People who support affirmative action in other areas are often very opposed to it in sports. It’s an odd contradiction that I wish more people would think about. Because I think the reason is that people see sports as something where ability really matters, which means that they see college (or diversity hiring in business) as something where ability does not matter. And that’s a very strange way to look at college. Does that mean that most people see college as nothing more than a symbolic achievement? Where the achievement is getting accepted, not graduating? It’s like they don’t see college as a competitive learning environment. Same for diversity hiring in private industry or government positions as well.
Often absent from these conversations are matters of cultural preferences, which I think maybe we’re not supposed to talk about anymore...? In the same way that black Americans are overrepresented in athletics, Asian Americans are overrepresented in a field I hold dear, the symphony orchestra. From this I merely conclude that the parents of children in these respective groups have different ideas about what works for their kids. This is sort of a similar argument to the one about why men are more often engineers than women, I suppose.
I would be curious to know the participation rates in youth sports among Asian American kids. And I’d be equally curious to know the participation rates in youth orchestras among black American kids.
Great points, Peng. Well done and laser focused as usual.
A few random thoughts....
First the NHL has several current great players with Asian heritages. Nick Suzuki, Matt Dumba, Robo Robertson, Jason Siegenthaler and Kailer Yamamoto all have Asian parents. Nice to have a professional sports league where players need talent, not freakish size.
Second, yes, the left is ruining institutions such as the elite schools by erasing merit - no surprise there. Leading to, Third: the erection of racial hierarchies by the progressive left is hardly a surprise. Orwell predicted it in Animal House - "all animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others." What does a progressive Democrat touch that isn't turned to merde?
I am surprised no mention was made of Ichiro Suzuki, who played baseball for Seattle's team for 28 seasons. He was consistently one of the most popular players on the team. I'm not even a sports fan yet the craze for Ichiro was repeatedly evident throughout Seattle. Baseball is one of those sports that - like hockey - requires skill rather than freakish size as you put it.
Well said. There are also cultural forces at play. My brother in law coached a little league baseball team. Majority of kids from neighborhood of engineers working for semiconductor chip mfg.
Smart men and women having smart progeny. But not particularly coordinated. Sad thing is how those parents would scream at their kids for not doing well on field. Sorry parents. You chose an academic excellence path. Generations of a family turning out violin prodigies should not ( and most do not) expect the child to also bat .333 and hit 95 miles fast balls on the inside corner of the plate.
People who support affirmative action in other areas are often very opposed to it in sports. It’s an odd contradiction that I wish more people would think about. Because I think the reason is that people see sports as something where ability really matters, which means that they see college (or diversity hiring in business) as something where ability does not matter. And that’s a very strange way to look at college. Does that mean that most people see college as nothing more than a symbolic achievement? Where the achievement is getting accepted, not graduating? It’s like they don’t see college as a competitive learning environment. Same for diversity hiring in private industry or government positions as well.
I very much agree with your take.
Often absent from these conversations are matters of cultural preferences, which I think maybe we’re not supposed to talk about anymore...? In the same way that black Americans are overrepresented in athletics, Asian Americans are overrepresented in a field I hold dear, the symphony orchestra. From this I merely conclude that the parents of children in these respective groups have different ideas about what works for their kids. This is sort of a similar argument to the one about why men are more often engineers than women, I suppose.
I would be curious to know the participation rates in youth sports among Asian American kids. And I’d be equally curious to know the participation rates in youth orchestras among black American kids.
Linsanity was a great moment for ALL NYers, not just Asians. Everyone loves an underdog story and JLin embodied that.
Most fun sports era in my life, a real NY cultural touch point moment for all of us.
Great points, Peng. Well done and laser focused as usual.
A few random thoughts....
First the NHL has several current great players with Asian heritages. Nick Suzuki, Matt Dumba, Robo Robertson, Jason Siegenthaler and Kailer Yamamoto all have Asian parents. Nice to have a professional sports league where players need talent, not freakish size.
Second, yes, the left is ruining institutions such as the elite schools by erasing merit - no surprise there. Leading to, Third: the erection of racial hierarchies by the progressive left is hardly a surprise. Orwell predicted it in Animal House - "all animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others." What does a progressive Democrat touch that isn't turned to merde?
I am surprised no mention was made of Ichiro Suzuki, who played baseball for Seattle's team for 28 seasons. He was consistently one of the most popular players on the team. I'm not even a sports fan yet the craze for Ichiro was repeatedly evident throughout Seattle. Baseball is one of those sports that - like hockey - requires skill rather than freakish size as you put it.
Well said. There are also cultural forces at play. My brother in law coached a little league baseball team. Majority of kids from neighborhood of engineers working for semiconductor chip mfg.
Smart men and women having smart progeny. But not particularly coordinated. Sad thing is how those parents would scream at their kids for not doing well on field. Sorry parents. You chose an academic excellence path. Generations of a family turning out violin prodigies should not ( and most do not) expect the child to also bat .333 and hit 95 miles fast balls on the inside corner of the plate.
I’ve always wondered why it is that blacks and Hispanics do not find affirmative action insulting.
Lia Thomas?