Today, some Berkeley students plan to hold a racist bake sale.
Some College Republicans want to satirize California’s proposed affirmative action law, which would direct California public universities to consider race, gender, ethnicity, and national/geographic origin when admitting students. They need a new law? I assume the schools do that anyway.
Affirmative action may be a good thing—a way to compensate for past discrimination. While that may have been useful when I attended college, I think it’s no longer helpful today. Affirmative action is now part of the minority special privilege machine, a component of which is perpetual victimhood.
Useful or not, affirmative action it is a form of racism, and the bake sale helps make that clear. But I don’t understand the Berkeley students’ price list. Asians, not Whites, should be at the top , since studies show that often, Asian students need significantly higher SAT scores to be admitted.
I once held a similar sale:
I stood in midtown Manhattan shouting, “Cupcakes for sale.” My price list read:
Asians -- $1.50
Whites -- $1.00
Blacks/Latinos -- 50 cents
People stared. One yelled, “What is funny to you about people who are less privileged?” A black woman said, angrily, “It’s very offensive, very demeaning!” One black man accused me of poisoning the cupcakes.
I understand why people got angry. But my racist sale led to some interesting discussions. One young woman began by criticizing me, “It’s absolutely wrong.”
But after I raised the parallel with college admissions, she said: “No race of people is worth more than another. Or less.”
But do you believe in affirmative action in colleges? I asked.
“I used to,” she replied.
Those are the kind discussions students should have. Berkeley administrators were not happy when they learned of the College Republicans plan, but I’m glad that they will allow today’s bake sale. At Bucknell University, the administration shut a bake sale down. A university is supposed to be a place for open discussion. Satirizing affirmative action shouldn’t be off-limits.
John Stossel is host of "Stossel" on the Fox Business Network. The show airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. and midnight ET. It re-airs Fridays at 10 p.m., Saturdays at 9 p.m. and 12 midnight, and Sundays at 10 p.m. (all times eastern). He's also the author of "Give Me a Break" and of "Myth, Lies, and Downright Stupidity." To find out more about John Stossel, visit his site at johnstossel.com.
Get the recap of top opinion commentary and original content throughout the week.