Weaver, “Class Gets Apology for Race Remarks,” Tulsa World, Jan. 30, 1998.)
Jacques Seurot is — or was — a professor of history at the University of Dijon, France. In November, 1996, he published an article in a university publication, in which he complained of “hordes of unassimilable Muslims” who are “besieging even our remotest counties.” This was too much for the usual French “anti-racist” busybodies, who brought a civil suit against Professor Seurot for “promoting racial hatred.” A judge in Dijon found the professor not guilty, but only by the most literal reading of the law. Muslims, the court concluded, “do not constitute a particular race but are found among various peoples.” This was too close a call for the French educational authorities, who have fired Prof. Seurot and even suspended his administrative superior during the court proceedings. (From a French correspondent.)
Bastardy in the Big City
In 1996, half the children born in New York City were illegitimate. In some black neighborhoods the figure was close to 100 percent. The city has so many teen-aged mothers that public schools offer day-care in what are known as LYFE centers (Living for the Young Family Through Education). LYFE costs about $10,000 per “client,” and young mothers can leave children in the nursery all day; they do not even have to come feed them during lunch hour. LYFE staff explain that this lets the girls hang out with their friends during lunch, thus preserving some of the “giddiness” of adolescence. (Heather Mac Donald, Guiliani Tackles Illegitimacy, Wall Street Journal, Jan. 16, 1998.)
Black Homeland Shrinks
The United States has 102 “historically black” colleges but a few of them are black only in history. Bluefield State College in Bluefield, West Virginia, now has a student body that is 93 percent white. Only 17 of its 198 employees are black; it has an all-white faculty and a white president. Still, because it was founded before 1964 specifically to educate blacks, it qualifies for one million dollars a year in special federal funding. “We go after all the grant money that we qualify for,” says an unapologetic president Robert Moore.
Bluefield is very much an anomaly, but integration has finally come to other black colleges. Although total white enrollment in them is still only 13 percent, two schools besides Bluefield — West Virginia State College and Kentucky State University — now have more white than black students. At a recent “Bayou Classic” football game, which is supposed to be the biggest black college match-up of the year, both Grambling State University and Southern University had white quarterbacks.
There is much hand-wringing about the disappearing “character” of these schools. A retired black vice president of Bluefield seems to think the institution is near death: “What you see here now are the late stages of a cancerous condition that started when the first white president came here.” No doubt from his perspective this is true, but we never hear similar complaints about disappearing white majorities. (Michael A. Fletcher, A College Fades to White, Washington Post, Dec. 8, 1997, p. A1.)
Tell it to the Japanese
In April, a group called the International Quality & Productivity Center will hold its second national conference on diversity. For $1,295 per person (or as much as $1,995 if you attend two workshops), you can hear about the latest triumphs in diversity from such companies as Motorola, Allstate Insurance and Microsoft. There will be talks on, “Breaking the Glass Ceiling,” “Creating a Competitive Advantage Through Diversity,” and “Value Creation Via Diversity.” One panel will “discuss the reasons why many companies are now increasing the focus on sexual orientation in their diversity efforts.” Conference organizers quote William Clinton to explain why you should attend: “Managing diversity and individual opportunity . . . is the key to our future economic success in the global marketplace.” Call (800) 882-8684 for details. (Advertising brochure, International Quality & Productivity Center, “Diversity: A Strategic Advantage.”)
Sinning Solon
For the first time in 200 years, the Maryland legislature has found it necessary to expel a member. Senator Larry Young, a Democrat from Baltimore, was caught using his office to solicit bribes. Mr. Young was also chairman of the Legislative Black Caucus. (AP, Maryland Legislator is First Expelled From State Senate in 200 Years, Herald (Miami), Jan. 17, 1998, p. 10A.)
Multiracial Democracy
Last November’s mayoral election in Miami was close enough to require a runoff. Since the race was between two Cubans, the campaign attracted virtually no interest among Miami’s blacks — except for those who made it a money-making opportunity. One day before the election, a campaign worker for the eventual winner, Xavier Suarez, showed up in the Negro quarter, and started offering $10.00 to anyone who would vote for Mr. Suarez. A van was ready to drive people to the county hall to fill in absentee ballots. “It was a party,” says one of the voters. “Everybody needed money. You don’t make that much in an hour, and here you could make $10 in 15, 20 minutes.” Like the other vote-sellers, this man had no interest in a race between two Cubans: “I didn’t give a damn who won or lost. They’re not going to do anything for me, either way.” Neighborhood residents note that vote-buying (for as little as $5.00 each) is part of every election. Authorities are looking into the matter. (Joseph Tanfani and Karen Branch, $10 Buys One Vote, Herald (Miami), Jan. 11, 1998, p. 1A.)
Race Meets Law
In the January AR there was an O Tempora item about a federal judge’s decision to abolish the set-aside program run by the transit authority of the city of Houston, Texas. We have since seen a copy of Judge Lynn Hughes’ ruling. It is an interesting statement of what currently passes for “conservative” thinking on race. Some of the judge’s arguments were obvious but still noteworthy:
The Constitution disallows collective guilt . . . We do not accept the concept that a person is responsible for what others of her race, town, profession, or politics may have done . . . The Constitution forbids punishment of the next generation for the wrongs of the last one.
He also pointed out that even if there were such a thing as collective guilt and punishment that skips generations, “Texas has no history of discriminating legally or socially against Alaska natives, who are included [as beneficiaries of set-asides].” He also wrote, quite usefully: “Metro [the transit authority] argues that it has a duty to increase diversity and promote social justice. Using a purpose like a vision of social justice precludes rational analysis, ensuring arbitrary acts.” The judge also scoffed at the benefits of “diversity,” noting that he could not see how having a few non-white contractors could possibly make the buses run better.
These, however, are the opening words of the opinion:
Race is politics not biology. Who is whom and what happens to them depends entirely on political decisions about society and economics — not on genetics.
Because race is inescapably arbitrary, basing governmental action on race offends the American Constitution. Race is arbitrary because it is unrelated to the accomplishment of a public service and because the categories are hollow. (U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas, Houston Contractors Association v. Metropolitan Transit Authority, Nov. 13, 1997.)
This is the crux of today’s “conservatism:” that race is politics — not biology — and therefore meaningless. Since Judge Hughes’ entire argument is based on this ringing declaration of pure nonsense, one wonders what sort of opinion he would have written had he not been so badly informed.
Indians on the Run Again
Rebecca Watkins considers herself an American Indian. Two years ago she moved from a small town near Yakima, Washington, to Post Falls, Idaho, to get away from Mexican immigrants. She says they were rude and violent. Her 55-year-old mother, Wanda Sanders, intends to join her in Idaho this year for the same reason. “We lost our country once because of immigrants,” she says, “and now I feel like we’re losing our country again.” (Elsa Arnett, Around U.S., as Immigrants Pour in, Locals are Pouring Out, Philadelphia Inquirer, Jan. 19, 1998.)
When in Haiti . . .
A Quebec judge has given two Haitian men a lenient sentence in a rape case because she says their attitude toward women was influenced by their culture. Patrick Lucien and Evans Sannon, immigrants to Canada, took turns raping a young Haitian woman while the other held her down and covered her mouth to muffle the screams. Judge Monique Dubreuil sentenced the men to 18 months of house arrest and 100 hours of community service instead of prison. “The absence of regret of the two accused seems to be related more to the cultural context, particularly with regard to relations with women,” she explained. (AP, Lenient Rape Sentence Criticized, Jan. 23, 1998)
Cyber Patrol
The Anti-Defamation League, in cooperation with The Learning Company, Inc., has developed a software program called Cyber Patrol that blocks “harmful” internet web pages. Rather than connect to the page’s address, the program delivers the user to the ADL’s web site. As usual, the ostensible goal is to “protect the children.”
No one has released a list of the web pages the program blocks, but a reader who has tested Cyber Patrol reports that the AR page is one of them. The program’s targets are not always what one would expect. The ADL considers holocaust revisionism one of its biggest enemies, but it has reportedly let a number of sites slip through. Cyber Patrol blocks the American National Party but not the British National Party. The program also reportedly blocks a page that is critical of the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank (www.moneymaker.com/frb).
As our correspondent notes, few people will be fooled by a group that claims to be helping children when it is really shutting out political ideas with which it disagrees. Nor will a child grow fond of the ADL if it keeps getting its web page when he wanted something else. And any child who can’t reach a site on his own computer will be all the more eager to find it on someone else’s.
Fish Swim, Birds Fly
AIDS is not a big problem in Honduras — except in a corner of the country inhabited by people who speak a language called Garifuna. Garifuna-speakers are descended from African slaves, and live mainly in the town of Triunfo. They reportedly have no inhibitions about sex, but are extremely reluctant to acknowledge that 20 percent of them carry the HIV virus. “This community is dying of AIDS and the Garifuna simply deny it,” says a government nurse who works in Triunfo. There are an estimated 100,000 native speakers of Garifuna in the world — and 30,000 of them live in the Bronx. (Edward Hegstrom, AIDS Ravaging a Unique Culture, Herald (Miami), Dec. 29, 1997, p. 6A.)
The police in Cheyenne, Wyoming, are learning Spanish. This cultural enrichment will allow them to converse with Mexican drug dealers, who are fanning out through the region, bringing narcotics to new markets. Most are illegal border crossers who know that even if they go to prison and are then deported to Mexico they can come right back.
For the last 50 years, Wyoming has seen very little crime, but this is changing. In one 12-day period last October, there were 18 arrests in the state on drug, illegal immigrant, and firearms charges; 13 of the suspects were Mexicans. “Our greatest problem today is illegal aliens and drugs,” says Tom Pagel, director of the state Department of Criminal Investigation. (Richard Serrano, “Mexican Cartels Find Lucrative Markets in American Midwest, Atlanta Constitution, Dec. 21, 1997, p. A19.)
To Catch a Thief
One reason South Africa is overrun with criminals is that the police can’t keep the crooks they arrest. During the last four years, 34,000 prisoners have escaped from custody. During the same period, 171 police officers were prosecuted for helping prisoners get away. (Reuters, South Africa Having Trouble Holding Inmates, Jan. 17, 1998.)
