New York Times Editorial: New Haven Should Have Used An Easier Test

The degree of twisted, convoluted thinking – as well as the unintentional and almost racist insults to minorities – in this New York Times editorial left me staring at my computer screen in amazement and wondering if anyone on that editorial staff actually thought about what they were writing.
The issue is the New Haven firefighter promotional exam and the Subsequent Supreme Court decision upholding the lawsuit of a group of white firefighters who sued after the test results were tossed when not enough minorities scored high enough to be eligible for promotion. The New York Times is outraged at this decision:

On Monday, the Supreme Court dealt a blow to diversity in the American workplace.
The court ruled, 5-to-4, that New Haven acted illegally when it threw out a promotion test on which minority firefighters had done poorly. In doing so, it put a new, narrower definition on Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which is intended to root out discriminatory policies.

After decrying the fact that liberal Supreme Court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor was one of the judges overturned in this decision, they got down to business:

Many black and Hispanic firefighters took New Haven’s promotion exam, but few passed. This sort of racial disparity often makes an exam illegal.
[...]
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, writing for the dissenters, provided the larger context. There is a long history of discrimination in the firefighting ranks. Although New Haven is nearly 60 percent black and Hispanic, few minorities are in command positions. She noted that New Haven’s test was flawed, and that other cities used better tests, with less racially skewed results.

The test was “flawed” and other cities used “better” tests. Translation: The test was too hard and other cities use easier tests.
Hopefully I’m not the only one who sees the blatant insult to minorities in that statement. Minorities are too stupid to pass a test?
The firefighter who brought the suit spent about $1,000 on the books containing the study material. And – get this – because he is dyslexic he paid to have the books put on tape. He studied. He passed. That’s determination. And any one of the minorities who didn’t score high enough on the test to get promoted could have done the same thing.
And don’t give me the minorities-are-disadvantaged-simply-because-they’re-minorities nonsense. Every single one of those firefighters has at least a high school diploma. They went to the same schools and had the very same opportunities as everyone else.
To insinuate that they simply can’t pass a test because they are minorities and that they should get an easier test is a terrible, thoughtless insult and has the ring of the mindless racism of ethnic jokes.
Note to the left: If you’re trying to help minorities having low expectations of them isn’t the way to do it.

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  • http://Array SigFan

    So the NYT and Ginsburg and Sotomayor would rather have the test dumbed down so that less qualified individuals can assume leadership roles in a profession where lives frequently are at stake. Why do liberals want everyone to die?

    We as a society have become so shallow that anyone’s self-esteem and racial identity trumps competence. God help us all.

  • http://proof-proofpositive.blogspot.com/ proof_positive

    Some places even weaken their entrance agility tests to allow women a better chance of getting in

    Yes. Why penalize women (“penalize” – nothing Freudian there! ) for their comparative lack of upper body strength, when all they are required to do is drag heavy hoses and equipment and on occasion, unconscious bodies from burning buildings?

  • Bat One

    Carelessly insulting to minorities…

    Looking at voting patterns it seems the minorities prefer the insult and the handout.

    Then again, maybe they just can’t comprehend the insult. I wonder if that lack of comprehension is congenital, or a learned behavior instead.

  • http://SayAnythingBlog.com The_Whistler_ofnd

    The New York Times thinks that minorities are stupid.

    Who would have guessed they were a bunch of racists?

  • Pfeh

    …or a learned behavior instead.

    It’s doublethink. Ignorance is strength. War is peace. Freedom is slavery.

    Insults are compliments.

  • Onslaught

    Question (4) When fighting a fire at a burning tomatillo warehouse you should
    (A)……
    (B)….

    (D) Take your federally mandated 15 min. coffee break then call the shop steward and file (yes H, “File”) a grievance because there was no creamer for your coffee.

  • http://proof-proofpositive.blogspot.com/ proof_positive

    I believe it is sometimes called “The soft bigotry of low expectations”

  • Pilgrim

    Woof,

    Not sure what you meant but accomodations need to be made in the case of a language barrier. The test doesn’t and shouldn’t be any easier, but language should be taken into account.

  • Pilgrim

    Woof,

    I’ve taken many promotional exams over the course of my career. The tests get increasingly difficult as you advance. A nationally accredited test for Lieutenant or Captain (upper management) is generally on an advanced degree level. Nothing easy about it, and there shouldn’t be.

  • Dagda

    Not only white males passed the test in New Haven. There were also Hispanics that passed (but they want to ignore that fact). But there were not enough to fill all of the “quotas” that they instill in the liberal agenda. There are supposed to be a certain % of each race and sex for them to not worry about potential lawsuits.

    Some places even weaken their entrance agility tests to allow women a better chance of getting in (not in my city).

    Ask yourselves would you feel comfortable in an emergency situation to think that the responders might not be the most able or most knowledgeable out of all available?

  • vladtheimp

    The New York Times thinks that minorities are stupid.

    For once, methinks they are right. Firemen, like airline pilots, surgeons, NY Times editors, and centers in the NBA should be represented proportionally to their numbers in the population. Everyone book a flight, schedule a surgery, and buy a highrise condo in…….Detroit. And then get insurance.

    Rotsa Ruck Chalie!

  • WOOFX

    Question (4) When fighting a fire at a burning tomatillo warehouse you should
    (A)……
    (B)…..

  • WOOFX

    Producing a fair test is difficult.
    New Haven probably has a significant population that speaks only Spanish.
    People would go nuts if 30% of the test was in Spanish.
    Knowledge of Spanish could be lifesaving for firemen.

  • WOOFX

    (E) First ask the fireman who speaks Spanish Ese

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