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Haim

Posts: 7,808
Registered: 12/6/04

Re: Position Announcement: Univ. of Alabama
Posted: Sep 10, 2012 8:08 PM

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Haim Posted: Sep 10, 2012 8:24 AM

>> What part of "utterly failed" do you not understand?

Of course it is fair to ask, "What is multiculturalism?"

Like so much of what comes from their side of the political spectrum, The Left likes to play a game of Musical Chairs, or Three Card Monte, with their definitions and policy goals. Each time you think you have pinned down a meaning, they switch things around and gaily exclaim, "No! That's not it, at all."
http://youtu.be/rX7wtNOkuHo
Somehow, you never get to "it". It is quite like reading "Jabberwocky"
http://www.jabberwocky.com/carroll/jabber/jabberwocky.html
or "Grunch of Giants"
http://bfi.org/about-bucky/resources/books/grunch-giants

In fact, pinning down a precise meaning of Multiculturalism is not my aim in this memo. Frankly, I do not believe there is exactly one meaning, agreed to by all. What is perfectly clear, however, is that Multiculturalism is not the simple-minded answer to Rodney King's simple-minded cri de coeur, "Can we all get along?" Do any reading at all on the subject, and it is apparent that Multiculturalism is about reorganizing the social and political power relationships among groups.

I am not saying this goal is good or bad. I am saying that,

(a) Multiculturalism is not about waiting in line and taking your turn, or "All I really need to know I learned in Kindergarten"
http://www.peace.ca/kindergarten.htm
and
(b) whatever it is, the process will be painful.

Part (b) is what I have focused on since Becker published the University of Alabama's position announcement.

And so, without further ado, here are three recommended readings on the subject,

http://www.migrationpolicy.org/pubs/Multiculturalism.pdf
http://www.thefreemanonline.org/features/what-is-multiculturalism/
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/multiculturalism/

Haim
Shovel ready? What shovel ready?