Ricci

I was mildly pleased to learn of the outcome in the New Haven firefighter Supreme Court case, where the court held that the actions of the city, which abrogated the results of a firefighter promotion examination because no black firefighters had qualified, were incorrect, and the results of the test should stand. I understand the idea behind the city's action. Even having the court say that concern for a probable lawsuit from black firefighters was not sufficient reason for their action doesn't mean there won't be a suit; suing is how we say 'good morning' in the United States. The underlying question was whether the black firefighters had a fair chance on the test, which was heavily weighted toward multiple choice questions; blacks normally don't do as well as whites on such tests. Whether this occurred to the people who administered the test, I don't know; I have this image of burly, aging senior white firefighters saying those damn tests worked for me, they'll work for them, too. They should have known; even I know, and I'm not in the field. I'm sure that it came to the minds of those who decided to set aside the results, though.

The question of equality is one that we still struggle with, most days. I saw in one article about this the comment that this 'ought to spark a national discussion about race'. That's not going to happen. For one, we just had one; for another, the discussion has to be one that's seen as necessary by white people, and my guess is that most white people don't see the need. That's not to say that white people don't recognize inequality when they see it, but I would bet that they look right past things that black people regard as blindingly obvious instances of it, and when they do recognize it, they don't feel any urgency about correcting it. The general feeling is, most likely, that the way things are is the way things are.

I recall reading not too long ago, a comment by a gay man regarding friendship with straight guys. He said that while it was possible, he found it always took a while before they got past the question of his sexuality. Once they got past the awkwardness and the joking, they were ready to be friends, but not before then. I think that in a lot of cases, white people and black people are the same way. The question of color is always there, initially -- muted, sometimes, blaringly bold, in others, but always there. I'm not sure it'll ever go completely away.