It was a tragedy (one that the media didn't cover nearly enough - no oil involved, I guess) and what made it even more of a tragedy was the fact that the two populations; the Sinhalese and the Tamils, had lived in virtual harmony for decades (during both the British occupation and the early years of statehood; initially referred to as Ceylon) and it was only after the demagogues in government started politicizing these ethnic differences and instituted preferential policies (in this instances on behalf of the majority Sinhalese) that the situation started to explode (race riots leading to terrorism leading to war)...............................................................................................Of course, what makes it even more difficult to stomach (and, yes, it is often difficult to alter the course of these conflicts) is the fact that if only the Tamils had gotten some small concessions in the mid-'70s (more autonomy in their own regions, allowing English to be used in the universities, etc.), it is entirely possible that the virulent bloodletting (not to mention the radicalization of the Tamil resistance) of the '80s and '90s could have been avoided (government once again showing that they are wholly incapable of controlling the "course of events").......Racial politics, folks - best to avoid them when you can.
Affirmative action in the form of inclusion (as RN has recently talked about) is great. Affirmative action in the form of quotas/goals/discrimination/preferences/added-grades is dangerous or even deadly. Every time one of these latter policies is put into play, injustice happens. And it leads to strife, or sometimes even death.
ReplyDeleteWill you should read this article about Clarence Thomas. Just put aside views on his controversial court decisions aside for a moment... and look at how the racist policies of the left... the John-Myste-friendly ideology of claiming black inferiority... made people think that Thomas was a lesser being just due to his skin color.
Of course when you have affirmative action quotas/etc to tilt the playing field to make special allowances to hire unqualified blacks (and not unqualified whites/others), you do get people assuming that a black who passed through such a program is less qualified. Quotas policies guarantee the presence of the less qualified.