❝❝America is not the same nation that we were in 1962. We've changed, mostly for the better.

At the same time, the privilege of being a protected class is regularly exploited to excuse behavior and escape responsibility. It could be public housing projects which historically quickly degenerate into crime ridden hovels because no one may be evicted. It could be a crew of non-binary queers physically attacking a 24 year old lesbian feminist in St. Louis. It could be a Portland bakery being called racist because a "black" woman showed up after closing and they wouldn't take her order.

Even in the Meredith case you cite, it was not a matter of universal access. It was a matter of state law and government officials. This is absolutely vital to understand. Widespread racism cannot exist without government sanction. And as was well understood before the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the solution was not extra protection but equal protection.

Frankly I resent the assumptions behind special protections and I am not the only one. I am not misogynistic because I didn't vote for HRC. I am not racist because I question many of the actions and associations of Black Lives Matter. I am not heartless because I think that private charity can do greater things than "government help" ever could. And I do not think that accusations of rape and sexual misconduct are undeniable proof that something terrible must have happened. Yet questioning these assumptions, questioning the behavior of those exploiting the system is enough for some to condemn me unheard no matter what the facts show.

This is the unspoken legacy of special protection. More than that, it is the expectation of most of those exploiting the system. They won't be held accountable because of past wrongs dating to well before they were born. Their current actions don't matter because of you know, oppression, The Man, and injustice and stuff.

How can we have a just society when some people must ALWAYS legally defer to the oh-so-carefully defined victim groups? How is the definition of those victim groups any less a moral wrong than oppression?

Parity. Equal rights yes. Special privilege, never.❞❞

NeoNotes are the selected comments that I made on other boards, in email, or in response to articles where I could not respond directly.

Tags: James Meredith ∙ University of Mississippi ∙ 1962 ∙ racism ∙ privilege ∙ excuse ∙ behavior ∙ responsibility ∙ 1964 ∙ Civil Rights Act ∙ equal rights ∙ equal protection ∙ moral wrong ∙ oppression