:: St. Stephen's Musings ::

:: Monday, June 28, 2004 ::

Soft Totalitarianism

I was recently filling out some online paperwork for the university and came across an example of what I call "the soft totalitarianism" of the university's politically correct mindset.

Roger Kimball, in a recent issue of "The New Criterion", explains the problem brilliantly:
(With props to Jay Nordlinger)

"Affirmative action is Orwellian in a linguistic sense since what announces itself as an initiative to promote equality winds up enforcing discrimination precisely on the grounds that it was meant to overcome."

"Thus we are treated to the delicious, if alarming, contradiction of college applications that declare their commitment to evaluate candidates "without regard to race, gender, religion, ethnicity, or national origin" on page 1 and then helpfully inform you on page 2 that it is to your advantage to mention if you belong to any of the following designated victim groups."

"Among other things, a commitment to multiculturalism seems to dull one's sense of contradiction."

I have a new policy now. Whenever I'm asked to fill out a form that asks the ubiquitous question about racial status, I always choose "Other" and then write in: Human Being.

This is just my way of fighting back against the juggernaut. I figure it's the least I can do.

Update: I had almost forgotten about this incident last year.

:: Karl :: 7:25:00 AM [Link] ::