Diversity Is Our Strength

Diversity: According to Webster’s Diversity: Die – ver – city (sic). From the Latin:” Die toward the city.” To continue to push for something that dosen’t require pushing. And in doing so you will die! Cities will self destruct and die unto themselves.

Harvard and its race based admission practices are wrong and do not reflect diversity. Charles Lane of the Washington Post discusses a suit brought by Asian American plaintiffs charging Harvard with racial discrimination in undergraduate admissions.

To me (Lane) the most interesting bit of information in this column is this: Harvard’s expert witness told the court that without its system of taking race into account (favouring some races / ethnic groups while disfavouring others), its class of 2001 would have been 15% African Americans and Latino rather than the 28% that it actually was.

To me this is an admission that Harvard can achieve diversity without granting racial and ethnic preferences. If gaining a diversity label means shutting out most predominant races based on colour and ethnicity then you have a racist institution that will ultimately die within itself.

If you had 10 Caucasians in a group with one African American would the group be diverse? Yes. Yet some progressives would suggest that diversity only occurs after a certain threshold is met. What would that be? 30%, 50%, 80%? Getting rid of whitey altogether. Or maybe blacky. Is that diversity? This is madness and will certainly ensure the death of our higher learning institutions (bring it on) and ultimately society and our cities. Leave it alone. Do not place markers on diversity otherwise diversity itself becomes meaningless, a weakness. Identity politics.

An Exeter Professor proffers, as only a professor can proffer, that mathematics is the root cause for wage disparity throughout the world because it teaches individuals ethics free and detached thought rather than diversity of thinking.

The other day while shopping the cashier tallied up my purchase and it came to $15.35. I gave her $20.35. She looked at me with that detached unethical look and stood there stumped:

“Hmmmm” she uttered. “Hmmmm” she uttered again.

I looked at her bemused face and finally said. “You owe me $5.00.”

“Oh yeah,” she says. “Says who?”

“Its basic math” says I

“Yeah, who’s math” she says. “Your old school math or the new math?” and with that she called for the supervisor.

The supervisor came over, looked at me sternly, discussed the situation with the cashier, looked at me again and said:

“Well she isn’t wrong you know. It’s the new math and diversity of thought. Diversity is our strength here in this store. And who is to say your math is any better than her math? Or you’re right and she is wrong?”

“Just give me the 5 bucks and I’ll leave”

“5 bucks, no way. You’re owed $4.55”

“65 cents says I? Plus the 35 cents I gave her.”

“Right, so here is your 65 cents Sir.”

I took it and left. I just couldn’t bear correcting their new approach to math.

Diversity of thought I thought. Diversity of logic, logically speaking I thought. Stupidity!

Yes it takes all kinds of wingnuts to make a society die – or a store, and that is diversity. This so called diverse opinion of thought, of logic – even if it is wrong and goes against established rules of life – will surely destroy us or them. Eeee Gadszooks!

The New Math? Oh yeah:

1 + 1 = 11

or

1 + 1 = 3


Some New York schools are doubling down on their admission standards to ensure a whole range or prospective and diverse students are eligible to meet the grade. ” We want a whole range of students here” One school administrator said. Not just the smart hard working kind. After all diversity is our strength. So we’re doubling down on our admission standards. Doing otherwise is considered unethical on our part, particularly in our Math department.

“Dumbing down is more like it” I thought………Geesh

But hey, diversity of stupidity is our strength. But wait a minute. Stupidity knows no colour or race or ethnicity. One is either stupid or they’re not!

“If we are all stupid then who is to say that we are stupid in the first place”, the administrator remarked. “It’s like that simple classical argument that, that, who was it now that said it…Aristotle? Blimy? Or Cicero? Oh you know. It will come to me. Oh yes: “Who’s on first?””

“Oh you mean Costello?” I proffered

“Yeah him,” she said. “Profound man. Profound thinking back then.”

We are in trouble. And if we continue on this path we will no longer be considered diverse but a dead society: Homo Zombius!

R.I.P. Delores O’Riordan.

 

Have a great Navy day

 

SJ………………………………………out.

Day 23: Flavignac to La Coquille

Well we are back in the heat again. 32 C today. Did 29.8 kilometers. Had to stop a few times in the afternoon due to the heat, little shade and no breeze to speak of. Drank a petite etang in water and had 2 Oranginas. Damn, oops sorry. Pilgrims are not supposed to swear. Darn it all anyway but it was hot and those oranginas are the sweet nectar of the gods.

Landscape is changing. Still going upwards, many hills but the vegetation is not as lush as it was. They need rain here badly. Everything has that parched look about it. Dry! Supposed to rain Saturday. Not good for Pilgrims. I hate rain when I am walking. Everything gets wet and it takes days to dry out. I may take a rest day Saturday.

Big screw-up, er sorry, big cock-up, er sorry again, big problem with accommodation here in La Coquille. I made a reservation, confirmed but when I arrived there was no room at the inn. I was really pissed-er, sorry again. Damn. Pilgrims are not supposed to swear. I found alternate accommodations in what I would call a bread foundry or forge. It was hotter than hades. I got a room for the night – 25 euros with a dinner. Wow, I wonder if it is bread dinner with bread pudding for dessert. It is going to be hard to sleep in 40C heat in that foundry. Maybe I,ll make bread in my dreams. And the room was a dump.  Then again, according to the Pilgrims’s Guide 101 ( I read it so you don’t have to ) Pilgrims are not supposed to complain – just suffer. Okay, it was a clean dump – an oxymoronic Pilgrim’s room. Soon, self flagellation classes will be held for all Pilgrims.

I have to tell you about Flavignac. I stayed there last night. They had a fete (fair) that started about 1900. It was great. There was a band too that played awesome music. Sitting there having a few beers, eating great BBQ, by a petite etang, watching the sun go down in wonderful temperatures was like heaven on earth. I have some pictures. They speak for themselves:

Beautiful, magical evening after a hard day’s walk. Love it.

Well Gill, my walking companion, finished today. He left for Limoge, then Paris when we arrived in La Coquille. Hitch-hiking back. Gill is a model now for art schools and artists themselves. At 64, quite a switch of gears in life, especially given he is a mathematician. Wow. Gill is a tad idiosyncratic, has some weird quirks but is a great guy nonetheless. He spoke pretty good English so we had some interesting conversations about music, books and life in general. It is amazing some of the characters you meet on this walk. The other interesting fact is that there are very few women here. I wonder if that is a reflection on us males, as in, are we screwed up or what? I mean think about it:

” Honey?”

” Yes dear.”

”I think I would like to go to France and walk 900 kilometers in 30 plus C heat. What do you think?”

” Fine dear, now go and take out the trash!”

It has been a week now since Berry the Dutchman finished, 10 days since the Von Trappiste family left. Man oh man time goes by. I miss their company as well.

By the way, if the heat doesn’t get ya here the wasps (bees) will. It is unbelievable here. Can’t eat or drink on the terrace without these wasps annoying you.

I was thinking about Delores O’Riordan while walking today. She was the lead singer for the Cranberries, who died suddenly in London at the age of 47. Here is her most famous tune:

And I felt like a Zombie after my walk today!