02/02/2000
To: Steve Sailer, author of "Census Follies"
From: Tim Fay, Adversity.Net
Your incisive analysis of the convoluted race-counting scheme embodied in the census in particular, and in affirmative action programs in general, was simply excellent. Thank you.
I will add that I am delighted beyond words that elected officials — including senators and congressmen — have recently begun to publicly voice their concerns about intrusive census questions, thus placing the Census Bureau and the minority-pandering, vote-hungry officials on the defensive. "Fill out your forms or you will lose" the Bureau threatens.
This is, of course, a hollow threat to those of us who have already had our careers ruined because of racial preferences.
Which is why I strongly disagree with your concluding comments in which you posit that those of us not on the "preferred race" lists may be shooting ourselves in the foot by not filling out race data.
I firmly believe that the sooner we stop submitting to the race-counters' extortionist threats of economic privation if we fail to provide race data, the sooner the whole racial preferences house of cards will collapse.
The essential reason that racial quotas in hiring, contracting, and educational admissions have been allowed to continue is that "Whitey" has been afraid to opt out of the the game. The self-serving excuses are legion:
J. Q. Public: "I need the job, so I'll keep my mouth shut."
Lawyer: "I'll never get that judgeship if I speak my conscience about racial quotas."
Politician: "I can’t possibly get elected if I stand up to the racial lobby."
Physician: "I'll never get that board seat in the AMA or that million dollar endowment for my hospital if I speak my conscience about quotas."
Bill Gates: "I can make even more billions off the racial quota market by hyping Microsoft’s solutions for the 'digital divide'."
Business Person: "Its bad business to oppose racial quotas."
Government Employee: "If I keep my nose clean, and my mouth shut, maybe I can put up with quotas until I hit retirement."
Government Contractor: "If I don’t hire the right numbers of minorities, I will be excluded from bidding."
Every time someone utters such an excuse they are tacitly endorsing racial quotas, and they are helping to destroy the opportunity for equal treatment under the law without regard to race for those of us not on the "preferred race" lists.
Nonetheless, after 30 years of fighting against race-counting I am fully cognizant of the race-counters' tenacity in devising ever more obscure, more dishonest ways of enforcing racial preferences. I do not underestimate the enemy, nor do I intend to submit.
Recent press coverage of the census debacle is encouraging in this regard. On C-Span this week, Census Director Kenneth Prewitt fielded phone calls from irate citizens. During the 20 minutes that I watched the program virtually every phone call was from a citizen opposed to either racial data collection or to other intrusive census questions. Many callers flatly stated it was only going to take them 15 seconds to complete the form because they were only entering head count information.
The ultra-liberal Washington Post has been editorially agog during the past few days with the news that some of our leaders have had the nerve to publicly question the census' intrusive questions. Census Director Prewitt has been busily spinning press releases and granting interviews in an attempt to stem the tide of those pesky "color blind" citizens.
Maybe this census will be the one that reveals a public that is thoroughly fed up with race-counting!
Thanks again for a thoughtful, well-written piece, Steve. Your article did a superb job summing up the stupidity, unfairness and absurdity inherent in the racial preferences industry.
Sincerely,
Tim Fay
Adversity.Net
Steve Sailer responds: While I admire your idealism in trying to sabotage the race racket, civil disobedience only works when the Powers That Be have a conscience or at least can feel shame.
Steve Sailer
President, Human Biodiversity Institute
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