Quiner’s Diner gets hammered on race issues

By Tom Quiner

A Quiner’s Diner reader didn’t appreciate a recent post, Democrats’ history of antagonism towards African-Americans.

She posed a series of questions, to which I respond below. Be sure to read to the end:

“Several questions….what has this [The Great Society] cultivated in rural white communities which are the largest consumers of welfare programs?”

The same trends: rising out-of-wedlock rates. The illegitimacy rate for Whites climbed from 3% before the Great Society to 29% today. Welfare replaced a father with a government check, resulting in more social pathology for all groups. So the  question is a good one. The Great Society had a negative impact on white, black, Hispanic, and native American families.

“How do you respond to the many reports that charter schools as an aggregate are unpredictable and plenty have failed?”

I’d say your data is wrong. The proof is in the demand. Black parents wait in line to get their kids in charter schools and out of failing public schools.

“How do you respond to the fact that not everyone can attend a charter school, and that “school choice” severely impacts poor parents with low transportation options, and can result in segregation due to racial optics (which happens now to a varied degree)?”

Access to charter schools is limited by Democratic politicians and their surrogates, the teachers union. Vote more Republicans in to get more charter schools. There is no doubt that Charter Schools are less available in rural and affluent suburban areas, but they are prevalent in inner cities where they produce spectacular results, and where distances to attend charter schools is less. Harlem, New York City, Boston, New Orleans, and Washington D.C. are cities with high concentration of African Americans reaping the rewards of successful Charter Schools, despite opposition from teachers unions.

“Do political parties remain the exact same over time, and if so do you know what a dixiecrat is?”

No to the first question. Yes to the second. The Democratic Party is a classic example of a party that has changed by abandoning earlier, principled positions. They used to oppose human abortion. Now they support it and encourage Planned Parenthood to locate clinics in inner cities near high concentrations of African Americans. They used to support traditional marriage. Now they oppose it. They used to believe in a strong national defense. Now they oppose it. They used to support the First Amendment. Now they actively strive to weaken it.

By referencing Dixiecrats, I assume you’re impugning the notion of states rights, and even more, trying to slur Republicans and conservatives as racists for opposing what they view as destructive Democratic policies regarding race. Yes, Republicans support states rights and honor the explicit wording of the Tenth Amendment on the subject. Interestingly, even Democrats have been waving the Tenth Amendment as of late as a defense of their stance regarding sanctuary cities, and their refusal to abide by Federal immigration laws.

Even more interesting, it is the Left that is promoting segregation these days with college graduation ceremonies segregated by race and “a day without White people” events.

Talk about racism.

“Do you know any teachers?”

My mother was a teacher. So is my daughter-in-law. So were my aunt and uncles. So are friends, church parishioners, and acquaintances. So the answer is yes.

“Do you know why teachers support unions or why many Americans across the political spectrum support unions?”

Yes, power. Teachers unions put teachers first and students last. They oppose Charters because they weaken their power.

As to the second part of your question, overall union membership has been in a free fall for decades, declining from 32% in the 1950s down to around 11% today. If they’re so popular, how come fewer workers want to join?

“This is a really weak argument and as patronizing as the “mock benvolence” you claim democrats extort. It suggests that somehow blacks are incapable of making up our minds and independent thinking.”

It is Democratic politicians who think blacks are incapable of independent thinking. If they truly believed that Black parents are smart, they wouldn’t oppose Charter Schools, and they would let Black parents make up their own minds. Talk about patronizing. I stand by my term, ‘mock benevolence.’

“It suggests that somehow choice is the issue of public education when it is the fact that school funding is often very political and often the first thing cut in many districts and states. And even that is an over simplification. Articles like this do more to insult black folk than you realize regardless of where black folk sit on the political spectrum.”

For the record, federal school funding has increased 375% over the past thirty years, but test scores have remained flat. The system is the problem, not the money. Charter Schools create local competition and local accountability. They encourage bad schools to get better or lose funding.

Your last sentence gets to an important obstacle in our national dialogue on race. Honorable people of good will can no longer debate without being called racist if they disagree with liberal orthodoxy. Your response is proof of that.

Thanks for writing.