American Style Apartheid: The Fourth Estate is Populated Solely by Jackasses

"Minorities" in the United States now constitute 1/3 of the total population. To most of us, this statistic is likely met with a collective "so what." Almost every ethnic group, at some point in American history, has been considered a "minority" (Do you ever wonder why police prisoner transports are known as "Paddy Wagons?").

However, this provides plenty of fodder those small minded souls who view all of human experience through the prism of race. Our own hometown newspaper recently addressed this issue in predictable fashion on the editorial page. After pointing to the "apparent" prejudices that still exist in our society, the editors shockingly claim that "It's that disconnect, and the underlying racial divides that remain, that have the awful potential to lead to an American-style apartheid."

WTF!? Although more original than a Hitler comparison, that statement has to be one of the most ignorant things I've ever read in the newspaper. Last time I checked, everyone still had the right to vote, blacks were not being forcibly"resettled," and the population was not classified by the government into racial categories (oh wait a minute).

The editors further explain that "falling graduation rates such as those in the Rochester City School District, coupled with high levels of poverty and incarceration for people of color paint a dismal picture for the future."

As to the falling graduation rates, I would point to the breakdown of families and social structures that value education. And if you want to put a stop to high incarceration rates, people need to stop committing crimes. The statistics majors out there would probably say something self evident like "there is a high correlation between committing crimes and getting tossed in the pokey."

A ridiculous editorial like this can't end with a whimper - it goes out with a bang and basically calls for a good ol' fashioned race war: "And what about the fear factor among whites as this country's demographics change? It's a huge mistake to think it doesn't exist, or to ignore it. The pot's starting to steam. Don't let it boil over."

Do these people really think that the average white guy is sitting in his house analyzing demographic changes and hatching plots to screw over "people of color?" There are people who do that, but they usually live in compounds in places like Idaho with their sister-wife and kids-nephews.